Peter O’Mahony feels a degree of embarrassment at joining Ireland’s “hugely inspirational” list of centurions and hopes even greater moments are to come as he targets Rugby World Cup glory.

Munster captain O’Mahony will become only the 10th Irishman to reach 100 caps when he lines up for Saturday’s pivotal Pool B showdown with Scotland in Paris.

John Hayes, Brian O’Driscoll, Ronan O’Gara, Paul O’Connell and Rory Best were the first five players to achieve the feat, followed by current internationals Cian Healy, Johnny Sexton, Conor Murray and Keith Earls.

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O’Mahony, who made his debut against Italy in 2012, grew up idolising some of those greats and never envisaged emulating their longevity at Test level.

“I’m still kind of surprised,” he said.

“It’s almost a little bit embarrassing with the names that are ahead of me to be honest, people I grew up following and supporting, hugely inspirational characters.

“To be the 10th, it’s going to take some time to settle in. It’s nothing I ever expected or dreamed of. We all talk about having dreams but that one was way off the radar.

“I’m just trying to prepare as if it’s another Test match.

“I’m hoping there are going to be bigger moments in my career than this one – and hopefully in the near future.”

Ireland departed their group-stage base city of Tours for good on Thursday morning and will spend the remainder of the tournament in Paris.

Head coach Andy Farrell has consistently made a big deal of landmark appearances and O’Mahony’s wife, children and parents were guests at the current team hotel on the northern outskirts of the French capital.

O’Mahony, 34, concedes he is no longer physically able to keep up with younger players in training and therefore devotes his efforts to being in peak condition come match day.

Ireland will qualify for the quarter-finals, a stage they have never before gone beyond, with a win or draw at Stade de France this weekend, while a marginal defeat may also be sufficient.

Lifting the Webb Ellis Cup at the same venue in just over three weeks’ time remains the ultimate goal, with O’Mahony wary of suffering early elimination at the hands of the Scots following a statement success over South Africa.

“It’s our be-all and end-all and I’m not going to say that lightly,” he said of winning the tournament.

“Every team that makes this competition is in this country to win it and we’re no different and certainly people talking about us not being able to get past certain hurdles, this is the biggest hurdle of our tournament so far and that’s the way we’re considering it.

“We’ve had some good performances but we’re considering Scotland as the team they are: an incredible threat to our campaign and our journey.”

Visits to Paris are bittersweet for O’Mahony.

His former Munster head coach Anthony ‘Axel’ Foley died in his sleep at a hotel in the city in October 2016 ahead of the team playing against Racing 92.

“Myself and Johnny (Sexton) had a conversation about it, I think it was on the way to the South African game actually, about sometimes it is weird to be in Paris and to think about Axel and what happened,” said O’Mahony.

“It certainly is an incredibly sad memory, particularly for that Munster team who were in Paris that week.

“I’m not going to go into it now but Johnny made a couple of lovely gestures to the family afterwards but Axel is always somebody who is certainly in my head on a very regular basis and when you come to Paris he certainly comes to mind.

“I’ve the fondest memories that we had together and the amount of inspiration he gave, not to just to me, but to lots of young kids in Munster and Ireland.”

Chicago Bears legendary linebacker Dick Butkus, one of the most intimidating players in NFL history, has died. He was 80.

According to a statement released by the team, Butkus’ family confirmed that he died in his sleep overnight at his home in Malibu, California.

Butkus spent his entire nine-year career with his hometown Bears after he was selected third overall in the 1965 draft out of the University of Illinois.

Though his career was shortened due to multiple knee injuries and forced his retirement at age 31, Butkus still racked up 1,020 tackles, 22 interceptions and a franchise-best 27 fumble recoveries in 119 games with the Bears.

Named to the NFL’s All-Decade teams in the 60s and 70s, Butkus garnered a slew of individual awards with six All-NFL selections, two Defensive Player of the Year Awards and eight Pro Bowls.

His hard-hitting style of play earned him several nicknames, including The Maestro of Mayhem, The Enforcer, The Animal and The Robot of Destruction.

He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979 in his first year of eligibility and the College Football Hall of Fame in 1978.

His No. 51 jersey was retired by the Bears in 1994.

Butkus only experienced two winning seasons in the NFL and never made the playoffs.

In 1985, the Butkus Award was established to honor the top linebackers at the high school, college and professional levels.

He also had a career after the NFL, playing off his tough-guy image and appearing in commercials for Miller Lite, Prestone, Schick and Visa, as well as film roles in “Any Given Sunday,” “Hang Time” and “The Last Boy Scout.”

Butkus is survived by his wife, Helen and three children.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp hailed Ryan Gravenberch’s “obvious talent” as the midfielder paved the way for the 2-0 win over Union Saint-Gilloise with his first goal for the club.

The Netherlands international, a £34million summer signing from Bayern Munich, made only his third start of the season and after impressing in the first European outing another all-round performance was capped with what he described as “the easiest goal of my career”.

Gravenberch capitalised on an error from goalkeeper Anthony Moris, who fumbled Trent Alexander-Arnold’s shot to present a tap-in for the 21-year-old a minute before half-time.

It was a crucial goal as Liverpool had wasted a number of chances prior to that and although they were rarely in trouble Diogo Jota’s goal in added time at the end of the second half secured a second successive Europa League victory.

“It is really obvious how good he is, the talent he is,” said Klopp of a player who arrived on transfer deadline so has had to be gradually introduced to English football with three Premier League substitute appearances.

“He is enjoying the situation and it is very important the confidence back, that is really good to see.

“We thought he might be able to play 90 (minutes), we wanted to give him 90 but we saw he dropped a bit so that’s why we took him off.”

Jota responded to Saturday’s sending off for two yellow cards – which means he is suspended for Sunday’s trip to Brighton – with his fourth goal of the season.

“How should he deal with it? I knew it would be difficult. That (controversial defeat to Tottenham) is long ago and we are over that and Diogo is over it as well. We are not children.

“From a focus point of view, it was not a problem to focus on the game, in the game it was a problem to keep being focused because that was how it looked a little bit.

“We got a bit sluggish, I didn’t like that too much but that was nothing to do with the last game or the last week. That’s the challenge in football any way.”

Two successive wins puts Liverpool two points clear at the top of Group E and victory over Toulouse, two points behind, in three weeks’ time would put them on the verge of qualification for the knockout stages.

But it was far from the sort of free-flowing performance seen by the side this season as they missed a number of chances and then started to lose their way in the second half.

“(I liked) the start and the result. The goals, the chances we created. What I didn’t like is we lost rhythm after 25 minutes,” Klopp added.

“It’s very difficult to keep rhythm in games like this but it’s important. We should have scored earlier but got the second in stoppage time.

“We should use our chances better more often if we want to be successful in competitions but I’m not angry or concerned, it’s just how it is. We know we have to do better.

“It was a mature professional performance, we got the result we wanted but know we can do better.”

Union coach Alexander Blessin knew his side were up against it before a ball was even kicked but was disappointed they did not gain more confidence from keeping their hosts at bay for almost the entire first half.

“In the end I’m proud of the team, but we saw the strength of Liverpool,” he said.

“I had the feeling that the game changed (after Liverpool’s start) and in those moments you need it to go your way.”

England manager Gareth Southgate says he would never risk Bukayo Saka’s long-term fitness by selecting him to play when he is not fit.

Saka was included in Southgate’s 26-man squad for forthcoming games against Australia and Italy, despite limping out of Arsenal’s last three games.

He is being assessed ahead of this Sunday’s Premier League clash with Manchester City before the squad is due to meet up early next week.

Southgate says he wants his best players available for the biggest games, with a crunch European Championship clash against Italy at Wembley on October 17, but never to the detriment of their health.

“I can only go via what Mikel (Arteta) has said about the last few games,” Southgate said regarding Saka’s fitness. “He is in contention for the weekend so we’ve obviously got a very important qualifier.

“We look after the players as well as any country. There’s always a focus on our players because they are playing their club football, in the main, in England and then we are playing here as well.

“Whereas all the other countries call the players that are playing in the Premier League and nobody looks at how they look after them and how they train them.

“When we have really good dialogue with all of their clubs, I think they pretty much all would agree that we probably give better feedback than every other nation.

“They have trust in us that we make decisions that are right for the long-term whenever we can. We only have 10 matches a year. And there’s been times when … Bukayo, for example, we haven’t always played.

“But there are certain key games where if it’s possible to have your best players then you do want to have them. So we’ve got that responsibility of qualifying for the country but … I’ve been a player … I’ve never ever taken a risk on a player’s physical wellbeing. And nor would I.”

Raheem Sterling was left out again, with Southgate explaining his side are no longer reliant on the Chelsea forward to supplement Harry Kane’s goals.

The England boss continued: “We know what Raheem is capable of and (Jarrod) Bowen has got five (goals) in seven (games), so in terms of the opportunity opened up with (Eberechi) Eze and (Callum) Wilson out, (Ollie) Watkins and Bowen are both in a hot streak of form. That’s the thinking.

“In the end, we’ve got brilliant competition for places in several areas of the pitch.

“There is a battle now, without a doubt. For a long period of time Raheem was the one that was scoring goals for us and his club.

“We now have goals from Saka, (Phil) Foden, (Marcus) Rashford. Rashford’s always been a scorer with us.

“(Jack) Grealish is a different type of wide player, so now we’re getting goals from Jude (Bellingham).

“We’re not just reliant on Harry Kane. For a long time it was Harry and Raheem that were knocking up the goals. But there’s a different competition in place.”

Dan Burn realised a dream he never imagined would come true when he scored in Newcastle’s Champions League triumph over Paris St Germain.

The Magpies defender was earning £9 an hour collecting trolleys when he got his break in football as a 17-year-old YTS trainee with Darlington.

On Wednesday night, his header put his side 2-0 ahead in their Group F clash with the French champions at St James’ Park, and they went on to secure a famous 4-1 victory to give themselves a genuine chance of qualification.

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Asked afterwards if he had ever dreamt of scoring in the Champions League, the 31-year-old said: “I dreamt of it. I never thought it was going to happen.

“I don’t think it’s really sunk in. The next few days once I’ve watched it back about a hundred times and managed to celebrate with my family, it probably will.

“But (it was) just a special night all round for the city.”

Burn’s big moment, which came after Miguel Almiron had fired the home side in front, was surrounded by drama after he headed home Bruno Guimaraes’ cross and immediately saw the flag go up to spark a lengthy VAR check.

But the 6ft 6in defender eventually got the answer he craved to spark wild celebrations on and off the pitch.

He said: “It spoiled it a little bit because as soon as I scored, I looked up and saw the offside flag and you’re a bit deflated.

“But as it went longer and longer, you think it might be a goal and just to have the lads jumping on you and looking around, and I’ve got all my family here as well…

“To be able to say that I’ve scored in the Champions League for Newcastle is amazing.”

Much of the talk before the game centred on how a Newcastle defence shorn of the services of key man Sven Botman would handle the threat of Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele, Goncalo Ramos and Randal Kolo Muani.

In the event, Burn, Kieran Trippier, Jamaal Lascelles and Fabian Schar – who also got his name on the scoresheet – coped admirably to blunt a potentially lethal attack.

Asked about Mbappe, Burn said with a smile: “He stayed on the left side, so I was quite happy, to be fair. But even to say I was playing against Mbappe is crazy.

“As I said, he kept over to Tripps’ side more, so I was happy with him.”

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The Magpies will resume their campaign after the international break with another home tie against Borussia Dortmund, but will do so having made a significant statement about their prospects.

Burn said: “We don’t fear anyone. We worked very, very hard to get to this point and we want to enjoy it, but we’ll only enjoy that playing the way that we play.

“We’ve just got to keep the momentum going.”

Ryan Gravenberch benefited from an error by Union Saint-Gilloise goalkeeper Anthony Moris to score his first goal for the club as Liverpool laboured to a 2-0 Europa League victory to maintain their 100 per cent record in Group E.

For all the attacking firepower at their disposal – and it was considerable with Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota boasting 248 goals between them – it was a 21-year-old former Ajax and Bayern Munich midfielder who had scored just nine in five years who popped up with the breakthrough at a crucial moment a minute before half-time.

That two of the front three were replaced at the interval was more down to a prepared plan rather than a reflection of their first-half contributions but if either had been anywhere close to their sharpest the game would have been out of sight before Gravenberch’s intervention.

Jota remained on for the whole game and scored the second with a breakaway in added time to ease any late nerves.

Salah’s first Europa League start for the club would have led to speculation about just how much devastation he could inflict, especially after his 16-minute cameo in their first European game produced a goal, an assist and a couple of other chances.

In his 150th game at Anfield he should have added to the 103 he has scored already on this ground as early as the fifth minute.

The excellent young centre-back Jarrell Quansah, deputising for rested captain Virgil van Dijk, won the ball high in midfield and released the Egypt international through the middle but he could not beat the goalkeeper.

It was the beginning of a long list of chances ultimately concluded by Gravenberch’s close-range effort and while Liverpool never looked in any real danger after Gustaf Nilsson had headed over Union’s best midway through the first half until the latter stages the game was more of a grind than it should have been.

Nunez’s 10th-minute rebound goal from Gravenberch’s shot was flagged offside and, on this occasion, UEFA’s VAR officials swiftly made the correct call.

A video replay only increased the Uruguay international’s embarrassment with his next effort, however, as he screwed wide from six yards having opted to go with his right instead of left foot for Salah’s cross after Harvey Elliott had carried ball effortless through the Union midfield.

A weak Salah header straight at the goalkeeper, a Jota penalty claim turned down and a Nunez shot tipped around the near post from Ibrahima Konate’s diagonal pass all followed as chances came and went.

After all just about withstanding all that in-your-face pressure Union were undone from their own attacking corner as captain-for-the-night Trent Alexander-Arnold broke down the left, cut inside on his right foot and drilled in a low shot which bounced in front of Moris.

It was not the most vicious of strikes and the Luxembourg international should have done better than to spill the ball a couple of yards in front of him.

It was all the encouragement Gravenberch needed and he popped home the rebound from close range.

A triple half-time substitution brought an end to the participation of the misfiring Salah and Nunez and also midfielder Wataru Endo as Jurgen Klopp sent on Luis Diaz, Curtis Jones and Alexis Mac Allister – who was made to wait 45 minutes to face his brother Kevin in the opposition defence.

After an early scare when Alisson Becker missed his punch at a corner and almost turned the ball into his own net only for Quansah to sweep up behind him.

Moris tipped over a Jota header and did even better denying Gravenberch a second from a curling shot and even when he was beaten by Diaz his left-hand post came to his aid, while Jones narrowly missed the target with a low shot.

Jota’s goal made the game safe and victory over Toulouse, two points behind, at Anfield in three weeks will go a long way to securing qualification to the knockout stages but Liverpool cannot afford to be so sloppy if they want to enjoy comfortable progress.

David Moyes saluted his “maverick” forward Lucas Paqueta after the 2-1 Europa League win at Freiburg, even though he drives him mad.

Freiburg’s nickname is the Breisgau Brazilians due to their flamboyant style of play, but it was West Ham’s Samba star Paqueta who stole the show.

He put them ahead after only nine minutes with a towering header from a cross by Jarrod Bowen, celebrating his return to the England squad.

Paqueta then spent the rest of the evening tormenting the hosts with his array of flicks, tricks and occasional theatrics.

“It was a bit of an old-fashioned goal, down the side with a good cross, and then a great header like an old-fashioned centre forward. I really enjoyed watching it,” said Hammers boss Moyes.

“Jarrod played well but Lucas was terrific. He drives me mad sometimes but everybody who watched him would have said this player has got incredible talent.

“There is a word that goes around, a maverick. He is that for us.

“It is really important we get him in and adapt to him and accept some of his things he may not do, things which I would say are conventional.

“But we are really enjoying him at the moment and he is terrific at taking the ball under pressure – but also there are moments when I say: ‘what are you doing’?”

The match may have taken place on the edge of the Black Forest, but it was never going to be a piece of cake for the Hammers against a side eighth in the Bundesliga.

They were also up against 34,000 noisy fans, with no away supporters allowed to attend following incidents during West Ham’s Europa Conference League final triumph in June.

Freiburg equalised after half-time through Roland Sallai, but Nayef Aguerd’s header from a James Ward-Prowse corner made it two wins from two in Group A and a 17th match undefeated in Europe, a record for an English club.

“It’s a brilliant achievement, I’ve said to the boys we need to keep it going. Winning the game tonight was most important,” added Moyes.

“I’m really pleased. We played very well especially, in the opening 20 or 30 minutes.

“They came back, which I expected. They got better and we had moments when we played very well but we mainly won the first half. We had to then be good defensively.”

Interim boss Steven Davis insists he retains confidence in the Rangers squad as he called for unity following the 2-1 Europa League defeat by Aris Limassol in Cyprus.

The former Light Blues midfielder was asked to take over after Michael Beale was dismissed at the weekend following the 3-1 loss Aberdeen at Ibrox which left the Gers seven points behind cinch Premiership leaders Celtic.

Rangers had beaten Real Betis in their Group C opener at Ibrox but found the Cypriot side too much, losing the first goal after nine minutes to defender Alex Moucketou-Moussounda.

Striker Shavy Babicka added a second goal in the 59th minute before Light Blues attacker Abdallah Sima pulled a goal back for the Ibrox men but the visitors could not complete the comeback.

Ahead of the trip to St Mirren on Sunday, Davis said: “I still believe we have some real quality players. Obviously, confidence has been hit.

“You go through these periods in your career and it’s a really difficult moment.

“As I say by sticking together you make sure to do the basics right in terms of hard work and application which they have been doing.

“It’s important we continue that and things will turn because I believe in the qualities of the squad.

“We’ll get players back which will help. The most important thing is right now is us being a group together.

“It was a really difficult night because we felt a real opportunity to come here and build on the Betis game.

“I think we caused a lot of our own problems in the game. Obviously, with the two goals we give away we’re really disappointed with and when that happens you have a mountain to climb.

“Firstly I’ve got to take some responsibility. In the first half we kept trying to play in the middle of the pitch when it wasn’t really on, they were good at getting transitions from that with the pace they had up front which caused us problems all night.

“Whenever you go behind in a second half you must throw some caution to the wind at certain points.

“We tried to simplify the game really, trying to get the ball in behind, get it wide and cross the ball into the box and ultimately we didn’t do enough to take something from the game.

“In terms of the effort of the players, I thought they tried to keep going till the end and in terms of the energy they put in, I couldn’t ask for any more in that respect.

“There wasn’t a lack of effort, we’d never question that from the dressing room but it is a really difficult moment that everyone is in.

“When that happens you maybe start to make the wrong decision and things like that.

“Sunday’s coming up and it’s a really quick turnaround. We’re hurting from tonight but it’s important as a group we stick together.”

Roberto De Zerbi praised an “incredible” reaction from Brighton after they recovered from two goals down at the Stade Velodrome to salvage a point against Marseille and keep alive their hopes of progressing in the Europa League.

Substitute Joao Pedro scored an 88th-minute penalty to earn a 2-2 draw that kept Brighton in contention in Group B following their defeat to AEK Athens two weeks ago, the striker slotting home coolly after Tariq Lamptey had been tripped.

A draw had looked an unlikely outcome when Marseille struck twice in the space two first-half minutes, the first a low finish from former Newcastle defender Chancel Mbemba, then a strike by Jordan Veretout that went through the hands of goalkeeper Jason Steele after Lewis Dunk had given the ball away with a poor miss-kick.

Brighton weathered the Marseille storm, too often giving the ball away cheaply when in possession but surviving to go in only two down at the break, before launching a comeback early in the second period when Pascal Gross slotted home from Kaoru Mitoma’s cutback.

From there on De Zerbi’s team were on top, and it came as just rewards when Pedro was given the chance to level from the spot and salvage their hope of progressing to the knockout rounds.

The manager said he was concerned by the way his injury-hit side have played recently but praised their powers of recovery in the south of France, particularly coming off the back of Saturday’s 6-1 defeat to Aston Villa.

“I want to be honest more than other days, other games,” De Zerbi said. “I think we are not playing well, it’s a very tough period for us in this moment. It’s difficult to show our quality like last season, like a month ago.

“It’s a period where we have to work, but after that in football it’s important the quality of the play and the players, but it’s important playing with heart, passion and the right behaviour.

“I’m really proud of the performance today, of the players. After the defeat 6-1 at Villa Park and the second goal to close the first half at 2-0, this reaction is incredible. For it I am very happy.”

Brighton appeared stagestruck during the first half inside a stadium that rocked with the noise of a vociferous home support.

De Zerbi admitted the atmosphere had been a factor in knocking his players out of their usual rhythm that has seen them win five of their first seven Premier League games this season.

“I know we are not a big team yet,” he said. “We are a small club. We reached the European competition playing very well, showing the incredible qualities of the players, but it’s possible we suffered too much from the atmosphere. (It was) the first game (away) in Europe for Brighton, the players and the fans.

“I’m not a big coach, I’m not used to playing in this competition. We have to adapt, we have to get used to playing in this competition from this moment.

“We can lose the game but we can’t lose our DNA, our spirit, our bravery and passion. This season will be important to progress, to adapt to playing in different competitions, playing three games every week.

“Today we played not more than 30 per cent of our potential.”

Marseille manager Gennaro Gattuso acknowledged his team lost their way after a dominant opening and gave Brighton the encouragement they needed in order to recover.

“The pressure we applied in the first 65 minutes was (good),” he said. “Then we started to press in a different way, not the best way. We should have paid more attention to them.

“With Brighton, if you don’t press well and do the good things, they will punish you. I think the players gave 65 minutes where they were able to press high but it was still not enough.”

Warren Gatland says there is no secret to Wales’ Rugby World Cup consistency as they build towards a fourth successive quarter-final appearance under his direction.

Wales need a point from their final Pool C game against Georgia on Saturday to top their group.

A record 40-6 victory over Australia in the previous fixture secured a last-eight spot, with Argentina or Japan now awaiting them.

Wales made two semi-final exits and suffered one quarter-final defeat during Gatland’s first stint as Wales head coach, and they are once again on a similar path.

“I don’t think there is any secret, it’s just hard work,” head coach Gatland said.

“We’ve all spoken in the past about the opportunities in World Cup years, with the extended preparation and time you get with the players, and the detail you can put into things.

“These guys have worked extremely hard in the (training) camps we’ve had, which has put us in good stead and good shape in terms of being able to take our game forward, being confident and comfortable playing for 80 minutes.

“We are excited about where we are, and we are looking forward to going deep into this tournament.

“The message has been about continuing to improve as a side, just taking one game at a time.

“We know we are in the quarter-finals, but we want to finish top of the group and it is trying to win four from four.”

Georgia beat Wales 13-12 when the countries last met in Cardiff 11 months ago, and while Gatland says that game has had no bearing on Welsh preparations, he readily voiced his admiration for Georgia.

“We had a little bit of a history lesson this morning before training,” he added. “They are a small nation, a proud nation.

“We like to think when we are at our best it is sometimes with our backs to the wall, and they epitomise that sort of attitude.

“When the Vikings came to England, they didn’t want to come across the border to fight the Welsh because of how mad they were and how much they wanted to defend their own territory and space.

“The Georgians are very much like that. If you look at their history, they’ve had their own battles and wars as well. We are very aware of that and how proud they are as a people.”

Asked about November’s game, Gatland said: “We are not looking back. We haven’t spoken about that as a group at all. We are just completely looking forward from our own perspective.

“In all these games, it doesn’t matter who you are playing against.

“In that first 20 minutes of the game it can be pretty tight because everyone is pumped up. Everyone is fresh and making things difficult.

“It is about making sure we are accurate, and that is definitely something we’ve worked on.

“We talked about becoming a tough team to beat, and if you are a tough team to beat then often the performances and results take care of themselves.”

George Ford believes his playmaking axis with Owen Farrell is ready to stand the test of time after England reunited their creative brains trust for Saturday’s World Cup clash with Samoa.

Ford and Farrell will start together for the first time since March 2021 having won 31 of the 40 Tests in which they have been paired together – a success ratio of 77.5 per cent – and head coach Steve Borthwick is hoping that magic still lingers.

Having compiled man of the match displays against Argentina and Japan and then stepping off the bench for the rout of Chile, Ford has been restored at fly-half while Farrell moves to inside centre.

The first time the two operated together in tandem was also against Samoa in 2014 and Ford believes an attacking fulcrum that was particularly successful at the last World Cup can shine again.

“We’ve done it a lot of times and even though not as much in recent times, you can just feel it,” the Sale fly-half said.

“Even though there’s a bit of time where we haven’t actually played together the understanding and the connection would be as strong as its ever been.

“Not having done it for a period of time maybe could benefit us because it probably sharpens you up a bit.

“We’ve been having discussions all week about that partnership and combination – what do we need from each other?

“When you’ve been doing it for a period of time you probably take that for granted a little bit. It’s exciting because we’ve had some real success with it in the past.”

The last World Cup to be held in France took place in 2007 when Ford and Farrell practised with England as teenagers due to their family links with Brian Ashton’s squad.

George’s father Mike was an assistant coach while Farrell’s father Andy was a member of the playing squad.

“We spent time with the backs and the kickers. The lasting memories I have are kicking balls back for the kickers,” Ford said.

“That’s what made it so good, coming to France, in and out at the weekend like our families do now and then back to school on the Monday.

“It made it all a little bit more surreal, doing that at the weekend and going back to school on the Monday.”

Farrell, who leads the team and has been assigned goalkicking duties, believes the best might yet be to come from being asked to pull the strings in sync with his long-standing friend.

“I’m pretty close to George so we speak about everything rugby-wise, regardless of what the team is anyway. We’re on the same page. I’m looking forward to it,” Farrell said.

“People have talked about the amount of times we’ve played together before, but it’s not been for a while.

“We both hope we’ve kicked on since we’ve last played together. Hopefully we show that on the weekend.”

Farrell needs two more points to become England’s highest scorer of all time, eclipsing the mark of 1,179 set by Jonny Wilkinson.

Brighton gave themselves a Europa League lifeline as Joao Pedro’s late penalty completed a comeback from two goals down away to Marseille and helped Roberto De Zerbi’s side avoid a second straight European defeat.

Pedro slotted home in the 88th minute after Tariq Lamptey was tripped inside the box, earning the visitors what had looked an unlikely point when Marseille duo Chancel Mbemba and Jordan Veretout struck two goals within a minute of each other in the first half.

At that stage, a badly out-of-sorts Brighton looked like they would be lucky to avoid the kind of thrashing Aston Villa meted out to them on Saturday. Marseille threw everything at them, whilst the visitors gave only space and encouragement.

Still they held on, figured out how to contain Gennaro Gattuso’s side, and hit back. Pascal Gross made it 2-1 after 56 minutes, and from there their pressure grew until Pedro’s dramatic intervention at the death.

Marseille started with high energy, roared on by the support of a noisy Stade Velodrome.

Amine Harit tested the reflexes of Jason Steele early, lifting a free-kick over the wall and requiring the Brighton goalkeeper to leap and flick it over the bar.

Gattuso’s side had conceded 10 goals in their last three games and were winless in five, but this was a confident opening that defied their lowly Ligue 1 position of 12th.

Brighton by contrast were lethargic off the ball and careless when on it, giving away possession as they sought to play out through midfield, inviting pressure onto themselves.

After 19 minutes, that pressure yielded a goal. Kaoru Mitoma slipped as he sought to close the ball down, allowing France international Jonathan Clauss space to charge down the right flank and, after linking up with Iliman Ndiaye, he fired in low cross which the unmarked Mbemba – the former Newcastle defender – guided home first-time past Steele from near the penalty spot.

There was barely time for De Zerbi to take stock before it was 2-0, and it was Brighton captain Lewis Dunk on his European debut whose mistake set things in motion, missing his kick and losing the ball inside his own half, allowing Harit time to size up a cross. With Dunk out of position Joel Veltman came across to clear but was fractionally too slow to prevent Veretout beating him to it and striking it beyond Steele, who appeared to let the ball bounce through his hands.

Then came what appeared to be Brighton’s road back. The referee was called to the pitchside monitor to adjudicate on a possible Marseille handball inside their box and initially said penalty. After a moment of confusion, VAR ruled there had been an earlier foul, and Brighton’s lifeline was whipped away.

With the home support buoyed into a deafening chorus, Marseille sought the third goal to bury Brighton and Steele was called on again to turn over a long-range Harit effort.

Pau Lopez in the hosts’ goal twice denied Brighton late in the half, first flinging himself to keep out Ansu Fati’s header then blocking with his feet after Danny Welbeck raced clear from Veltman’s through-ball.

The second half began with renewed Marseille pressure and so it was against the run of play that Gross hauled Brighton back into it. Lamptey carried the ball almost to the byline and tucked it back for Mitoma, who looked up to see Gross arriving in the box and teed him up to make it 2-1.

It had a transformative effect and suddenly Brighton had found their rhythm. The wayward passing of the first half became accurate and direct, and now it was Marseille conceding possession cheaply.

They still had a chance to restore a two-goal lead when substitute Vitinha looked to have got the better of Dunk after a hoofed ball up from Lopez, but the captain recovered brilliantly to block.

Mitoma struck a left-footed effort too close to Lopez allowing the goalkeeper to parry as Brighton’s intensified their threat.

Then, late drama and a chance for De Zerbi’s side to salvage their European campaign.

Clauss dived in on Lamptey as he looked to dart into a channel inside the box, and the referee did not hesitate. From the spot, substitute Pedro defied the pressure to send Brighton home with a point.

Managerless Rangers’ season went from bad to worse with a 2-1 Europa League defeat by Aris Limassol in Cyprus.

Former Gers midfielder Steven Davis was asked to take over as boss on an interim basis after Michael Beale was dismissed at the weekend following the dismal 3-1 defeat by Aberdeen at Ibrox which left them seven points behind cinch Premiership leaders Celtic.

However, whatever plan Davis put in place for Europe did not work in a dreadful first-half performance which saw defender Alex Moucketou-Moussounda head the home side in front after just nine minutes.

Striker Shavy Babicka added a simple second goal in the 59th minute before Light Blues attacker Abdallah Sima pulled a goal back for the Ibrox men 10 minutes later but despite heavy pressure in the final stages the visitors could not complete the comeback.

Rangers beat Real Betis in their Group C opener but once again the players came up short.

The Light Blues travel to St Mirren on Sunday before the international break but this was a real setback in Europe with a double-header against Sparta Prague looming.

There had been some encouraging team news for the visitors in the build-up to the game with striker Kemar Roofe and midfielder Nico Raskin declared fit.

However, only the latter, who had missed four games with a knock, started with left-back Borna Barisic and attacker Scott Wright, sent off against Aberdeen, also coming into the first Gers team picked by Davis.

The Cypriot side, who claimed their first league title last season, were playing their first home game in the Europa League in an 11,000-capacity stadium which looked less than half-full with a pitch far from perfect.

Rangers, playing in a new mainly-red kit, looked disjointed and ill at ease from the start and there was no real surprise when they fell behind.

Jack Butland blocked a shot from Mihlali Mayambela for a corner which was taken short and when Leo Bengtsson crossed into the box from the right, Moucketou-Moussounda got away from Ibrox defender Connor Goldson to flick a header past the Gers keeper.

Moments later, after Barisic sloppily conceded possession, a quick Aris counter ended with Bengtsson clearing the Rangers bar from close range when he at least should have hit the target.

The rattled visitors battled back and Aris’s Brazilian keeper Vana comfortably saved an angled-drive from Sam Lammers and then Gers striker Cyriel Dessers had the ball in the net only to be ruled offside by the linesman, confirmed by a lengthy VAR check.

Vana saved a Sima header from a Barisic corner then the keeper collided with Dessers inside the box and required some treatment before continuing.

The home side claimed for a penalty just on the stroke of half-time when the ball appeared to hit Sima’s hand inside the box but a VAR check ruled in favour of the lacklustre Light Blues.

Mayembela started the second half by driving over from the edge of the box with the Gers defence again looking fragile.

When Sima’s shot was parried into the air by Vana in the 54th minute Dessers could not finish it off although he was offside.

The Cypriot side always looked dangerous on the break and Rangers fell further behind when Bengtsson left midfielder John Lundstram in his slip-stream down the left and crossed for Babicka to escape the attention of Ibrox defender Ben Davies and beat Butland with a confident finish.

In the 67th minute Davis brought on Roofe and Jose Cifuentes for Lammers and Raskin and there was a quick return when Sima headed in a Lundstram cross, which brought another VAR check but this time the goal stood.

Rangers had hope.

Moments later, however, a mistake by Davies inside his own box almost proved costly but Butland saved the drive from Aris substitute Aleksandr Kokorin at the expense of a corner which came to nothing.

Rangers pushed hard in the final stages for the equaliser but it was mostly in desperation and not even six minutes of added time could help salvage a point.