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Irish Times
9 hours ago
- Sport
- Irish Times
Munster's versatile Tom Ahern hopes he can live up to ‘Slim Reaper' moniker in summer Tests
Simon Zebo refers to Tom Ahern as the 'Slim Reaper' whenever the opportunity arises. Given the fusion of a slim, 6ft 9in build with a knack of scoring tries, it's a moniker that fits. US basketball great Kevin Durant beat Ahern to the nickname, but the American star is less well known in Youghal, Dungarvan and Waterpark circles. Ahern is part of the Ireland squad for the two Test summer series in Georgia and Portugal. He's been within arm's reach of a first cap in the past only to be denied by injury. And it is that bedfellow that's unfortunately looming in the background. Connacht's Josh Murphy has been called in to train with the Ireland squad in advance of next Wednesday's departure to Georgia as Ahern looks to shake off a hamstring niggle. He'll be managed carefully. READ MORE Two years at Irish under-20s and a place on the first Emerging Ireland tour underlined his potential. Being called up for the week leading into the Scotland match in the Six Nations this year provided not only a confidence boost, but Ahern also took some impetus back to Munster. 'It's a fantastic, exceptional group and I was buzzing when I got called up to the Six Nations, even though it was just a week,' Ahern said. 'I was delighted to be up here, just working with the class coaches, class players, and it definitely gave me a bit of confidence to push on the rest of the season [in the hope] of ending up back here.' The default setting for most players is to try to be philosophical about injuries, acknowledging these as a byproduct of playing sport. In that respect, the 25-year-old is no different. Shoulder surgery, an ankle issue and concussion are just some of those hurdles he's had to negotiate. He describes the setbacks 'as tough moments', but doesn't dwell on them. Life has taught him to surround himself with good, positive people as this helps in discarding disappointment as quickly as possible, whether that's personal or from a team perspective. There was an element of frustration to how Munster's season finished, but there's no worthwhile baggage to be carried forward. Ahern's rangy athleticism was honed initially in the GAA, playing football and hurling for his local club Ardmore, where there was a family background in the sport. A summer camp in his mother's hometown introduced him to rugby. He loved it and he kept playing in Youghal, Dungarvan and Waterpark, before being chosen for the Munster academy and provincial and national age-grade teams. Munster's Tom Ahern scores a try in March's URC match against Connacht. Photograph: James Crombie/INPHO Last year he doubled up with Munster, playing in the backrow as well as secondrow, a versatility that has stood to him in much the same way as it has Tadhg Beirne or Ryan Baird. Ahern didn't have to look too far for help in broadening those horizons. 'I have good lads in Munster. I've got Pete [O'Mahony] who was very helpful towards my game when I was playing six. I have Leams [assistant coach Denis Leamy] as well, very helpful, so definitely a lot more comfortable playing [six] this season,' he said. Ahern was asked whether there was large-scale similarity in detail between Munster and Ireland and what differences they were in terms of the two positions. 'I suppose down in Munster it's a bit different from up here [with Ireland],' he said. 'I think up here everybody in the pack is kind of in the middle of the field working together. While back down in Munster it's usually the two backrows are kind of holding the edges a bit more, so you're playing [out wide] a bit more. So, it's only really different down in Munster; up here whether you're playing secondrow or backrow it's similar enough.' The Ardmore native is surrounded by several familiar faces in terms of the coaching team with Leamy and Mike Prendergast , and the tour captain, scrumhalf Craig Casey . Ahern was also asked about Casey's leadership qualities. 'He's a fantastic leader on and off the field. There's not a more dedicated man in this sport. All the stuff he does off the field goes unseen to most people, but he's such a good leader, a good guy in general. He's the perfect person for this tour because everybody gets behind him and there's great energy around the place,' he said. 'Mike's a class coach and I think he's done very well since he's been up here, same with Leams, same with Collie [Tucker, who also coached Ahern at Irish 20s]; I think they've all been fantastic. They're all kind of just finding their bearings as well at the same time. It's a new environment for all of them, but I think they've done an excellent job so far.' Ahern will be keeping fingers crossed that the hamstring injury goes away. He deserves his chance to take a giant stride forward in career terms.
RTÉ News
a day ago
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Neil Doak named Ireland team for for U20 Championship opener
Ireland Under-20 head coach Neil Doak has named his squad, for Sunday's opening game in the 2025 World Rugby U20 Championship. Ireland face Georgia's U20 side on Sunday 29 June 2 at 5pm (Irish time) in Calvisano, Italy. Connacht's Éanna McCarthy captains the side after leading the team all through the recent U20 Six Nations. Charlie Molony, Paidi Farrell and Derry Moloney start in Ireland's back three, with Eoghan Smyth and Ciarán Mangan making up the midfield pairing. Tom Wood is at out-half and is joined in the half-backs by Clark Logan. In the pack, Billy Bohan, Henry Walker and Alex Mullan are in the front row, Mahon Ronan and Billy Corrigan in the engine room and Luke Murphy joins Michael Foy and McCarthy in the back row. Mikey Yarr, Alex Usanov, Tom McAllister, Conor Kennelly and Bobby Power are the forwards available to Doak and his Coaching Team on the bench, with backs Will Wootton, Sam Wisniewski and Daniel Green completing Ireland's 23.
Irish Examiner
a day ago
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
McCarthy: Ireland U20s went back to the drawing board
Ireland captain Éanna McCarthy said they went back to the drawing board after finishing bottom of this year's Six Nations and he's confident they have re-aligned themselves to do well at the World Rugby U20 Championship which kicks off on Sunday when they take on Georgia in Calvisano (5pm Irish time). The Connacht flanker said the squad have settled in well at their base near Lake Garda and have been acclimatising to the 30 degree heat in the past few days and are ready to hit the ground running in a group which will also include ties with hosts Italy and New Zealand. McCarthy said they obviously were not happy with their results from the Six Nations where their only win came against Scotland. 'We went kind of back to the drawing board after it and I suppose we kind of saw where we were falling down in areas and we've worked on them big time so, yeah, we're feeling happy enough going into now. 'I think we had a lot of green entries during the Six Nations that we couldn't convert so when we did go back to the drawing board after it we kind of put our finger on that and we've been practising a good bit around breakdown habits and kind of banker balls with our pack,' said the Cork native who is heading into his second year in the Connacht academy. McCarthy has not played against Georgia in any other grade but is in no doubt about the task they face against a country participating in this competition for the seventh year in succession. 'Georgia definitely is going to be a massive battle up front,' added McCarthy. 'I think the forward pack will have to step up big time because they have big men coming against us so that's our first hope to beat them and get a good start to the work.' Ireland, with Keith Wood's son Tom starting at out-half where he will be partnered by Ulster's Clark Logan, have appeared in all 14 U20 tournaments so far, twice reaching the final. They finished seventh and eighth when the tournament was previously held in Italy and were beaten semi-finalists last year in South Africa, having been runners-up to France the previous year. Head coach Neil Doak is boosted by the return of prop Alex Usanov who missed the Six Nations through injury and the Clontarf RFC player is named on a strong bench as Ireland bid for a winning start against a Georgia side they have beaten in three of their four previous meetings at the tournament. Ireland will play Italy in Viadana next Wednesday and conconclude the group phase with a clash against New Zealand back in Calvisano. IRELAND U20: C Molony (Leinster), P Farrell (Leinster), C Mangan (Leinster), E Smyth (Munster), D Moloney (Leinster), T Wood (Munster), C Logan (Ulster); B Bohan (Connacht), H Walker (Ulster), A Mullan (Leinster), M Ronan (Leinster), B Corrigan (Leinster), M Foy (Munster), É McCarthy (Connacht, captain), L Murphy (Munster) Replacements: M Yarr (Leinster), A Usanov (Leinster), T McAllister (Ulster), C Kennelly (Munster), B Power (Connacht), W Wootton (Sale Sharks/IQ Rugby), S Wisniewski (Leinster), D Green (Ulster)
The Independent
a day ago
- Sport
- The Independent
Mack Hansen draws on personal experience to warn Lions of Western Force upset
Mack Hansen knows what is awaiting the British and Irish Lions in Perth on Saturday after being present as a spectator for the Brumbies' famous upset of the tourists on their last visit to Australia. Hansen starts on the right wing against Western Force at Optus Stadium where he will face some of his old Brumbies team-mates, including a former housemate in Bayley Kuenzle. The 27-year-old was born and raised in Canberra and began his career playing for the most successful of Australia's Super Rugby franchises before joining Connacht in 2021. Selection for Ireland the following year was made possible through his Irish mother and 28 caps later he is on tour with the elite of British and Irish rugby, recalling a cautionary tale from 2013. 'I was at that Brumbies game with my dad and brother and the Brumbies beat the Lions, so these things do happen,' Hansen said. 'We were sitting behind the goalposts watching it. It was mad. You don't expect anyone to actually do it, but I talked to guys after that and they'd been pumped up for the game for weeks, working towards it. 'They saw it as the be-all and end-all. Also, guys are playing to try to get into the Wallabies as well, so there's still a lot on the line for a lot of these teams. 'None of the games are going to be easy. Everyone wants to win – it's not just us that want to win. We want to win every game but the Force aren't saying 'all right boys, let's go out and lose by 40'. They'll be coming out thinking 'we can cause an upset'. They've only got one game, then they're on holiday. 'There will be this, then they'll have 10 toes up for the next five weeks, so I'm sure they're going to give it their all. When you get that time after time after time after time for however long we're here, it will take its toll on us, but that's a good thing. It makes us better and it makes the game more exciting.' Any doubt the Lions have a target on their backs was immediately dispelled by the 28-24 defeat by Argentina in Dublin that the heavy underdogs from South America celebrated as if they had won the World Cup. Hansen knows that any more setbacks will be poorly received by the Lions' coaching team. 'We are four of the best teams and have some of the best players in the world. You should be winning every time, so every time it's a loss that just isn't good enough,' he said. 'That's the best thing that this group has on its shoulders at the moment because we know that and as disappointed as we were, we don't want to feel that again. 'If anything, it's good to feel it early and then we know that we'll get our heads absolutely chewed off if it happens again, so the plan is to win from here on out. 'A lot of the chat has been about us and what we need to improve. The only thing that can beat us is us really.'
Irish Independent
a day ago
- Sport
- Irish Independent
‘Don't be desperate' – John Fogarty says Andy Farrell's message will get through to players
Mack Hansen expected to face Force despite sitting out captain's run Lions scrum coach John Fogarty says the tourists have a responsibility to create moments that get their large support intot he game and build momentum for the tour as they prepare for their first game on Australian soil tomorrow. The tourists trained at the 61,200 capacity Optus Stadium in Perth overnight, with Mack Hansen expected to be fit to play despite sitting out the setting as Andy Farrell and his medics manage the Connacht winger's training load. The winger made his return from injury in last Friday's defeat to Argentina.
