Finn humbled by Cronk gift

Finn is a journeyman professional who, while excelling for Featherstone in the Championship, has never played in England's top flight.

The 30-year-old was powerless to stop Australia steamrollering his side 50-0 at Thomond Park but was surprised when opposite number Cooper Cronk asked him for his shirt.

Cronk is rated as one of the world's best half-backs and it would have been expected that Finn would have been the one doing any asking, but the latter thinks the turn of events show how much the Australians care about the game in Ireland.

"The camaraderie between the players and the things after the game have been fantastic," Finn said. "To put it in perspective, Cooper Cronk asked me to swap shirts after the game and I play second division rugby league in England and he's the best half-back in the world."

BAIRD'S BOGEY GIVES KIRK WIN

GOLF: Chris Kirk won The McGladrey Classic in Georgia after Briny Baird registered his only bogey of the day on the last to throw away his chance of a first PGA Tour victory.

Baird had been in contention all week in his 365th Tour event and looked likely to take the title as he opened up a two-shot lead on the final day. But when the 41-year-old found the water on 18, Kirk's consistency paid dividends and a birdie on 17 proved vital as he took the crown by one shot from Baird and South African Tim Clark who had played himself into contention yesterday.

RAIKKONEN TO HAVE SURGERY

F1: Lotus have confirmed Kimi Raikkonen will miss the final two races of the Formula One season in order to undergo surgery on a long-standing back problem.

The announcement brings an early end to Raikkonen's time with the Enstone-based team, the Finn having already signed a deal to return to Ferrari from 2014.

Raikkonen will go under the knife in Salzburg on Thursday.