Rugby: Wales boss Warren Gatland admitted his team “got out of jail” after they claimed a dramatic Six Nations victory over Ireland at the Aviva Stadium. The visitors triumphed 23-21, courtesy of Leigh Halfpenny’s 80th-minute penalty, which was awarded by English referee Wayne Barnes when Irish flanker Stephen Ferris tip-tackled Ian Evans.

Rugby:Paul O’Connell believes Ireland have only had themselves to blame after seeing their Six Nations Grand Slam and Triple Crown hopes shredded on the tournament’s opening weekend.

Armagh 0-10 Cork 1-07: Cork left the Morgan Athletic Grounds with a point from their meeting with Armagh, despite playing more than half of their opening Division One game of the season with 14 men.

Premier League review:Manchester United produced a stunning fightback to come from 3-0 down and snatch a point in a 3-3 draw with Chelsea in a Premier League thriller at Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has strongly denied that Ireland’s acceptance of the fiscal compact agreed by EU leaders last week will condemn the State to further years of austerity.

Greece's prime minister scrambled to convince lenders and politicians to sign off on a €130 billion rescue package today, after his finance minister said just hours remain before the euro zone leaves the country to its fate.

Ireland 21 Wales 23:This will smart horribly from an Irish perspective. Not alone did they lose but it was the manner of their performance that will disappoint almost as much. Ireland were bullied physically on their own patch, the defence a passive line of acquiescence rather than a snarling, aggressive unit, looking to put the Welsh under pressure.

Racing: Henry de Bromhead described Sizing Europe's demolition job of Big Zeb in the Boylesports.com Tied Cottage Chase at Punchestown as "savage".

Hundreds of airline passengers bound for London have been forced to land in Ireland as a result of freezing conditions.

Pope Benedict would visit Ireland “soon rather than later” and was “actively considering” an invitation from the Irish Catholic Church, the Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin has said.

A car bomb in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar killed at least nine people and wounded 19 today, the province's media office said.

Golf:Paul Lawrie is back in the world’s top 50 for the first time since 2003 after a flawless performance gave him a second Qatar Masters title today. The 43-year-old Scot, known as “Chippy” all his career, chipped in twice during a brilliant closing 65 and beat Australian Jason Day and Swede Peter Hanson by four.

Soccer:Barcelona vice-president Josep Maria Bartomeu has denied the club have held talks with Arsenal over striker Robin van Persie. The Holland international's Gunners contract expires in 2013, leading to intense speculation over his long-term future at Emirates Stadium.

Cricket: England at last saw the back of Azhar Ali, but still needed to pull off the second-highest run chase in their Test history to avoid a 3-0 whitewash against Pakistan. Azhar’s painstaking career-best 157 spanned six sessions and almost nine hours, before the number three was ninth out in Pakistan’s 365 all out on the third evening at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

Gardaí attempting to locate a teenager missing from her home in Dublin for the last five days have appealed to the public for assistance.

A bitterly cold weather front sweeping across Europe has claimed more victims and brought widespread disruption to transport services, with warnings that the chilling temperatures could remain into next week.

Racing: This afternoon's all-weather Flat fixture at Kempton has been abandoned due to snow, as has the National Hunt meeting at Musselburgh.

GAA: Dublin manager Pat Gilroy has criticised the “work-rate” of his All-Ireland champions after they opened their Allianz Football League campaign with defeat against last year’s beaten finalists Kerry.

A policeman was seriously injured when he was slashed with a knife in Co Armagh this morning.

An Egyptian government building was set on fire today as protests disrupted the heart of Cairo for a fourth day and public figures demanded a faster transition to civilian rule.