Singing sensation Stevie Mulrooney was praised by Andy Farrell following his rousing rendition of Ireland’s Call ahead of Sunday’s Guinness Six Nations match with Italy in Dublin.

Eight-year-old Mulrooney went viral thanks to a passionate performance on the pitch in front of almost 52,000 spectators at a sold-out Aviva Stadium.

The schoolboy from Kilkenny sprang to prominence singing the rugby anthem on RTE’s Late Late Toy Show, before being invited to perform at Ireland’s opening home match of the championship by flanker Josh van der Flier.

He had to wait for his moment in the spotlight as Jennifer Dalton performed the Italian anthem and Amhran na bhFiann before stealing the show to catch the eye of Ireland boss Farrell and thousands of television viewers.

“Oh wow. I tell you, I was actually saying before the game, I was just watching him the whole time,” said Farrell, whose side won 36-0.

“I didn’t know whether he was standing with his mother or not but when I realised the other lady (Dalton) was not his mother and was singing the national anthem for the Italians… his confidence was amazing and I actually thought ‘I wish our lads are going to be like that’.

“He’s got his shoulders back, he was ready.

“He was waving to the crowd, stood there on his own. I thought: ‘this kid’s got it all’.

“He was amazing. He nailed it, didn’t he? It was a great start.”

Chelsea head coach Mauricio Pochettino repeated his call for patience as his inexperienced squad look to find their feet in the Premier League.

The Argentinian takes his side to Crystal Palace on Monday evening searching for a win which would lift the Blues into the top half of the table.

Hopes that the players might finally be ready to live up to the expectation raised by having a £1billion first-team squad were ignited by last Wednesday’s 3-1 victory at Aston Villa in their FA Cup fourth-round replay.

But in the league there has been little cause for optimism, with the most recent outing – last weekend’s 4-2 home defeat to Wolves, which saw angry supporters turn on Pochettino and his team – representing the low point so far of a turbulent campaign.

A win at Selhurst Park against Roy Hodgson’s men would be just their 10th of the season in 24 league games.

Pochettino said his team – on average the youngest in the top flight – will require more time than they have yet been given following the arrival of 12 new faces last summer.

“I’m not picking the team because they are young,” he said. “I don’t want to be the coach that picks the youngest team in England.

“We are a young team. We have a good balance. We have Thiago Silva who is 39, we have Raheem Sterling (29), we have (Christopher) Nkunku (26), and (Axel) Disasi (25). The problem is not that they are young. The problem is that the team is young.

“We had (many) players that arrived new at the beginning of the season. You need to build a team. Always I talk about the team, it’s not about if you have 20 or 19-year-olds. We need to be consistent like a team.

“At the moment we have maybe not so good (balance), because we would be in another position.”

The defeat to Wolves brought the first signs of Chelsea fans’ patience with the former Tottenham manager being tested.

There was audible discontent aimed at Pochettino directly, while players were also booed and supporters sang the name of former owner Roman Abramovich.

The 51-year-old is not the only one under scrutiny, with Palace manager Hodgson also in the spotlight as his side sink down the table with just two wins in their last 12 games, but Pochettino has backed the 76-year-old to handle the pressure.

“It’s part of the game, it’s football,” the Blues boss said. “He has the experience to manage every situation. It’ll be good to see him, for sure we’re going to share a nice time together.

“We are not interested to talk about things that happen around us.”

Nathan Ake recognises Manchester City are now in a powerful position thanks to the return to form and fitness of Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne.

City have won their last 10 matches in all competitions and are gathering a momentum that could be ominous for their rivals as they bid to repeat their glorious treble of last year.

Their current run started without the influence of the talismanic pairing of De Bruyne and Haaland as both nursed injuries.

Yet both are now back in business, as seen in Saturday’s hard-fought 2-0 win over Everton in which Haaland scored both and De Bruyne created one, and City are looking tough to stop.

Defender Ake said: “We know how good both of them are and when Kevin came on, straight away he looked for Erling. They looked for each other.

“It’s massive that they’re both fit, both ready to go and it’s good to see that we’re doing well.

“It’s just a lift to see everyone back – we haven’t had that for a while – especially the players who can make differences in tight games like this. It’s massive for us.”

De Bruyne missed most of the first half of the season following hamstring surgery but has been eased back into action over the past month.

Ake is surprised how well the Belgian playmaker has hit the ground running.

The Dutchman said: “If you’re out for five or six months normally it takes you a little bit of time but straight away he’s been ready to go, from the first moment.

“I think everyone expected to have to give him a bit of time but he’s been training really well in the gym, he’s worked really hard. You could see on the pitch straight away he was ready.”

Haaland broke the deadlock in a tight game against Everton with a ruthless finish when a rebound fell his way in the 70th minute. He then wrapped up the win after being played in by De Bruyne five minutes from time.

They were his first goals since November having spent two months on the sidelines with a foot problem.

Ake said: “He’s so quick, he’s fast, he’s strong. Out of nothing he can score and in those spaces one versus one it’s very difficult to stop him.”

Manager Pep Guardiola feels De Bruyne and Haaland add an extra layer to a side that was already impressing him.

He said: “These guys have special qualities. They have ability in final third to create something that is not in the statistics, not in the books, in genius managers. To have them for 90 minutes or even 30 or 45 minutes, it is better.

“That is not going to undermine what all their mates have done. We have a team with huge personalities in difficult moments. Otherwise we would not be here again and again.”

Theo Hernandez’s first-half strike gave AC Milan a sixth win from seven Serie A matches with a 1-0 victory over Napoli.

The reigning champions made a bright start but Hernandez’s goal changed the complexion of the match for a Napoli side low on confidence.

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Matteo Politano hit the woodwork for the visitors after the break but they could not find an equaliser to prevent a seventh league defeat of the season.

Napoli created the first big chance of the game when Kvaratskhelia skinned Matteo Gabbia and sent a drilled delivery into the area but Giovanni Simeone could not guide his effort beyond goalkeeper Mike Maignan.

Walter Mazzarri’s side continued to make most of the running in the opening stages but AC Milan took the lead against the run of play through a devastating counter-attack as Rafael Leao slipped Hernandez through on goal and he whipped the ball past Pierluigi Gollini at the near post.

Milan had an opportunity to make it two moments later when Leao found himself with space outside the box but his bending effort was diverted away from the top corner by Gollini.

Napoli’s frustrations were compounded when Piotr Zielinski picked himself up after being fouled on the left of the area but wastefully sent a free-kick out for a goal-kick.

The visitors had the first chance of the second half when Politano tried his luck from 20 yards but his effort did not quite get the curl needed to nestle in the bottom corner.

Hernandez could have doubled his tally in style when a corner fell to the defender inside the area and his clever back-heeled volley flew into Gollini’s gloves.

Napoli responded with another chance, this time Kvaratskhelia cut in from the left but hit a rather tame strike into Maignan’s grasp.

The visitors gifted possession to Yunus Musah and offered Milan a chance to give themselves some breathing space but Leao struck wide of the far post.

Napoli began to run out of ideas and were limited to long-range efforts, the next being Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa’s shot from 25 yards which flew comfortably wide of the target.

The visitors’ flurry of second-half chances did not stop and they came within inches of levelling when Jesper Lindstrom’s cross was deflected onto a post by Jan-Carlo Simic as Milan held on.

Erik ten Hag praised Scott McTominay as an example for others after the super sub sealed Manchester United’s belief-boosting win at fellow Champions League hopefuls Aston Villa.

Sunday’s clash between fifth and sixth at Villa Park began with Rasmus Hojlund – the winner when these sides met on Boxing Day – scoring in his fifth straight Premier League match.

United lost their way after that 17th-minute opener in a bright start and Villa eventually secured a deserved second-half leveller through Douglas Luiz.

But the Red Devils dug deep and McTominay made it 2-1 in the 86th minute after meeting Diogo Dalot’s cross with a powerful header – his fourth Premier League goal this season from the bench.

“This season, last season as well (McTominay made an impact), so I think he’s an example for many other players nowadays,” Ten Hag said of a player whose overall top-flight goal tally this term is seven this term.

“There are not many players who can come from the bench and bring this energy. He’s ready for every minute, always contributing to the team. Football is a team sport and we forget that often.

“But Scott is the example, always giving the spirit, in the week when he is training, doing the right things, working on himself, gives max.

“He’s ready for one minute, he’s ready for 90 minutes, he’s always ready. I think it’s great to have such a player.”

United rode their luck for large parts and Ten Hag appeared to indicate that Luiz’s shimmy goalscoring celebration fuelled his side in a win that breathes new life into their Champions League hunt.

The Red Devils are now five points behind Villa in fifth, and six adrift of fourth-placed Tottenham.

“I think we can beat any opponent away or home,” the Dutchman said after winning a first Premier League away game to a top-eight side since taking charge.

“But sometimes away we have to believe it more because then we could have won in Arsenal, where actually we deserved to win.

“We could have won in Liverpool and it’s about belief and I think this team today believed they could win this game and that’s why I think, in the end, you win the game.”

Asked about the impact of this result on the race for Champions League football, Ten Hag said: “We have to catch up.

“We are firstly in February, many games to play, but we are returning. But, still, a long way to go and we have to improve our game.

“But, of course, we are pleased that we get a series of wins.”

This was the first time this season that United have managed to win four consecutive matches in all competitions, while the remain unbeaten in 2024.

As for Villa, boss Unai Emery felt hard done by after his side slipped to a third straight home defeat in league and cup.

“I want to tell you I am very proud of our work,” the Spaniard said. “I’m very proud as everything we planned before we more or less were doing on the pitch.

“We were focused on a very good opportunity to make a big gap to them, but of course no win (for us).

“We know how difficult this match was. Manchester United in the moment  they are now and the last matches they won being confident.

“But we had control of the game, we created more chances than them, we deserved it more than them, we conceded less chances than them.

“They were clinical today, their goalkeeper was fantastic and we weren’t clinical.

“We played, maybe along with the match against Manchester City here, the best match here this season.

“Even from when we arrived here today, I think it was one of the best matches we’ve played but the result was not good and we have to accept it.”

Zach Johnson and Billy Horschel exchanged angry words with spectators as tempers frayed on the final day of the WM Phoenix Open.

Johnson was filmed remonstrating with fans at TPC Scottsdale and could be heard telling them “I’m sick of it” before demanding they “just shut up”.

It was not apparent from the clip, which was posted on social media, what prompted the former US Ryder Cup captain to lose his temper.

In a separate incident, Horschel was seen remonstrating with a spectator for calling out while one of his playing partners, qualifier Nicolo Galletti, was about to hit a shot.

“Buddy, when he’s over a shot shut the hell up man,” Horschel shouted.

“He’s trying to hit a damn golf shot here – it’s our f****** job.”

The WM Phoenix Open is easily the best attended tournament in golf, but the behaviour of some fans has again attracted more attention than the golf itself.

One man was arrested after jumping over the ropes and diving into a greenside bunker on the par-three 16th, where he proceeded to perform ‘snow angels’ in the sand.

Tournament officials were forced to shut spectator gates earlier than planned after being overwhelmed by the turnout and sales of alcohol were temporarily halted.

Former BMW PGA Championship winner Byeong Hun An took to social media to brand the event a “s***show” which was “totally out of control on every hole”.

He added: “Played here multiple times over the years and it was fine until today.”

Andy Farrell warned Ireland’s Guinness Six Nations title defence “gets tougher from here” after his side swatted aside Italy.

The reigning champions registered a thumping 36-0 bonus-point win to back up last week’s statement success away to pre-tournament favourites France.

Winless Wales visit Dublin on February 24 before Ireland finish their campaign with March appointments against England and Scotland.

Head coach Farrell feels his team have made a “decent start” to the championship as they seek to make history by claiming back-to-back Grand Slams.

“Obviously delighted with two from two and maximum points, 36-0 is a nice scoreline for us,” he said.

“To put in a performance like that where I thought we were clinical at times, I thought our set piece was excellent, top drawer, and then scoring some nice tries on the back of all that type of pressure was very pleasing to get over the line.

“Two from two. It’s a decent start. It gets tougher from here on in.”

Jack Crowley’s first senior try set Ireland on course for victory before Dan Sheehan’s double and scores from Jack Conan, James Lowe and Calvin Nash completed a routine success.

The one-sided result was the first time Ireland had nilled a team in the championship since a 17-0 triumph over England in the 1987 Five Nations.

Stand-in captain Caelan Doris, who deputised for the injured Peter O’Mahony, said: “Keeping them to zero was definitely very pleasing given the quality of their attack.

“It was something we talked about during the week, they’ve a lot of structure in their attack and they’ve got threats throughout.

“I don’t think it’s a mean feat keeping them to zero and we’re happy with that, definitely.”

Farrell made six personnel changes for Sunday afternoon’s contest, which took place in front of a subdued capacity crowd.

The Englishman expects to have sidelined quartet O’Mahony, Tadhg Furlong, Bundee Aki and Garry Ringrose back in training before facing Warren Gatland’s men but is waiting to discover the extent of an injury suffered by full-back Hugo Keenan.

“Hugo’s got a bang on his knee so I don’t know,” said Farrell.

“He seems in good spirits but you saw him and he was limping so we’ll see how he turns up tomorrow morning (Monday) whether he needs someone to have a look at that or not.

“I don’t know at this stage.”

Italy arrived at the Aviva Stadium on the back of a positive performance in a three-point defeat to England but rarely entered the hosts’ 22.

Azzurri head coach Gonzalo Quesada said: “They didn’t need to do anything special, just run through their system, their attack.

“When they go those 19 points of difference (in front), it’s like the All Blacks some years ago, they just go through their basics and they had 100 per cent of the lineout, 100 per cent of the scrum, 100 per cent of the high balls.

“And then they just work their rucks in attack and defence with extreme efficiency.

“We expected that level of performance. They did what we know they can do.

“The frustration is more that we couldn’t put a bit more pressure on them like we wanted.”

France, England and Ireland were the winners in round two of the Guinness Six Nations, which failed to produce the excitement seen on the opening weekend.

Here the PA news agency looks at five things we learned from the weekend’s action.

World Rugby recently released an absorbing documentary titled ‘Whistleblowers’ in the hope it will change the conversation around officials by showing the difficulties they face, both personal and professional, in overseeing one of the most complex sports around. But as criticism descended on Nic Berry and James Doleman following controversial calls at Murrayfield and Twickenham respectively, it is clear the odds are stacked against referees because of the laws. The decision not to award Scotland a last-gap try against France and to allow Wales to run down George Ford’s conversion were legitimate according to the rules of the game, but both felt like the wrong call. Clarification shed light on why the right outcomes had been reached, but by that time the online vilification was already underway.

Rugby’s officialdom was at least able to celebrate one notable victory from round two and that was Hollie Davidson’s slice of history at Twickenham. The 31-year-old Scot became the first female member of an officiating team for a men’s Six Nations match as the glass ceiling for women in the sport continues to be broken. Now rugby’s pre-eminent female referee, Davidson has already overseen a men’s international having taken charge of a clash between Portugal and Italy in 2022. A Test between heavyweight nations must be the next goal for the Scottish Rugby Union’s first full-time official.

Even if rugby’s protocols dictate otherwise, Scotland’s stoppage-time try against France should have stood. Scottish dismay was understandable, but this controversial moment aside they can only look inwards when they begin the inquest into why they are not two from two having led for most of the match against opponents nursing a World Cup hangover. A poor spectacle was there for the taking but yet again a group of players regarded as one of the most talented ever to emerge from the country has fallen short. That first Six Nations title appears as elusive as ever.

England are one of two unbeaten sides left in the Six Nations and, while they deserve credit for equalling their victory total for the last three tournaments before the first fallow week, they know their underwhelming wins against Italy and Wales were too close for comfort. Far tougher tests await against Scotland, Ireland and France over the coming weeks and Steve Borthwick’s team must improve significantly if they are to remain in title contention deeper in the tournament. So far they have displayed resilience, a greater appetite to attack and defensive steel, but for now they remain a middling nation.

Only Ireland also remain in Grand Slam contention and, as they swatted aside Italy despite making six changes, it was hard to look beyond another clean sweep for Andy Farrell’s men. No side has managed back-to-back Grand Slams in the Six Nations era but such is the depth in Irish rugby and the fluency of their game that it would take a sizeable upset to prevent them writing their name in the history books. Italy, meanwhile, took a step backwards having troubled England in Rome.

Jack Crowley claimed an overdue first senior try as Ireland continued their Guinness Six Nations title defence with a resounding 36-0 bonus-point win over Italy in Dublin.

The fly-half, who is tasked with filling the void left by retired number 10 Johnny Sexton, has gone 45 appearances for Munster without touching down.

He opened his international account inside seven minutes of his 11th Test to help the reigning champions back up a crushing opening weekend demolition of pre-tournament favourites France.

Dan Sheehan registered two of Ireland’s five further tries to take his tournament tally to three, while Jack Conan, man of the match James Lowe and Calvin Nash were also on the scoresheet for a team captained by Caelan Doris.

Ireland’s display could certainly have been more ruthless but it was more than enough to dispatch the championship’s perennial wooden spoon winners and secure a 17th successive home win.

Andy Farrell’s men remain on course to become the first side to win back-to-back Six Nations Grand Slams ahead of hosting Wales on February 24 and March appointments with England and Scotland.

Italy arrived at a sold-out Aviva Stadium as overwhelming underdogs and seeking a first championship success on Irish soil on the back of a positive performance in a three-point defeat to England.

Paolo Garbisi shanked an early penalty to give the Azzurri the lead, before Ireland scrum-half Craig Casey released provincial team-mate Crowley to gleefully register a landmark five points.

The seventh-minute score initially did little to settle the hosts amid a subdued Sunday afternoon atmosphere, which faded fast from eight-year-old Stevie Mulrooney performing a rousing rendition of Ireland’s Call.

Farrell’s starting XV, showing six personnel changes from Marseille, initially looked disjointed as the contest descended into a scrappy affair.

Energetic bursts from Hugo Keenan momentarily lifted the crowd and led to a second score in the 24th minute, with Crowley, Stuart McCloskey and Robbie Henshaw ultimately combining to tee up Sheehan.

Blasts of Zombie by the Cranberries – the team’s World Cup anthem – greeted each Ireland try and rang out again three minutes before the break when Conan bulldozed across the line after Joe McCarthy was held up.

Ireland had the bonus point in the bag within five minutes of the restart as hooker Sheehan, who also crossed against Les Bleus, claimed his second try of the afternoon.

Centre Henshaw was perhaps harshly denied a score due to an adjudged double movement before grounding.

But Ireland, who saw full-back Keenan limp off with an apparent leg issue, would not be denied for long.

Impressive Leinster wing Lowe added further gloss to the scoreboard with a powerful 62nd-minute finish, shortly after Italy centre Tommaso Menoncello was sent to the sin bin for illegally stopping him by sticking out a leg.

Following Garbisi’s wayward penalty, outclassed Italy offered little attacking threat and rarely entered the hosts’ 22.

Another fruitless trip to the Irish capital was compounded two minutes from time when Munster wing Nash collected Jamison Gibson-Park’s pass to score for the second week in a row, with replacement 10 Harry Byrne slotting the extras to add to two Crowley conversions.

Carole’s Pass upheld family honour with a stylish display in the feature Trustatrader You Can Trust Our Traders Mares’ Chase at Exeter.

Trained by Amy Murphy, the six-year-old looked to have plenty to find on the ratings but a bold bit of placing was rewarded in style as she jumped herself into contention at the third last before being ridden out to win in style.

Her dam Carole’s Spirit was a dual Listed winner over hurdles for owner/breeder Paul Murphy, the trainer’s father.

Carole’s Spirit is a half-sister to Carole’s Legacy, second at Grade One level for Nicky Henderson, while she is also related to Mad Max, a Grade Two winner over fences for the Seven Barrows maestro.

Murphy now tends to concentrate more on the Flat but she showed in the early days of her career, with Kalashnikov winning a Betfair Hurdle and the Manifesto Novices’ Chase, that she is just as adept over jumps.

Galia Des Liteaux attempted to make all but was beaten early in the straight and while Malina Girl and Kestrel Valley appeared to be travelling strongly, when Jack Quinlan asked his mount to stride on, Carole’s Pass pulled seven and a half lengths clear.

“First and foremost, I have to say well done to Amy and her father Paul, because I wasn’t so keen on coming down here on the heavy ground but Amy said she’d be grand on it and I’m glad they didn’t listen to the jockey,” Quinlan told Racing TV.

“She’s been wanting the step up to three miles for a while but with breeding in mind, Paul was keen on as much black type as possible and she’s been running over two and a half because that’s what the mares’ Listed races have been over.

“She’s seen that out really well, though – she’s a really nimble, agile jumper and the type you enjoy going around there on.

“I’m delighted she’s got that Listed win under her belt. She was tired in the end but over two and a half, she’d been in top gear and done well sticking on for third in two Listed chases.”

American Mike came out on top after a good battle with Nick Rockett in the William Hill Ten Up Novice Chase at Navan.

Gordon Elliott’s gelding won on his seasonal debut at the track in November, making a successful start to his chasing career over a lesser trip of two miles and four furlongs.

His next outing was in the Grade One Faugheen Chase, where he came home fourth of five runners when 25 lengths behind Gaelic Warrior at Limerick.

Stepped up to three miles at Navan, the bay was a 7-2 chance under Jack Kennedy and travelled well throughout, jumping soundly on the whole and finding himself in the lead approaching the last.

From there, he seemed to dither slightly and it appeared that Willie Mullins’ Nick Rockett might pass him, but as the two locked horns approaching the line, it was American Mike who eventually pulled away to win by a length and a quarter.

As a result of the victory, he was clipped from 33-1 to 20-1 for the Turners Novices’ Chase with Betfair and from 25-1 to 12-1 for the same race with Coral.

“To be honest, he’s probably one of the horses that makes me scratch my head more than any other. He keeps disappointing me and then he comes back with a good one again,” said Elliott.

“He has obviously got a big engine on his day, when he’s right, but he’s not easy to train. I thought Jack gave him a great ride.

“I don’t know what I’m doing or where I’m going with him, he’s a horse that baffles me.

“We’ve just tipped away with him steady at home and haven’t over-worked him, as he was very fit going to Christmas but just didn’t get home.

“He’s in a few of the novice chases at Cheltenham and he could go for an Irish National. I don’t know what I’m going to do with him, to be honest.

“We’ll enjoy today, he’s won a graded race for Noel and Valerie (Moran, owners) at their local track, they are big supporters of Navan and the whole game.”

Runner-up Nick Rockett lost nothing in defeat and was trimmed to 5-1 from 6-1 for the National Hunt Chase at Cheltenham by Betfair.

Willie Mullins’ first ever runner at Exeter was a winner as the mare Fun Fun Fun held off the late rally of favourite Favour And Fortune in the Trustatrader Fully Vetted Tradespeople Novices’ Hurdle.

The pair had come up against each other once before in the Champion Bumper at the Cheltenham Festival, with Alan King’s Favour And Fortune finishing one place in front of Fun Fun Fun when 14th, giving her 7lb.

This time, 6-4 chance Fun Fun Fun was even better off at the weights, carrying 10lb less, and it was just enough to enable her to claim the valuable Listed black type win.

It looked a great bit of placing by Mullins, despite the near 700-mile round trip, as she only faced two rivals – and Paul Nicholls’ Insurrection was beaten early in the straight.

Tom Cannon made his bid approaching the final flight on the 11-8 favourite but Daryl Jacob had saved just enough on Simon Munir and Isaac Souede’s mare, winning by half a length.

“She’s not the biggest but she’s got a big heart and tries very hard,” Jacob told Racing TV.

“Patrick (Mullins) actually bred her himself and she’s been a great mare since she joined us, she’s got a very willing attitude.

“She rides bigger than she looks but she’s a scopey thing, she can jump well and will probably jump a fence as well. I just like the way she dug deep from the back of the last.

“Patrick said the one thing she loves to do is jump. I actually would have liked to have been a bit lower at the last but she was big at it, but got away from it well.

“Alan King’s horses are in great form at the moment so he was always going to be a tough nut to crack.”