WHAT’S HOT WHAT’S NOT

HOT FINEEN WYCHERLEY

Munster fans have to find solace where they can, and a first European start for Wycherley is good news. He starts against the Ospreys tomorrow at lock, which is a position where the province need a homegrown inspiration. This is a big opportunity for a player who has been tipped for the top.

AARON CONNOLLY

A team circling the relegation drain doesn’t usually trust in youth, and it’s clear Aaron Connolly has work to do before Graham Potter sees him as a Brighton regular. But it was encouraging to see Potter refer to Connolly’s ‘unique’ talent. Now he needs to pick him.

JOSH HILL

In October, aged 15, the English golfing prodigy became the youngestever winner of a world ranking event and this week he beat the game’s best player, Brooks Koepka, in a nine-hole practice round ahead of his European Tour debut. Probably a player worth following.

NOT TROY PARROTT

Another young Irish striker is starting to discover the grim reality of life under Jose Mourinho. The Spurs manager has no interest in promise, and Parrott’s hopes of impressing a manager already grumbling don’t look good. His failure to make the squad for an FA Cup replay at Middlesbrough was disheartening.

RHYS RUDDOCK

No player was harder done by in Andy Farrell’s first Six Nations squad as the Leinster man is the form blindside flanker in the country. He’s had his share of injuries and this omission must be just as painful as those setbacks.

KENYAN ATHLETICS

Alfred Kipketer has become the 43rd Kenyan to be suspended over doping offences. That in a week where it emerged that an unnamed runner from the same nation evaded testers by jumping out of a window. The feelgood tale of Kenyan athletics went the same way years ago.