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25th May 2018
11:00am BST
In many ways, relations between Ireland and England have progressed a bit from our, shall we say, frosty history. When it comes to sport thought, the rivalry is as deep as ever.
Take this message from Roy Keane, for example. The Republic Of Ireland assistant manager was being quizzed ahead of our international friendly with France on Monday when the subject of young defender Declan Rice arose.
The London-born centre-back qualifies to play for Ireland through his grandparents who were born in Cork. That hasn't stopped the English Football Association casting admiring glances at the West Ham United star as his international future remains up in the air.
When Keane was asked about the Hammers' co-chairman David Gold's recent comments that new manager Manuel Pellegrini could help Rice develop into an England international, Roy didn't hold back saying:
"It's going to be pretty difficult if he's Irish - and he is Irish. He plays for Ireland. Where else would he want to go, if you had a choice, Ireland or England?
"It's pretty straightforward, isn't it? Ireland."
Ouch. Rice remains eligible to play for England as he is yet to appear for Ireland in a competitive match. If he's taking any advice from Roy, any decision he has to make would appear to be fairly easy. Check out the full story on RTÉ here.
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