Wednesday Morning Sports Update

A round up of sporting action in soccer, rugby, darts and more.

SOCCER

Molumby says he's determined to prove his worth to Republic of Ireland boss Heimir Hallgrimsson.

The West Brom midfielder admits he was 'angry' and 'gutted' to be left out for last month's World Cup qualifiers.

The squad continue their preparations today.

Arsenal suffered a losing start to their defence of the Women's Champions League - going down 2-1 at home to Lyon. 

Manchester United will make their debut in the main stage of the competition when they play Valerenga tonight.

Chelsea are in the Netherlands to play Twente in their opening match of the campaign.

RUGBY
Munster Rugby's CEO Ian Flanagan says they're open to playing a United Rugby Championship game in the USA.

The Sharks are owned by the US-based consortium MVM Holdings, and the South African franchise have been holding talks with the URC about hosting a match in America.

GAELIC GAMES
Minister Charlie McConalogue says the government are determined to help grow the game of hurling.

750-thousand Euro in funding to help grow the game in 'non-traditional areas' was announced in Budget 2026.

McConalogue believes the GAA has 'very strong plans to expand hurling across the country' and that a successful roll out would lead to that allocation being a 'recurring' amount.

MIXED MARTIAL ARTS
Straffan’s Conor McGregor will serve an 18-month ban for a violation of the UFC's Anti-Doping Policy.

The former two-weight world champion missed three tests last year, and he's accepted a suspension which will run until March of next year.

McGregor recently stated that he'll return to the octagon for the UFC White House card next summer, but the promotion's president Dana White has since played down those claims.

DARTS
Luke Littler has confirmed he will now be in charge of his own career after splitting from the management company he'd been with since the age of 13.

Littler won his first round match at the World Grand Prix, beating Gian Van Veen in Leicester.