Rugby

Nigel Owens will referee his first Heineken European Cup Final when he takes charge of the meeting of Munster and Toulouse at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium on Saturday week.

The leading Welsh official officiated his first semi-final when he was in the middle for Munster's win over Saracens at the Ricoh Arena last month and the decider will mean he has not missed a single tournament weekend, controlling a maximum nine fixtures this season.

The outing represents a 32nd match in the competition for the 36-year-old and his 39th game in Europe overall, including last year's European Challenge Cup Final between ASM Clermont Auvergne and Bath at the Twickenham Stoop.

Golf

East Tennessee State graduate Cian McNamara of Limerick has featured on CNN Headline News in the United States, as the cable news network focused on the unique background in the American collegiate sporting landscape.

The team highlighted in the programme also included fellow countrymen Gareth Shaw, Seamus Power and Paul O'Kane. The quartet, under American coach Fred Warren, are now preparing for the NCAA Regional Championships later this month as an all-British and Irish squad.

"We've had Irish athletes at our university for 45 years," said Warren, referring to the likes of track star Ray Flynn and current Nationwide Tour golfer Keith Nolan.

Not so many years back, McNamara announced himself on the main stage of the sport with victories in the South of Ireland Championship and the British Junior Open.

Rugby

George Clancy has become the third Irish member of the International Rugby Board's (IRB) world elite panel of referees.

Clancy, of Bruff RFC, joins Alain Rolland and Alan Lewis on the short-list, which comprises of the best 19 officials in the sport. His elevation comes after a successful year that saw him take charge of a number of Heineken Cup fixtures and last season's Churchill Cup Final between England Saxons and a New Zealand Maori side captained by Munster's Rua Tipoki.

"It is the ultimate honour to reach this level," commented 30-year-old Clancy, who won the inaugural Munster Referee of the Year Award in 2007.