LIVE: Portugal v Ireland, Summer Series
The visitors will be strong favorites against a side currently ranked 18th in the world, but Portugal – now led by former Munster backs coach Simon Mannix – will look to play with pace in order to stretch Ireland in the Lisbon sun. It's no secret Portugal did just that to Ireland in a pre-2023 World Cup training game, before they went on to record an historic win against Fiji in the tournament's pool stages.
Not all of their playing squad are fully professional, with most playing in the country's domestic league and a few outliers based in French rugby. Portugal have qualified for the 2027 Rugby World Cup but have struggled when asked to punch above their weight. They scored three converted tries in a 64-21 loss in South Africa last summer, followed by November defeats to the USA and Scotland. High-scoring wins against Belgium, Germany and Romania saw them top their Rugby Europe pool, before a semi-final loss to Spain and bronze final defeat to Romania.
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Irish Times
an hour ago
- Irish Times
Publican Cause - Frank McNally on the Spanish celebrity of Paddy O'Connell
Most Irish bars on the continent feature a surname only, as with O'Malley's of Marseille, O'Flaherty's of Perpignan, and Finnegan's of Valencia, in all of which I had a pint last week. The James Joyce in Barcelona (where I had one too), is an obvious exception. But then there is Paddy O'Connell's pub in Denia, a town halfway between Valencia and Alicante. That one is so named for an Irish football manager who, in his 1930s heyday, was probably better known in Spain than Joyce, and in some parts of it may still be. He was promoted to 'Don Patricio' eventually. And the respect he earned among Spaniards had a redemptive aspect. Because had he not reinvented himself there, he might today be best remembered for his role in an English betting scandal of 1915. By then he had won five international caps playing for a 32-county Irish team, the last of them a heroic performance as captain that helped win the British 'Home' Championship of 1914. READ MORE In the decider against Scotland, Ireland finished with 10 men and had O'Connell playing on despite a broken arm. But trailing 1-0 late in the game, they came back to draw and clinch the title amid what The Irish Times called 'a scene of enthusiasm unparalleled in the history of Irish association football'. Soon afterwards, the Dubliner – born close to what is now Croke Park – was captaining Manchester United in the English football league. The First World War loomed, however, and with it the suspension of professional sports. This explains a strange end-of-season game between Manchester United and Liverpool played on Good Friday 1915. One of England's great rivalries, the fixture would not usually lack competitive edge. But there was little riding on the result that year except an opportunity for a final pay-day before the league broke up. In a game observers found curiously tame, United won 2-0. It then emerged that bookmakers had received a high number of bets on that scoreline. This also explained why, presented with a chance to make it 3-0 from a penalty, O'Connell missed by a careful distance. Several players were banned for life, but O'Connell somehow escaped punishment. He spent the rest of the war guesting for amateur clubs in England and Scotland. Then, after his sixth and last Irish cap, in 1919, he headed for Spain. In the opposite of the situation today, British and Irish managers had a cachet on mainland Europe then, as perceived masters of the game. O'Connell justified the billing, first with Racing Santander, then briefly Oviedo, before going south to Seville and delivering the first and only La Liga title won by that city's poor relation, Real Betis, in 1935. After that, he went to Barcelona. But like many of his generation, O'Connell had been fated to live in interesting times. Another world war now threatened and its prequel would be in Spain. In 1937, badly short of revenue, Barcelona embarked on a tour of the US and Mexico, making headlines not just for their football but also their anti-fascist politics. The tour cleared their debts, for which reason, O'Connell became known as 'the man who saved Barcelona'. The phrase even featured in the title of a book a few years ago. But it's a bit of an overstatement, born from football's love of a simple, heroic story line. Probably the greatest thing O'Connell did for Barcelona was returning there as manager after the tour. Many of his players took the chance of a new life in the US. O'Connell, despite knowing the club no longer had money to pay him, went back, along with only four of the touring players, and remained there for the rest of the Civil War. A narrative of his heroic attachment to the Catalan side doesn't quite stand up either, however, because he then left Barcelona to return to Seville, where he finished his career. There followed an all-too familiar ending to an Irish biography, when he spent his last years in London and died there destitute in 1959. His grave was at first unmarked. And if his name was still famous in Spain, it was soon to be deliberately erased in his native country. O'Connell had married twice, first to Dubliner Ellen Treston, who moved with him to England; then, bigamously, to an Ellen O'Callaghan in Spain, after he abandoned his first family. One of Ellen's sons was christened Daniel and so might have enjoyed the doubly famous name of Dan O'Connell. But when his mother reverted to her maiden name, the son followed. It was as Dan Treston he returned to Ireland eventually and became a well-known radio and theatre producer. He later recalled that although his father sent occasional remittances, the family depended mainly on their mother's earnings as a cleaner. Their memory of Paddy O'Connell, meanwhile, was symbolised by the fate of his Irish caps, resplendent in green velvet with orange tassels. As recalled by Dan Treston, his mother used one of those as an oven mitt, whenever lifting the kettle off the fire.
Extra.ie
5 hours ago
- Extra.ie
Leinster and La Rochelle set for another epic encounter as Champions Cup fixtures announced
Leinster-La Rochelle have had one of rugby's best rivalries in the 2020's. They've contested in two of the most competitive and thrilling Investec Champions Cup finals in recent memories and all their other clashes bar one (the quarter-final in 2024) have been nail-biters that went right to the wire. La Rochelle have the upper hand, winning the two finals but Leinster have won the last three encounters, including two away wins in the Stade Marcel Deflandre. With the added element of Ronan O'Gara coaching against his old foes this rivalry really has lived up to all expectations in recent years. The La Rochelle team celebrate after lifting the Champions Cup. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile The next installment in this rivalry was announced last month when the two were drawn in the same Champions Cup pool for the third year in-a-row and now today we finally have a date for the match. The EPCR confirmed on Tuesday that Leinster will host Ronan O'Gara's La Rochelle in round 3 of the pool stages on Saturday 10 January 2026, with kick-off slated for 5:30pm. One thing to note in the announcement is the lack of confirmation of a venue for the match. Ciarán Frawley, Jamison Gibson-Park and Hugo Keenan after their side's victory against La Rochelle. Pic: Harry Murphy/Sportsfile Leinster played the majority of their home games at the Aviva Stadium last season due to renovations to the RDS Arena and are set to continue their residency in Lansdowne Road for the 2025/26 season. Leinster have also since 2024 hosted a number of games at Croke Park, including an interprovincial clash against Munster and the URC Grand Final against the Bulls last month. With a game as prestigious and as hyped as Leinster-La Rochelle we could see the clash on its biggest stage yet at Croke Park. The historic venue would be the perfect stage for such a rivalry and if Leinster give plenty of notice, they'll back themselves to be able to get close to selling out the stadium. Their other pool stage games have also been set. They begin their quest for a fifth star at home to Harlequins on 6 December 2025 before they travel to Leicester to face the Tigers on December 12. They then face La Rochelle in Dublin before finishing the pool stages in a first-time ever clash against Bayonne on 17 January. Ryan Baird, right, and Josh van der Flier of Leinster celebrate win against Stade Rochelais. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile Munster too have confirmed their Champions Cup fixtures as they begin their campaign away to English Premiership Champions Bath on 6 December. They will then make their return to Supervalu Páirc Uí Chaoimh on 13 December as they host Gloucester in Cork. Munster players make their way on to the pitch at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh. Pic: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile They'll then travel away to the Stade Felix Mayol to face Toulon on 11 January before finishing their pool stage at home to Castres on 17 January. We may have all eyes set on the Lions but the club season is only around the corner yet again as Leinster will look to finally end their European hoodoo and get their fifth star.
Irish Independent
7 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Munster's Páirc Uí Chaoimh Champions Cup debut set for mid-December as competition's pool schedule is revealed
History will be made this year when Supervalu Páirc Uí Chaoimh will host Champions Cup rugby for the first time as Munster will face Gloucester on Saturday, December 13, (KO 5.30) at the Gaelic games venue.
