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RTÉ News
3 days ago
- Sport
- RTÉ News
The Saturday Game verdict on Meath v Galway and Armagh v Kerry
Conor McManus and Enda Smith were in agreement on which teams would progress to the All-Ireland SFC semi-finals when they previewed Sunday's action at Croke Park on The Saturday Game. Meath and Galway do battle in the first encounter in Sunday's double-header at headquarters. "It's hard to look past Galway," McManus opined. "They have been under the cosh in quite a few games, have been on the brink of exit. "Nobody has managed to put them out and I think that will make them stronger. "They have been in big games in the latter end of the All-Ireland series in recent years. "They are very hard to beat. The team that beats Galway will have a day's work over them. You would have to fancy Galway." Smith said "Meath have shown great signs of progression throughout the year. If they do lose, it's hard to know whether it will be a positive year for them. They beat Dublin and Kerry but they will look at the Leinster final as the one that got away. "Across the pitch you look at Ruairí Kinsella, James Conlon and Matthew Costello, they have been chipping in with huge scores all year. "They will be a test for Galway but I do see Galway pulling through." Conor McManus and Enda Smith give their verdicts on Meath v Galway and Armagh v Kerry. Follow the action from 1.15pm on Sunday on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player and listen to commentaries on Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1. — The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) June 28, 2025 Armagh v Kerry is the main event for most neutrals and the Roscommon player said: "It's hard to know where Kerry are at, even coming up to a quarter-final stage. "They had a comfortable win last weekend against Cavan, but Armagh so far this year have looked every inch All-Ireland champions. "They've worn that badge of honour throughout the year. They've looked strong and they've added more players to the strength in depth that they already had. "Even losing Rian O'Neill at the start of the year, and I know he's come back in, but they have looked really strong and it is hard to look beyond them with Kerry's injuries and the way Armagh are going at the moment." McManus, while wary of the Kingdom's attacking talent, also came down on the side of the Orchard County, saying: "You can't discount a team that have the two Cliffords and Seanie O'Shea; you simply can't. So, yes, they certainly have a chance. "But it's around midfield that you'd imagine they are going to struggle. "Diarmuid O'Connor is a huge loss and just the form that Armagh have been in all year probably edges them ahead of Kerry at the minute. "Stefan Campbell not being available to Armagh is definitely a loss. His impact off the bench is nearly guaranteed at this stage. Every day he comes on, he gives you one or two scores; he's setting up scores. "For them not to have him to call on in the last 20-25 minutes is definitely a loss to Armagh, but still, you'd imagine Armagh will shade this one." Watch two All-Ireland Football Championship quarter-finals, Meath v Galway and Armagh v Kerry, from 1.15pm on Sunday on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on and the RTÉ News app. Listen to commentaries on Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1. Watch highlights on The Sunday Game at 10.15pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player.
Irish Times
24-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Tyrone's high hopes, Donegal's high dudgeon
And then there were eight. Some set of pairings too after Monday's All-Ireland football quarter-final draw, Conor McManus's eye drawn to the meeting between Dublin and Tyrone . Eleven years ago he was on the Malachy O'Rourke-managed Monaghan team that lost to the Dubs in the last eight. And it is O'Rourke who will be at helm for Tyrone all these years later, Conor having a notion that he might just fare better this time around. Donegal will face yet more Ulster opposition in the shape of Monaghan, but they're none too pleased about having only a six-day turnaround since playing Louth on Sunday. They are, Gordon Manning reports, the only one of the eight quarter-finalists put in that position. In hurling, Denis Walsh looks back at 'the greatest shock of the last 50 years', Dublin's victory over Limerick . It was, he writes, Limerick's 'weakest performance in a consequential match since they were beaten in the qualifiers by Kilkenny in 2017'. But the display from Dublin was, he says, simply 'staggering'. In rugby, Gerry Thornley reflects on a successful night for the Lions off the field, if not on it , a coffers-boosting sold-out Aviva Stadium witnessing Argentina 'deservedly make their own piece of history'. He also hears from Josh van der Flier who describes his first Lions selection as 'probably the pinnacle' of his career. READ MORE Owen Doyle wasn't, though, too impressed by the Lions' first outing of the summer, if referee James Doleman and his crew had made as many mistakes, he writes, 'they would rightly have been run out of town' . He felt Doleman did well, particularly with the award of a penalty try for a collapsed maul. 'As the tour continues it will be interesting to see whether this is now policy. It should be.' In football, Shelbourne are trying to come to terms with life after Damien Duff, the club's co-owner Neil Doyle insisting there were 'no recriminations, no hard feelings' following his resignation. Malachy Clerkin is, though, trying to wrap his head around 'Duff's desire to be hated' during his time in charge of Shels, when he is 'this universally adored figure in Irish sporting history'. And ahead of the Republic of Ireland's friendlies against the United States in Denver and Cincinnati, we hear from Ellen Molloy who is hoping to add to her seven caps having received her first call-up from Carla Ward. In racing, Brian O'Connor reports on Ryan Moore having a shot at an historic Irish Derby hat-trick on Sunday on board Lambourn, while in his Different Strokes column, Philip Reid brings the latest news from the world of golf - including Tommy Fleetwood extending his 159-tournament winless streak with a heartbreaking loss at The Travelers Championship last Sunday. Mind you, he's won €26.9 million along the way, so he's not going hungry. TV Watch: It's the final day of the first test between England and India at Headingley, England needing 350 runs to win, India requiring 10 wickets (Sky Sports Cricket from 10.15am). And this evening, DAZN have coverage of Benfica v Bayern Munich at the Club World Cup (8.0).
Irish Times
17-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Johnny Sexton on the lure of the Lions
While Armagh, Meath, Monaghan and Tyrone put their feet up for a fortnight, all of them already through to the quarter-finals of the football championship, we now know who's facing who in the battle to join them : Dublin v Cork, Donegal v Louth, Down v Galway and Kerry v Cavan. Conor McManus puts his ranking cap on to share his thoughts on who's best placed to advance, and whose hopes of spending the year in the company of Sam Maguire are the strongest. Cavan? Look away now. Malachy Clerkin, meanwhile, looks back at The Weekend That Was in football and picks out what lessons the survivors in the championship can learn from Roscommon, Mayo, Clare and Derry, 'the first teams to be kicked out onto the street'. In rugby, Gerry Thornley was at the Lions' training base in UCD on Monday, where they're fine-tuning their preparations for Friday's game against Argentina at the Aviva Stadium. He heard Johnny Sexton talk about how the persuasive powers of Andy Farrell lured him back in to, first, the Irish set-up and, now, the Lions' coaching ticket. Johnny Watterson was in Belfield too where Ben Earl spoke with the media , the Saracens man insisting he brings no animosity from 'an often-fiery Six Nations' in to the Lions camp. Gerry also looks back on Leinster's season, dismissing that notion that they're 'chokers' . 'They won one of only two trophies on offer and reached the semi-final of the other ... with any other club, region or province, that would be considered a successful season. Anyone other than Leinster.' READ MORE Owen Doyle doffs his cap too to Leinster's URC success, but his chief focus in today's column is referees being subjected to 'interrogations' by players 'constantly appealing' their decisions. 'It is clear that match officials have overdone their desire to be seen as the players' understanding friend. That approach is now backfiring,' he writes. In golf, Philip Reid reflects on a remarkable US Open where JJ Spaun somehow survived five early bogeys in his final round to win his first major. The company that make the putter used by Spaun to sink that 65 feet putter on the 18th on Sunday will have been especially chuffed with his success, sales of the L.A.B. Golf DF3 putter no doubt soaring. And in racing, Brian O'Connor previews Royal Ascot which starts today, Irish jockey Colin Keane 'firmly in the spotlight' after his appointment as number one in Europe to the Juddmonte organisation. Keane, says Brian, is 'a cool customer', but while 'pressure might indeed be a privilege in elite sport, it can quickly become a burden too'. TV Watch: Royal Ascot gets under way today, but you'll be worn out from the channel-hopping if you want to follow it all - it'll be spread across UTV, ITV4, Virgin Media One and Virgin Media Two between 1.30 and 6.30. It's a bit more straightforward for hockey fans wishing to see Ireland take on Australia in the men's Pro League - the game is on the TG4 Player at 2.30pm.
Irish Times
30-05-2025
- General
- Irish Times
Rory Beggan is Monaghan's ace card who stops forwards at one end and puts fear in defenders down the other
The Rory Beggan conundrum continues. This weekend, the contestants trying to solve the puzzle are the Clare footballers. During my Dublin career, when it came to taking on Monaghan , the two players we immediately thought of were Beggan and Conor McManus . While the retirement of McManus has robbed Monaghan of their generational forward, the new rules in Gaelic football have armed their goalkeeper - also a generational talent - with a new set of arrows. I'm talking about two-pointers. Beggan was Monaghan's top scorer in the National Football League , finishing their successful Division Two campaign with 0-38. Within that total there were 17 two-pointers, all bar one of which came from a placed ball. READ MORE He was back at it against Louth last week, kicking a pair of two-pointers from placed balls in a game Monaghan won by six points . We'll return to the merits of two-point frees later, but first it's important to understand the dilemma facing teams in relation to Beggan's attributes within the new rules. The Monaghan No1 is among a crop of elite goalkeepers who changed the role and brought the position to a new level. When we were preparing to play Monaghan, there was a lot of emphasis on him, not just on his kickouts but also how best to deal with him when he comes beyond his natural area and roams further up the field. His foot-passing and general game awareness are of a very high quality. We were also conscious of his ability to kick frees from distance, but the arrival of two-pointers to Gaelic football has been a game changer. It has really empowered Beggan and Monaghan in terms of taking on long-range efforts. In short, it's worth the risk now. In a year their greatest ever forward retired, who would have predicted they would put up such high scoring tallies? That realisation challenges defenders and forces them to make split-second decisions that need to be perfect. Players who might normally tackle hard are being forced to reconsider their level of force against Monaghan. If they commit to a tackle against the Farney men, it better be right on the money. The jeopardy has increased. The risk-reward equation is weighted in favour of Monaghan as they have Beggan to attempt long-distance frees. For defending teams, it means the potential punishment for a foul has been doubled. It's almost too risky to tackle at times. All of this creates doubt among defenders. Anxious not to be the reason Monaghan score a two-pointer, they step off. This leads to the kind of defensive uncertainty forwards thrive on. Monaghan's Conor McCarthy in possession during last weekend's victory against Louth. Photograph: Ciaran Culligan /Inpho If you step off a little bit against Monaghan, you are in danger of enabling strong ball-carriers like Conor McCarthy, Micheál Bannigan and Stephen O'Hanlon to break through the lines and punish you in open play. It's a double-edged sword for defenders. Conceding a long-distance free is potentially momentum swinging in a game against Monaghan because you just know Beggan is going to come up and have a swing at it. There are even more elements to it as well. Monaghan will not only bring Beggan up to try bag the prize of two points, but as he prepares to take that kick, it is an ideal opportunity for his teammates to set up for the subsequent kickout. It used to be very hard, at times, to get set on a kickout. With the new rules, where the kickout has to go beyond the arc, it's a lot easier to get pressed up. Free kicks and set plays are perfect situations to target kick-outs and it is something Monaghan do well. Gabriel Bannigan's men were the highest scoring team across all four divisions of the National League this season. They amassed a combined total of 193 points in their seven group games. Kerry were next on that list, with 170. Monaghan's average from those seven league games was 27.5 points per outing. In a year their greatest ever forward retired, who would have predicted they would put up such high scoring tallies? They have put up decent scores in their two championship games so far this summer as well – 0-21 against Donegal and 1-23 against Louth. Their high-scoring return is largely down to the factors I have highlighted: Beggan having the licence to kick from distance without fear of criticism should they not all sail over, plus Monaghan's ball-carriers having the freedom to take on their man knowing if they don't create a scoring opportunity, there's a good chance they'll draw a foul. And when they do draw a foul, that man Beggan will run up to take it. Rory Beggan takes the ball forward for Monaghan during their Division Two match against Meath in March. Photograph: James Lawlor/Inpho Even if it doesn't yield a score, Monaghan will invariably be in a great position to keep the opposition pinned in and steal the kickout. There were occasions over the years when I questioned Beggan's decision to shoot from certain difficult angles. Purely from a free-taking perspective, his percentages probably weren't fantastic; I'd imagine they were below 50 per cent a lot of the time. But those kicks are worth the risk now because two points are on offer, along with a chance to squeeze the opposition kick-out. The Donegal game in the Ulster championship is the outlier. When Donegal were faced with the Beggan conundrum, they concluded that denying Monaghan frees would be the most effective way of negating their attack. To an extent it worked. That's why I think they shouldn't be worth two points Donegal defenders refused to commit themselves to any borderline tackles within scoreable range – which for Beggan is a considerable distance. Donegal were so disciplined that Beggan wasn't afforded any opportunity of knocking over a placed ball two-pointer. At full-time, all the Monaghan goalkeeper had contributed on the scoreboard was one point, from a 45. Monaghan still ran up a good tally of points in that game, but there were no frees from outside the arc registered. Indeed, only 0-2 of Monaghan's 0-21 total came from frees – Micheál Bannigan kicking over a pair from inside the arc. Donegal's gameplan was built on a logic of taking away the weapon of Beggan's frees. If imposed successfully - and it was - they knew their opponents would be reduced to scoring points from play. You can be sure Peter Keane and his Clare management team have been discussing how to approach the Beggan conundrum this week. It's a key area for any team trying to overcome the Farney County. Monaghan fans will travel to Sunday's match against Clare expecting to see the two-point flag waved. Photograph: Bryan Keane/Inpho As for the two-point rule in general, while I'm not averse to the idea of two-pointers from open play, I think the punishment of conceding two points for what can often be an innocuous foul is very harsh. I don't feel the punishment fits the crime. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't have been coming out with a protest against two-point frees if they were introduced during my Dublin career. But I honestly don't think many of those scores from long-range placed balls justify two points. Free takers are operating at such a high level now that many of those opportunities are well within their range. That's why I think they shouldn't be worth two points. Not that Monaghan are likely to be joining any campaign for change. Their victory over Louth has put them in a strong position in Group Three and if they get over Clare in Clones on Sunday, Gabriel Bannigan's side will be in pole position to top the table. It looks very likely that Rory Beggan will still be posing problems for opponents come All-Ireland quarter-final weekend.
Irish Times
27-05-2025
- Health
- Irish Times
Summer brings different vibes for Waterford and Tyrone
'This year,' Denis Walsh reminds us, 'the group stages of the hurling championship started before the end of Lent and finished before Gary Lineker'. For those, like Waterford, who didn't make it through, it's brutal . Their manager Peter Queally 'had conversations with players who couldn't face a winter of training and meaningless league matches, only for their year to be over in the last month of spring'. He's pining for a format change that would at least send their season in to summer. Tyrone's footballers are heading for summer with a pep in their step after beating Donegal in Ballybofey last Saturday, Conor McManus reckoning that, once again, you could see the impact of the new rules . And after turning out for his club side, he got 'a bit of hands-on experience' with them himself. Next up for Tyrone is Mayo in Omagh on Saturday, but the latter, reports Seán Moran, will be without Kevin McStay at the helm after he stepped back from his managerial role due to 'some personal health issues'. In camogie, Gordon Manning talks to Katie Power about the two-week protest against skorts that, for the Kilkenny captain, 'felt like two months'. She and her Dublin counterpart Aisling Maher 'emerged as the embodiment of the campaign' after they were photographed wearing shorts prior to their Leinster semi-final. READ MORE In rugby, we have, writes Gerry Thornley, arrived at 'the era of the French' , Bordeaux Bègles' Champions Cup triumph the fifth in a row for a country this is now 'the heartbeat' of the European game. Who can challenge them? Leinster, with their financial might, 'remain the most viable contender by a distance'. Gerry also hears from Leinster old-boy Ross Molony who collected a Challenge Cup winner's medal after Bath's victory over Lyon. 'It's done wonders for my career,' he says of his move to the English club. His old chums face Scarlets in the quarter-finals of the URC on Saturday, but John O'Sullivan brings news that they will do so without the injured Tadhg Furlong and Robbie Henshaw . Jordan Larmour is, though, closing in on a return. And in his Whistleblower column, Owen Doyle is not impressed by news from World Rugby that the 20-minute red card , long in place in southern hemisphere rugby, will now be trialled globally - including during this summer's Lions tour. In football, we hear from the-soon-to-retire Louise Quinn and new recruit Erin Healy in the build-up to Ireland's Nations League meetings with Turkey and Slovenia, and in athletics, Ian O'Riordan talks to Sarah Healy about her improving her 3,000m best by almost four seconds at the Diamond League in Morocco. In his Different Strokes column, Philip Reid rounds up the golf news, including a frustrated Pádraig Harrington's reflections on tying for second at the US Senior PGA Championship, having led by two strokes in the final round. And in racing, Brian O'Connor has word on Ted Walsh's successful appeal against a €3,000 fine imposed on him under 'Non-Trier' rules earlier this month. The alleged non-trying horse, Ta Na La, remains banned for 60 days, though. TV Watch: There's more coverage from the French tennis Open through the day on TNT Sports (from 10am), and TNT Sports 3 has the 16th stage of cycling's Giro d'Italia, Mexico's Isaac del Toro leading the overall standings.
