Joe Schmidt was appointed as Ireland head coach on this day in 2013.

The New Zealander, who had guided Leinster to back-to-back Heineken Cup titles in 2011 and 2012, signed a three-year contract as he succeeded Declan Kidney.

Earlier in the month, Kidney had been relieved of his role after a poor Six Nations campaign, in which Ireland finished fifth – a worst championship performance since 1999.

Schmidt was set to officially begin work on July 1 with Les Kiss, Ireland’s attack coach under Kidney, overseeing the summer tour to the United States and Canada.

“When I came to Leinster in 2010 I didn’t really want to be a head coach, but I have really enjoyed the experience since,” Schmidt said.

“I am really motivated by the challenge and this is a super, but intimidating one. If you are going to find out what you can bring to a group, what better way than to take on one of the big jobs in world rugby.

“I have had a good look at a lot of Ireland’s players and, when we get our collective together, we will try to improve performance and make us as competitive as possible.”

Schmidt subsequently took charge of Ireland after Leinster had won both the Challenge Cup and PRO12. He remained in the job until the end of the 2019 World Cup campaign.

Under Schmidt’s guidance, Ireland claimed three Six Nations titles, including a Grand Slam in 2018, and beat New Zealand in Chicago in 2016 – their first ever victory over the All Blacks – then again in Dublin two years later.

The last match of Schmidt’s tenure was a 46-14 quarter-final defeat to New Zealand at the 2019 World Cup in Japan.

Stephen Dobbie was left heartbroken after Blackpool’s 3-2 defeat to Millwall at Bloomfield Road confirmed their relegation from the Championship.

Millwall striker Tom Bradshaw scored a fine brace, including a brilliantly worked team goal after just two minutes, either side of Jerry Yates’ penalty for the hosts.

Lewis Fiorini then went from hero to zero for Blackpool after a wonderfully taken goal from outside the box levelled the scores after 67 minutes, only for him to bring down Duncan Watmore for a Millwall penalty eight minutes later which Zian Flemming duly tucked away.

That proved to be the final nail in the coffin for the Seasiders and ended their two-year stay in the Championship in the process, something interim manager Dobbie admitted was tough to take.

He said: “Of course we’re hurting, we’re all hurting after that – it’s disappointing because we didn’t really pick it up in the second half.

“I let the lads know at half-time, they’d done OK in the first half, but I felt I needed to remind them just what was at stake.

“It was tough to lose out to a penalty so late in the game, for them to eventually win it like that was a big blow, but overall I just can’t fault any of the lads tonight.

“They were fantastic, just as they have been ever since I took over.

“They’ve been quite unbelievable for me and I’ve really enjoyed it, but I suppose it’s the learning aspect now for the club.

“It’s going to be an interesting summer, there will probably be a turnover of the squad, but that’s for later.

“We’ve still got one game to play, and we owe it to everyone to give it our everything again and we’ve got to give it our all for the fans.”

As is so often the case in sport, the agony felt by those wearing orange was mirrored by pure ecstasy from the travelling Millwall supporters, who now sense a genuine chance at the Championship play-offs.

Victory lifted them up to fifth, and if results go their way they could be guaranteed a spot in the top six before their clash with fellow play-off chasers Blackburn at The Den next Monday.

For manager Gary Rowett though, it was all about getting through the night, something he stressed was difficult against a stubborn Blackpool team.

“I thought we just about handled the game tonight,” he said.

“We knew we’d have to work hard to get a result here tonight against a tough Blackpool side.

“There’s no easy way to get over the line, though. We’ve seen huge clubs like Norwich, West Brom and Watford struggle at different stages this season, so for us to be where we are is testament to all our players.

“I’ve got a real honest bunch of lads here – they always showed a real bit of fight, and that’s what you need.

“We produced some great finishes too, some real quality and I thought we looked really composed.

“We were not necessarily in control, because Blackpool are a decent side, but we got through a bit of adversity.

“We’ll have to see what happens tomorrow now, this puts us in a good position, but we still might need a win next week to make sure of the top six.”

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp will not underestimate the threat Tottenham pose after admitting he thought their capitulation at Newcastle last weekend was a “joke”.

Klopp tuned in last weekend to watch Sunday’s opponents and saw them concede in the second minute but then left the screen to attend to something else and when he returned he could not believe what he was seeing.

“I came home, switched the TV on it was 1-0. I had something else to do and wanted to watch the game a bit later and when I came back and it was 5-0,” he said of the 6-1 defeat which cost interim head coach Cristian Stellini his job after just four matches.

“I honestly thought there was something wrong with the screen. Somebody had made a joke or something.”

New interim head coach Ryan Mason secured a 2-2 draw from 2-0 down to hold Manchester United on Thursday and that is why Klopp is wary this weekend.

“I have no clue what happened at Tottenham. I see Harry Kane, I see Son (Heung-min), I see (Dejan) Kulusevski, I see (Ivan) Perisic, Richarlison, (Pierre-Emile) Hojberg and so on and they all have played exceptional football during their careers.

“We realised this season that we had some problems in moments and maybe other teams thought, ‘oh its a great moment to play Liverpool’ and maybe it was, I don’t know.

“But if I am in the other camp I would never have imagined that Liverpool would show up weak and I cannot think about Tottenham in any other way apart from I expect them to be really strong.

“Give them one ball and it could be the wrong one and they go up in front of your goal and Harry Kane can score from pretty much everywhere.

“They still have this quality and that is the real threat and we have to make sure they cannot show it…

“But that is always the same, in the best Tottenham moments or the less-good Tottenham moments. I respect a lot the quality of their team.”

Klopp has taken issue this season with what he believes are media misconceptions about his team and their problems but he also knows the echo chamber of social media has amplified issues.

“It is good that in this case that we make the decisions and we don’t let the people make the decisions who write on social media,” he added.

“If you go to social media you think, ‘oh my god, there is no bigger problem in the world than our midfield’.

“I understand it 100 per cent. Somebody showed me after the West Ham game a thing on Instagram when people find out our line-up and what they write about it and not a lot of them wanted Curtis (Jones) on the pitch, not a lot of them wanted Cody (Gakpo) on the pitch and when they saw Joel Matip was playing they say, ‘how can they do that?’.

“I understand this season makes people nervous, I understand that we were not ourselves in big parts of the season.

“That’s it but we still have to make good decisions and not panic decisions.

“Where they are saying, ‘that’s it for them, he will never come back, he will never be able to play football’ – that is not how it is.”

Tottenham acting head coach Ryan Mason believes Harry Kane’s greatness will only be celebrated when he retires.

Kane helped Spurs respond after last weekend’s humiliation at Newcastle with a superb second-half display to earn a 2-2 draw at home to Manchester United on Thursday.

Stand-in captain Kane was at his talismanic best, dropping deep and creating chance after chance before Son Heung-min levelled from his cross to salvage a point after Tottenham had trailed by two goals at half-time.

While the United fans chanted they would see Kane in June, amid ongoing speculation over his future, the majority of rival supporters and pundits alike ridicule the England skipper’s lack of trophies.

But Mason said: “It’s probably natural, I think we say that about all our great players.

“Maybe in 10 years we’ll look back and we’ll say what a great player Harry really was and that we probably should have celebrated him more while we were enjoying watching him play football.

“I’ve always been quite consistent on that. I played with him, I saw it and I felt what kind of player he was.

“At the same time, even as a fan of football, it’s hard not to love and appreciate the type of player that he is.

“It probably doesn’t get spoken about enough but off the pitch, we’re talking about someone who has acted in the right way for over a decade now.

“There have been no problems, no negativity, no scandals and that says a lot for me. I know Harry very well and I know his family very well as well. He’s an example of what I’d want any young kid to look up to.”

Kane wore the armband on Thursday in the absence of Spurs captain Hugo Lloris, who will also miss Sunday’s trip to Liverpool with a hip injury.

Mason talked up his leadership ability and reflected on the growth of the 29-year-old since they came through the Tottenham academy together.

“This country probably doesn’t appreciate how good he is as a footballer. He’s incredible,” Mason added.

“I was fortune enough to come through the academy, we played together and to be on the other side now and watching as a coach, it’s a pleasure.

“I’ve thought that many times in the last couple of seasons. To watch him live, this country should appreciate we’ve got a real special talent.

“He’s our best player, I don’t think I’m out of order saying that because he is our best player and he is a leader.

“There are many different ways as he’s a technical leader, he’s a leader in terms of his mannerisms, how he carries himself, the example that he sets.

“Sometimes we don’t probably speak about that enough because he’s not the most loud and outspoken person, but we know what type of leader we’ve got.

“We know what type of character we’ve got and when you put in performances like he did (against Man United) that can influence games, that’s the best type of leader that you can get.”

Mason’s buzzword ahead of his second spell in caretaker charge was togetherness and he admitted that had been lacking at times this season.

He said: “The focus is on what is best for this club. That is my priority.

“Trying to create togetherness and make everyone feel like we’re together, inside and outside of these walls, is the most important thing.

“At times this season that has probably not been the case and when that is not the case that can affect results on the football pitch and we’ve seen that at times this year.”

Sheikh Jassim and Sir Jim Ratcliffe have both submitted what are expected to be final bids in their attempt to buy Manchester United from the Glazer family, the PA news agency understands.

The deadline for those wanting to make a third offer for the Premier League club was 10pm on Friday night, with the two leading parties swiftly submitting their proposals.

It is understood that the offer from Sheikh Jassim, the chairman of Qatar Islamic Bank and the son of a former Qatari prime minister, includes a pledge to invest significant sums in capital and infrastructure, and would remove all debt from the club.

INEOS owner Ratcliffe, Manchester born, has also made an updated offer for the club.

Sheikh Jassim was the first prospective owner to publicly confirm a bid during the first round back in February.

Back in November, United announced that the board was exploring strategic alternatives to enhance the club’s growth, with a full sale one option being considered.

The Glazer family, the club’s owners, are said to value United at £6billion and the Raine Group was brought in to oversee the process having facilitated the sale of Chelsea.

The first quarter of the year was initially recognised as a key time in a process that has rumbled into the latter stages of what has been a promising season on the field.

February’s soft deadline was followed by a second deadline last month for those that progressed, with Raine then asking interested parties for their third and final bid on April 28.

Bloomberg reported on the eve of the deadline that bidders have been asked to clarify the source of their money, planned financial models and debts that would be secured against the club.

In addition to Sheikh Jassim and Ratcliffe, Carlyle, Elliott Management, Ares Management and Sixth Street have reportedly made minority investment proposals.

It has also been reported this week that one option on the table could see Ratcliffe take a controlling stake of more than 50 per cent, with Avram and Joel Glazer retaining a combined 20 per cent.

In the wake of that story, the 1958 – a United supporters group that came to prominence last year – posted on Twitter: “If you get in bed with Glazer. You are a Glazer. The fans will have their say this Sunday. FULL SALE ONLY.”

United fans have let their fury known at the Glazers ever since their leveraged takeover in 2005 and the 1958 have led renewed protests against them for the past year.

Banners against the Glazers were seen at Wembley in last weekend’s FA Cup semi-final penalty shoot-out win against Brighton and a protest is planned at Sunday’s Premier League home match against Aston Villa.

Leaving from central Manchester at 11.45am, the march will continue onto Old Trafford and involve an 18-minute boycott of the match.

“We boycott the game for 18 minutes,” the 1958 said. “One minute for each year the Glazers have driven our club into the ground.”

Carlos Alcaraz survived a major scare in the opening match of his Madrid Open title defence as he came from behind to beat Emil Ruusuvuori.

The defending champion, who defeated Alexander Zverev in last year's final, was twice broken in the opening set by Ruusuvuori but responded well to prevail 2-6 6-4 6-2.

Alcaraz hit 36 winners to his opponent's 23 to reach the last 32, where Grigor Dimitrov awaits after defeating Gregoire Barrere 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (7-2). 

"It was really tough. I would say I was about to lose," Alcaraz said in his on-court interview. "It was really tough. Emil played unbelievably, but I am really happy to get through that."

There was a shock result elsewhere as third seed Casper Ruud lost 6-3 6-4 to Matteo Arnaldi, who had never previously claimed victory over a top-10 opponent.

Arnaldi previously eliminated Benoit Paire and will now take on Jaume Munar – the Spaniard advancing after Tallon Griekspoor retired when a set behind in their second-round tie.

Monte Carlo Masters winner Andrey Rublev continued his good form on the clay courts with a 7-5 6-4 win against Stan Wawrinka.

Elena Rybakina made a second-round exit from the Madrid Open as a difficult start to the clay campaign continued for the Australian Open runner-up and Indian Wells champion.

After abandoning a last-16 clash with Beatriz Haddad Maia last week in Stuttgart due to a back injury, this time Rybakina lasted the distance against Anna Kalinskaya but suffered a 7-5 4-6 6-2 defeat. She had benefitted from a first-round bye but was found wanting on Friday.

World number 60 Kalinskaya got the better of the seventh-ranked Rybakina in two hours and 13 minutes, avenging a defeat at the same stage in Miami last month to her fellow Moscow-born player.

Iga Swiatek made no such mistake in her opening match, after also receiving a first-round bye, with the world number one posting a 6-3 6-2 win over Austria's Julia Grabher.

Swiatek led by an early break in the second set but was broken back; however, she was soon back in the ascendancy and made sure of a place in the last-32 stage of a tournament she elected to miss last year due to a minor injury.

Third seed Jessica Pegula was tested by Poland's Magdalena Frech, but the American came through 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 in an hour and 41 minutes. Pegula was runner-up to Ons Jabeur in last year's final.

Pegula's fellow US player, Alycia Parks, continued to catch the eye as the 22-year-old ousted 15th seed Victoria Azarenka, defeating the former world number one 6-2 7-6 (7-5).

Parks, who has rocketed from 150th in the rankings last November to 40th place on that list, now holds a 4-1 career winning record against opponents ranked inside the WTA's top 20.

Former French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova, seeded 11th, was tested by Danka Kovinic before powering through a deciding set to win 6-3 4-6 6-0 against the Montenegrin.

Eugenie Bouchard, meanwhile, was no match for Martina Trevisan, with the Italian running out a 6-2 7-5 winner from a clash with Canada's former Wimbledon runner-up.

Anastasia Potapova, Ekaterina Alexandrova, Daria Kasatkina, Veronika Kudermetova and Bernarda Pera were among other seeded winners as the last-32 line-up took shape, but 25th seed Jil Teichmann was beaten, going down 3-6 6-2 6-4 to Lesia Tsurenko.

Jamie Smith’s unbeaten half-century helped Surrey edge into control on a gripping second day of their LV= Insurance County Championship Division One clash at Edgbaston.

Warwickshire were bowled out for 150, but the champions were subsequently reduced to 99 for four in reply before Smith ensured his side reclaim the upper hand, adding 44 with Ben Foakes, 32 with Cameron Steel and 35 with Jordan Clark.

Smith will resume day three unbeaten on 57 with Surrey 211 for eight and leading by 61 runs.

Tim Murtagh dismissed England opener Zak Crawley for a golden duck and just missed out on a hat-trick on a day of clattering wickets between Middlesex and Kent at Lord’s.

Kent were all out for 186 in the morning session, Ben Compton top-scoring with 52 as Murtagh and Ethan Bamber finished with four wickets apiece, but Middlesex were soon in trouble as they slumped to 90 for six.

Ryan Higgins (71) rescued the hosts with his fourth half-century of the season, helping Middlesex to 229 for a lead of 43, before Murtagh was quickly back amongst the wickets as Kent came out for their second knock.

Murtagh, who turns 42 in August, dismissed Crawley and Daniel Bell-Drummond off the first two balls of the innings before forcing Jack Leaning to defend the hat-trick delivery.

Leaning would end up finishing the day unbeaten on 19, alongside the prolific Compton (15no) as Kent closed on 40 for two, still trailing by three runs.

In Division Two, Brydon Carse gave the England selectors a nudge ahead of the Ashes by scoring his maiden first-class century and taking three wickets to put dominant Durham firmly on course for victory against Derbyshire at the Riverside.

Carse began the day needing 23 runs to reach three figures and rocketed through the gears to secure his hundred from 113 balls before Durham declared soon after on 452 for nine, with the paceman unbeaten on 108.

The home side then ran through the Derbyshire line-up as Matthew Potts and Ben Raine reduced the visitors to six for four. Luis Reece top-scored with 56, but his team were made to follow-on after being skittled for 165.

Derbyshire soon found themselves in further trouble as they crashed to 92 for five at the close, still trailing by 195,

At Bristol, a trademark defensive masterclass from captain Cheteshwar Pujara batted Sussex into a promising position against Gloucestershire.

After a delayed start at 1.50pm due to a saturated outfield, the visitors took their first-innings total from 47 for one to 302 for four, India Test star Pujara leading the way with 99 not out, while Tom Alsop contributed 67 and James Coles a career-best 74.

Leicestershire put the pressure on Glamorgan at the Uptonsteel County Ground as England bowler Rehan Ahmed and Australian Ashes hopeful Peter Handscomb both narrowly missed out on centuries.

Ahmed (90) and Handscomb (95) shared a partnership of 177 for the sixth wicket as Leicestershire made 407 after being sent into bat.

Glamorgan skipper David Lloyd was then dismissed for a duck before Eddie Byrom and Marnus Labuschagne fought back with a second-wicket partnership of 124, but they closed the day still 94 runs short of avoiding the follow-on at 164 for five.

Milan's game against Roma on Saturday is "worth double" as both teams vie for Champions League qualification, says Rossoneri head coach Stefano Pioli.

Milan occupy the all-important fourth place in Serie A, but only by virtue of their superior goal difference, with Roma also on 56 points ahead of Saturday's vital clash.

Pioli's men head to Stadio Olimpico where the Giallorossi have kept seven clean sheets in their last eight home league matches, with no other team in the top five European leagues keeping more since the turn of the year.

Pioli acknowledged the importance of the fixture in his pre-match press conference, telling reporters: "We need to give continuity to our performances, making sure that the next match is the most important one.

"Tomorrow's match is worth double and we need to face it with the right spirit and convictions.

"It's worth a lot. After tomorrow there will be six games left. The more points we get, the more chance we have of getting into the top-four places, which is our great goal."

Pioli was asked about his close relationship with winger Rafael Leao, who recently said his head coach was like his "father" having accumulated 22 goal involvements in 41 appearances for Milan this season in all competitions.

"My players are all my children, from morning to night," Pioli said. "Even when I'm at home I think of them.

"I talk to them every day, both about football and about other situations: they are lucky, but they have the problems of 20-year-olds.

"Rafa is the player who has been in my office the most in recent years, so there is the strongest bond."

Liverpool and Tottenham face off on Sunday in a pivotal game for both teams' slim Champions League aspirations.

Jurgen Klopp's man have endured a hugely underwhelming campaign after narrowly missing out on the Premier League title last season, and sit seven points adrift of the top four having played a game more than fourth-placed Manchester United.

Tottenham, under the interim charge of Ryan Mason after Cristian Stellini was sacked following the 6-1 humiliation at Newcastle United, responded to that drubbing by recovering from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with Erik ten Hag's side.

But Spurs are six adrift of United having played two games more, and defeat at Anfield may well be the final nail in the coffin as far as their top-four hopes are concerned.

And the omens are firmly against Tottenham.

A kind fixture for Klopp

Indeed, Liverpool have dominated recent meetings between these two sides. The Reds have lost just one of their last 20 Premier League games against Spurs (W13 D6), and are unbeaten in 10 since a 4-1 loss at Wembley in October 2017.

Anfield has been far from a happy hunting ground for Spurs, who have won just two of their last 35 away league games against Liverpool (D10 L23), winning 2-1 in August 1993 and 2-0 in May 2011.

On top of that, Tottenham are winless in five Premier League away games, losing as many games in this run (3) as they had in their previous 16 on the road beforehand (W8 D5). It's their longest run without an away league win since a run of 12 between February and November 2019.

The 31 away league goals Tottenham have conceded this season are their most in a single campaign since 2008-09 (35), while the only two clean sheets they have kept outside London this term came in victories at Nottingham Forest (2-0) and Brighton and Hove Albion (1-0). Liverpool should be very confident of breaching the Tottenham goal.

Leaky Liverpool

Liverpool have concern in defence themselves. Klopp's side have conceded four goals in their last two Premier League home games (2-2 v Arsenal, 3-2 v Nottingham Forest), as many as they had in their previous nine at Anfield. The Reds have not conceded at least two goals in three consecutive home league games since September 2012.

Alisson has failed to keep a clean sheet in Liverpool's last three Premier League games, but they have won all of those games.

Liverpool have form for prevailing this season despite consistently shipping goals. They haven't won four games in a row since November and December and conceded in each of those games.

Goals appear to be a given in this one, and the primary threats are easy to identify.

A game to savour for Salah

Tottenham will not be relishing facing Mohamed Salah again. Since he joined Liverpool in 2017, no player has scored more Premier League goals against Tottenham than the Egyptian (7). The Liverpool talisman netted both goals in Liverpool's 2-1 win over Spurs in the reverse fixture this season.

Salah has been involved in 11 goals in his last eight home games in all competitions (8 goals, 3 assists), scoring at least once in each of his last six. Not since Luis Suarez scored in eight successive home games between April 2013 and January 2014 has a Liverpool player found the net in more consecutive games at Anfield.

At the other end, Liverpool will obviously be focused on stopping Harry Kane and Son Heung-min, though that is easier said than done.

Six of Tottenham's last seven Premier League goals against Liverpool have been scored by either Kane (3) or Son (3). Kane has scored eight times against Liverpool in the competition, with only Andrew Cole netting more against the Reds (11).

But Kane goals do not automatically mean victory for Tottenham on the road. He has scored in each of his last three Premier League away games, with Spurs failing to win all three (D2 L1). The last player to score in four consecutive away appearances in the division but not win any of them was Steven Fletcher between April and September 2012.

British driver Abbi Pulling has been disqualified from both qualifying sessions on the inaugural weekend of the all-female F1 Academy series after initially topping both at Austria’s Red Bull Ring.

Lincolnshire’s Pulling looked to have secured the championship’s two maiden pole positions after laying down an emphatic marker on Friday, but a subsequent inspection found an “unintentional technical infringement” related to “non-homologated parts” on all three Rodin Carlin team cars.

The new single-seater championship features a 15-woman grid from 10 countries competing for five professional teams over seven rounds, each with three races – the second in a semi-reverse grid format.

Alpine academy driver Pulling, 20, was also a standout in W Series, where she finished fourth in her first full season on a grid that also included Marta Garcia, who inherits the two pole positions in Spielberg.

While it is easy to draw comparisons between W Series – on hiatus since financial difficulties forced organisers to curtail the 2022 season – and the F1 Academy, Pulling’s fellow W Series alumna Bianca Bustamante, 18, marked several significant differences.

All of the teams with F1 Academy entries – which also include Campos Racing, PREMA, MP Motorsport and ART Grand Prix – have well-established experience elsewhere in F2 and F3, desired destinations for Academy drivers.

That is massive for PREMA’s Bustamante, who explained: “One of the greatest things about it is you get to work with such professional teams. And I think that makes the most difference.

“I’ve only started to work with PREMA for about two to three months and I’ve learned so much.

“This opportunity would have never come about if it weren’t for the Academy. To be able to work with such a professional team, to learn with the best drivers and to get the track time.

“It makes the most difference, because now we learn all the good habits. We learn what it’s like to be at the top of the sport and competing with the best teams, the best drivers, overall the best bits.”

F1 Academy’s triple-race weekends also allow for considerably more track time which was a long-standing request from W Series drivers who competed in just one per round.

The Academy season’s venues include grand prix tracks like the Netherlands’ Zandvoort and Italy’s Monza, designed to prepare drivers for career next steps.

The team element also differs in facilitating more consistent relationships with engineers and other key personnel, while W Series rotated engineers of varying experience as part of its own development mission.

Bustamante said: “To have that consistency right from the beginning in your junior years is one of the most important things.”

Organisers of the development-focused competition hope it will provide a critical stepping-stone between karting and other junior categories to F1 feeder series like F3, with the long-term goal of one day seeing a woman back in F1.

Pulling and Philippines-born Bustamante are among the many female drivers who have faced considerable challenges funding their careers, an issue F1 hopes to mitigate by subsidising each car – a T421 Chassis developed specifically for the Academy – with 150,000 euros (£131,600).

Drivers are expected to cover the same amount, while teams provide the rest of the budget.

The series faced early criticism after it was revealed races would not be broadcast live, but instead delivered later in the form of highlights packages, complemented by what organisers promised would be extensive live content on social media.

But the PA news agency understands there are ambitions for future live broadcasts, with the Academy set to join select F1 grands prix as part of next season’s support series.

Having the weight of the increasingly-recognisable F1 brand behind the new all-female venture is also an unprecedented step for the sport, one the drivers feel is significant.

“It makes a huge difference,” added Bustamante. “To have F1’s support means a big change to the sport. We went from not having many female drivers to having our own series.

“F1 has given us that exposure. They’ve allowed us to have a platform where we can expose our vision, our aspirations, and to have a voice.”

Leinster head coach Leo Cullen expects Toulouse to take his team on physically in Saturday’s clash of the Heineken Champions Cup heavyweights.

Four-time European champions Leinster tackle a club with a record five European titles under their belt.

And the semi-final clash at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium will be one of the tournament’s classic encounters if it lives up to its billing.

“(They have) a big physical pack,” Cullen told www.epcrugby.com.

“I think they will be very direct when they have the ball, confrontational.

“They kick the ball a fair amount. I know Toulouse’s reputation is free-flowing, off-loading rugby, but I think they will be pretty pragmatic, particularly at the start of the game.

“As the game starts to open up then they will start to move the ball around and you see a lot of their points come late in games.

“I think they will try to take us on physically, which is good because that is what we want as well, a good physical challenge for our guys.

“You want to test yourself against the best teams out there. It’s a great challenge. They have great quality.

“You can’t switch off for a second with some of the players that they have – game-changing players.”

Leinster beat Toulouse comfortably in last season’s semi-finals to secure their place in the showpiece, where they narrowly lost to La Rochelle.

And it is going to require another huge effort in Leinster’s quest for an Aviva Stadium return on May 20, when the winners will face holders La Rochelle or sole English survivors Exeter, who clash in Bordeaux on Sunday.

Cullen added: “Last year, they (Toulouse) had played 100 minutes (against Munster in the quarter-finals) and travelled.

“I heard some of their comments this week about that, how they got things wrong around some of the selections leading into that game, or that sequence of games.

“You need to be prepared to deal with whatever comes your way on any given day.”

Leinster will be without Ireland international centre Robbie Henshaw through injury, so Charlie Ngatai partners Garry Ringrose in midfield.

“We wanted to be the top seeds, we wanted to make sure we did everything to be here at the Aviva, and now we are,” Cullen said.

“We are here, which is great, and it is a real privilege and honour to be here at this point in the tournament.”