Growing up, Eve Higgins’ Six Nations tradition was a trip to Ashbourne to watch the women’s game on a Friday before heading to Aviva Stadium for the men on a Saturday with her father.

While the crowds flocked to Dublin 4 for the men, attendances at the County Meath venue the previous evening weren’t hitting the same heights.

But just as women’s rugby in Ireland grew in stature, so too did the ‘Green Wave’ of support and this Sunday represents a significant milestone as for the first time, the Lansdowne Road venue will host a stand-alone women’s game.

Back in 2014, a women’s Six Nations game against Italy served as a curtain-raiser for the male equivalent, but with 28,000 tickets sold for this weekend’s final round against Scotland [14:30 BST] so far, it has already tripled the record 9,206 fans who took in Ireland’s opening home Six Nations game against Italy in April at Galway’s Dexcom Stadium.

It’s very much part of a trend with interest in the women’s game growing rapidly and Ireland’s opening game against England in this year’s championship drew a record 77,120 to Twickenham’s Aviva Stadium.

Higgins describes the prospect of playing in front of a record home crowd as “extremely special” but hopes it is “the first of many”.

“When we heard, firstly, that there was 20,000 tickets sold, that was huge because we knew we were obviously beating our record crowd,” the 26-year-old centre told BBC Sport NI.

“Even the fact that we’ve beaten a record crowd in this Six Nations, but to do it again by three will be extremely special.

“We spoke about this three or four years ago that we wanted to have games in the Aviva, but we wanted to do it at a time that we could fill the stadium as we didn’t want to play in empty stadiums.

“The fact that our first occasion in this stadium will be in front of a record crowd of 28,000-plus people is brilliant and it shows you what performances can do. We just want to put on a show for the crowd this weekend.”

Archibald exits as one of Britain’s most decorated track cyclists and arguably Scotland’s most decorated female athlete.

A relative latecomer to the sport, Archibald did not join Britain’s endurance squad until the age of 19 but won the European team pursuit title in her senior competitive debut.

Over the next 13 years, Archibald amassed 51 medals at world, European, Commonwealth and Olympic level, including two Olympic titles and a silver medal, Commonwealth gold, seven world titles and a world-leading 21 European titles.

It might have been more had she not had to withdraw from the Birmingham Games in 2022 and the Olympics two years later shortly before the events.

“I love racing my bike,” Archibald said. “And it’s been a true honour to race my bike alongside the best in the country.

“I’m not hoping for a grand legacy, but I hope I’ve made an impact on the individuals I’ve worked with.”

Currently training to be a nurse, Archibald has “fallen completely in love with the whole thing”, particularly because “it feels so special being someone people can trust when they need help”.

Great Britain Cycling Team performance director Stephen Park pointed out her “incredible legacy” as he paid tribute.

“Katie has described herself as ‘obsessed’ with the sport and her relentless drive in the pursuit of excellence combined with a deep passion for track cycling has led her to be one of Britain’s most decorated track cyclists,” he said.

“Katie has given cycling audiences some of the best moments of the sport’s history and we are incredibly proud of everything she has achieved both on and off the bike.”

James scored 24 points at Crypto.com Arena in LA, while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the current MVP, scored 35 points and contributed eight assists for the Thunder.

The Thunder, who beat the Phoenix Suns 4-0 in the first round of the play-offs, will play the Minnesota Timberwolves or the San Antonio Spurs – their semi is level at 2-2 – in the Western Conference final.

In the Eastern Conference semi-finals, the Cleveland Cavaliers earned a 112-103 home win against the Detroit Pistons to level their series at 2-2.

Donovan Mitchell scored 43 points at Rocket Arena for the Cavs, who lost the first two games in the series.

Mitchell scored 39 in the second half, equalling the record – set by Eric Floyd of the Golden State Warriors in 1987 – for the most points in one half of a post-season game.

The Cavs or the Pistons will play the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference final.