Andy Farrell welcomes his cub back into the Lions fold
Joe Canning reckons Kilkenny are slipping under the radar
. 'When I look at this team I don't see a weakness,' he writes. On top of that, 'the experience they have of this stage of the championship is greater than any of the other teams still standing,' a factor he believes can give them an edge.
Billy Ryan will certainly hope so,
the Kilkenny forward sick and tired of going close with his county
, but not close enough. Seán Moran hears from him.
In rugby, Gerry Thornley is in Sydney ahead of the Lions' game against NSW Waratahs tomorrow,
a certain Owen Farrell due to land today
after being called up to replace the injured Elliot Daly.
His father Andy 'may have raised eyebrows by not including his son in the original squad, but
he's arguably raised even more by calling him up now
,' Gerry writes. He heard from Farrell Snr on his decision to bring Jnr in for his fourth Lions Tour.
READ MORE
Jonathan Drennan brings the 'View from Down Under'.
The Waratahs, he fears, won't provide much of a test
, 'there is a sad and strong possibility that the Lions will put more than 60 points past them'.
John O'Sullivan, meanwhile, is over in Tbilisi where Ireland play Georgia tomorrow. The game, along with Saturday week's meeting with Portugal, 'represents
a land of opportunity' for the squad
, 'the chance to build, enhance or reinforce reputations', a view shared by interim head coach Paul O'Connell.
Thursday brought
the tragic news of the death of Portugal and Liverpool forward Diogo Jota
and his brother André in a car crash in Spain, Barney Ronay reflecting on what is, above all 'the most terrible human tragedy, an event that will alter the lives of family and friends forever'.
Gavin Cummiskey has the latest transfer speculation on the Irish front, including
Brighton's apparent willingness to let Evan Ferguson go
– not cheaply, though, they're looking for a fee around the €33-million mark – and he looks at the FAI's efforts to secure the services of
the gifted young Sligo Rovers forward Owen Elding
for Ireland.
In golf, Philip Reid reports on the first round of the Irish Open at Carton House where
just four of the 16 Irish players in the field posted sub-par scores
, Emma Fleming the pick of the bunch with an impressive 69 that leaves her tied for ninth. Leona Maguire has work to do, she's tied for 43rd.
And in her column, Sonia O'Sullivan looks at
the growing popularity of high-altitude training
for athletes preparing for major championships. She gave herself a reminder of the 'truly natural performance-enhancing aid' when she visited Font Romeu in the French Pyrenees last week.
TV Watch:
It's day five at Wimbledon (BBC 1 and BBC 2 from 11am),
fourth seed Jack Draper's defeat
on Thursday the latest in a string of upsets. Sky Sports Golf has the second round of the women's Irish Open from 5pm and at the same time, Denmark and Sweden kick off at Euro 2025 (RTÉ 2 and UTV). At 8pm, Germany, one of the pre-tournament favourites, play Poland (RTÉ 2 and UTV).
World Cup holders Spain opened their campaign in style
on Thursday with a 5-0 win over a grieving Portugal side.
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Irish Independent
28 minutes ago
- Irish Independent
‘There's going to be a great buzz around Cork – embrace it' – Rebels boss Pat Ryan comfortable with All-Ireland final favourites tag
There are no prizes for second now. They won't get any medals for artistic merit in two weeks. Their progression is complete. The preamble is done. The starters have been devoured, no salt either. There are no remaining steps to take but those concrete ones on the Hogan Stand. They have done everything bar win the All-Ireland.
Irish Times
43 minutes ago
- Irish Times
Rip-roaring Rebels return to All-Ireland final after Dublin demolition
All-Ireland SHC semi-final: Cork 7-26 Dublin 2-21 Initially, the All-Ireland semi-final weekend was seen as a great festival of hurling and some elemental matches took place, as teams fought for a final place. This evening in Croke Park was a bitterly disappointing shadow of such occasions. That's not to cast blame or aspersions on the teams. Cork turned up and did what they had to do whereas Dublin fought and flailed, trying to do what they could not – keep a lid on the relentless Munster champions and somehow drag the match back into the outer confines of a contest. Try as they did to stay afloat, the waves kept crashing down on them and as they splashed frantically for safety, eventually the boat on which they had set out disappeared over the horizon. This was only Dublin's third All-Ireland semi-final since they last reached the final 64 years ago. Achieved on the back of a sensational defeat of Limerick two weeks previously, there was a determination that they would substantiate that performance against the All-Ireland favourites. READ MORE For Cork, the purpose was to reach another All-Ireland final. They had probably accomplished that by the 12th minute after Brian Hayes set up Alan Connolly for the team's second goal, 2-5 to 0-4. Cork's Niall O'Leary tackles Dublin's Sean Currie. Photograph: Leah Scholes/Inpho There was more in it for manager Pat Ryan, however. He brought back three players after injury and all made strong impacts. From the early minutes when Rob Downey thundered through the air to claim the ball, the captain was in dominant form. Little Dublin did threatened a reliable source of scores, whereas at the other end the Cork full forwards were back to their dynamic league form, plundering scores and building an overwhelming lead. So, high summer, another full house for Cork and the goals crashing in – the perfect mise en scene for the red and white throngs. Dublin weren't where they had been in overturning Limerick two weeks previously. A slight nervousness affected their play. Conor Burke, who had shot like a sniper from centrefield against Limerick, was relocated to centre back to replace the greatly missed Chris Crummey, who was suspended. Burke's first attempt in the sixth minute went wide and anxiety grew. Cian O'Sullivan, valiantly leading the resistance, opened the scoring with a point in the first 10 seconds and Dublin attacked with abandon but what became a trend was immediately obvious – getting the ball to stick up front was a challenge as Cork defenders coped comfortably. Another player returning after injury, Declan Dalton, who had been very effective a year ago when Cork beat Dublin in the quarter-finals, was again on form and opened his side's account with one of those howitzer frees he can hit from a neighbouring country. He went on to have a fine match and looked right back on form. Dublin's Cian O'Sullivan challenges Cork's Mark Coleman. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho The opposite was happening to Dublin. Many of the players who had made such an impact on Limerick, were struggling to get into the game. Two defenders were gone by the 20th minute: Andy Dunphy and Conor McHugh, whose display marking Cian Lynch had been so lauded but who looked to have picked up an injury. Two of the full-back line, which had resisted so manfully that day, Dunphy and Paddy Smyth were on yellow cards within the first 10 minutes. John Hetherton, who had terrorised Limerick in the air, couldn't get near ball to break it down, let alone catch. Cork moved and moved too fast. Diarmuid Healy and Dalton created a goal chance for Brian Hayes and he finished well. Fergal Whitely riposted with two points within a minute but they kept the scoreboard clicking rather than reversed the momentum of the game. Hayes turned provider for Connolly and two minutes later Tim O'Mahony had a shot that was deflected into the air for Connolly to come in and bat to the net, one-handed. Dublin appeared to stop the bleeding when Seán Currie within a minute had spotted Cian O'Sullivan unmarked across the square and the latter hit an unstoppable shot, 3-5 to 1-5. In the maelstrom of scores that followed, the margin was expanding. Whitely defiantly crashed the ball off the crossbar but Dublin's grip was slipping all the time. Cork led by 10 points at half-time, 4-13 to 1-12 – Hayes having scored his second goal in the 32nd minute after more good work between himself and Connolly. Dublin's John Hetherton in action against Cork's Eoin Downey. Photograph: Tom O'Hanlon/Inpho Dublin may have hoped for one of those zone-outs that have afflicted Cork after half-time but the bristling occasion and the high stakes drove on the Munster champions. They rode out an unanswered 1-3 from Dublin – the goal a trick play after Currie lofted a straightforward free into the path of O'Sullivan, who had made a run. He rifled it to the net. All it did was reduce the margin to nine points and Cork came back with 1-3 of their own. By now this had all the urgency of a training run. Dublin desperately tried to move the ball around to see if they could engineer another goal, whereas Cork kept scoring them. O'Mahony availed of a neat lay-off from Horgan and then had a second when he followed up a spilt ball. Connolly claimed another hat-trick, having been well set up by replacement Robbie O'Flynn in the 65th minute. Dublin will be distraught to have slipped into a stereotypical meltdown when faced with a top team at an advanced stage of the championship. 'We have to be better,' said manager Niall Ó Ceallacháin afterwards. Seven goals in an All-Ireland semi-final hasn't been seen in 39 years when Cork put them past Antrim. They may have wished for more of a test at this stage but semi-finals are for winning and there will be few complaints about such a rampant display with no injuries. CORK: P Collins; S O'Donoghue, E Downey, N O'Leary; C Joyce (0-1), R Downey (capt), M Coleman; T O'Mahony (2-1), D Fitzgibbon (0-3); D Healy (0-1), S Barrett, D Dalton (0-5, 2f); P Horgan (0-8, 6f), A Connolly (3-2), B Hayes (2-1). Subs: R O'Flynn for Healy (50 mins), S Kingston (0-2) for Horgan (55), T O'Connell for R Downey (59), Lehane (0-1) for Barrett (63), J O'Connor (0-1) for Dalton (67). DUBLIN: S Brennan; J Bellew, P Smyth, A Dunphy; P Doyle, C McHugh, C Donohoe; C Burke (capt; 0-3), B Hayes (0-1); R McBride, F Whitely (0-3), R Hayes; S Currie (0-7f), J Hetherton (0-1), C O'Sullivan (2-5). Subs: D Lucey for Dunphy (14 mins), D Power for McHugh (20), D Burke (0-1) for McBride (h-t), D Ó Dúlaing for R Hayes (46), C Ó Riain for O'Sullivan (67). Referee: J Murphy (Limerick).
Irish Independent
43 minutes ago
- Irish Independent
Cork v Dublin player ratings: O'Mahony and Connolly shine brightest for Rebels, O'Sullivan best for Sky Blues
Cork delivered a scintillating display to book their All-Ireland final place with a 7-26 to 2-21 victory over Dublin in Croke Park today, here is how both teams rated.
