Latest news with #GusMcCarthy
Irish Times
2 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Times
Ireland's pride of Lions ready to pounce on Test places
Another win for the Lions on Australian soil, but a 'patchy' one. Their 36-24 defeat of the Brumbies was not 'the kind of emphatic statement win they would have wanted,' writes Gerry Thornley. But as 'the phoney war' nears an end, with the first test against Australia just a week and a bit away, he reckons that after Andy Farrell assesses his squad's form , as many as 10 Irish players could feature in his starting line-up in Brisbane. In his 'five things we learnt' from the Canberra game , Johnny Watterson believes as many as 12 of Farrell's Irish crew are in contention for a test start, among them Garry Ringrose who, along with Ollie Chessum, earns the highest marks in his player ratings. Closer to home, John O'Sullivan talks to 'serial winner' Gus McCarthy ahead of Ireland's game against Portugal on Saturday, the 21-year-old hooker having never been on the losing side in a Test match or a Champions Cup game. Our under-20 side were, alas, very much on the losing side at the world championships, Nathan Johns reporting on their 69-22 battering by New Zealand . In Gaelic games, Ciarán Murphy looks forward to the weekend's football semi-finals , and he's struggling to see anything but Kerry and Donegal triumphs. Michael Meehan isn't dismissing Tyrone and Meath's chances, though, the former Galway forward telling Gordon Manning that their 'freshness of youth and swagger' could see one - or both - causing an upset. READ MORE Donegal old boy Kevin Cassidy isn't ruling out Meath either , Ciarán Kirk hearing him pinpoint the battle between Meath full back Seán Rafferty and Donegal full forward Michael Murphy as being potentially pivotal on Sunday. In soccer, Gavin Cummiskey reports on Shelbourne's 1-0 win over Linfield in Wednesday's Champions League qualifier. They should, though, have 'killed off the tie', instead they take the slenderest of leads to Windsor Park for next week's second leg. Johnny, meanwhile, wonders about the fate of Bray Boxing Club which has been closed since a fatal attack by a gunman there in 2018 . Wicklow County Council is inviting expressions of interest from any sports clubs who wish to lease the facility, but depending on that outcome, 'it is possible that the gym that once housed Katie Taylor may no longer be a boxing club'. And in his America at Large column, Dave Hannigan tells the grim story of former WBC champion Julio César Chávez Jr who was detained in Los Angeles last week by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. He is facing deportation to his native Mexico where he'll be up on weapons and drug trafficking charges. TV Watch: Sky's coverage of golf's Scottish Open got under way at 8am and and continues until 7pm, and they also have the Evian Championship, the fourth of five Majors on the LPGA Tour, from 11am. It's women's semi-final day at Wimbledon (BBC 1 and Premier Sports), Aryna Sabalenka v Amanda Anisimova up first at 1.30pm, followed by Belinda Bencic v Iga Swiatek . And in Euro 2025, it's Finland v Switzerland (RTÉ 2 and BBC 1) and Norway v Iceland today, both kicking off at 8pm. England, meanwhile, are in dream-land after their 4-0 win over the Netherlands kept their tournament alive, having lost their opening game to France. 'From shambolic to sublime.'
BBC News
3 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
'Endless competition' at Leinster driving McCarthy
Ireland hooker Gus McCarthy believes competition for places at Leinster is helping him develop as a 21-year-old won his fifth Test cap in his side's 34-5 win over Georgia in Tbilisi last week having made his debut against Fiji in British and Irish Lions Dan Sheehan and Ronan Kelleher ahead of him in the pecking order at Leinster, McCarthy played just three times for his province between the end of the Six Nations and conclusion of the domestic season in June."I haven't played a huge amount. I didn't really get involved in the URC knock-out matches or the latter end of the Champions Cup," said McCarthy."I did get quite a bit of game-time in the middle of the season. It's great to learn from the best, some seriously good talent."The competition is endless, it's constant competition which keeps you on your toes. It's very positive."Ireland will conclude their two-Test summer tour against Portugal in Lisbon on Saturday (19:00 BST).The trip is being lead by usual forwards coach Paul O'Connell and an interim ticket of assistants with Andy Farrell and 16 members of his playing panel on tour in Australia with the Lions. "Portugal are a very, very attacking and dangerous side. We've watched a lot of them. They aren't to be taken lightly," McCarthy added. "We're going to put a lot of prep in and make sure we're all guns loaded for Saturday. We're really, really looking forward to the challenge."
Irish Times
3 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Times
Serial winner Gus McCarthy planning to carry his happy habit into the Ireland fold
Gus McCarthy has never been on the losing side in a Test match or a Champions Cup game. It is a striking statistic for the 21-year-old Leinster and Ireland hooker. On Saturday he will look to maintain that record when Ireland take on Portugal in Lisbon (7pm Irish time). He has played 20 matches in senior professional rugby and suffered defeat just twice, both in United Rugby Championship (URC) games. McCarthy is a serial winner. He led his school, Blackrock College, to a Leinster Schools Senior Cup crown. He captained the Ireland Under-20s to a Six Nations grand slam and a place in the World Junior Championship final, where they lost to a brilliant French team. McCarthy's progression from Leinster to Ireland debuts came in just under six months, via an Emerging Ireland tour. The ACL injury suffered by Dan Sheehan in July 2024 provided an opening, which the young hooker followed up on. READ MORE He scored a try in his first cap against Fiji last November, provided an assist for three others and finished the match in the backrow because of injuries. The Leinster man then followed up with another try-scoring cameo in the 22-19 victory over Australia. McCarthy won two further caps off the bench in the Six Nations. That was a major achievement in itself as the two players ahead of him at Leinster and Ireland are currently away with the Lions − Sheehan and Rónan Kelleher. Gus McCarthy during squad training ahead of Ireland's match against Portugal in Lisbon on Saturday evening. Photograph: Ben Brady/Inpho McCarthy said of his rapid rise from rookie to the Test environment: 'I've been delighted with the opportunities I've got, but obviously I'm in Leinster and it's a very, very tough challenge. I've got two probable Lions Test players in the same position as me. 'I haven't played a whole amount. I didn't really get involved in any of the URC knockout stages and the latter end of the Champions Cup, but I did get quite a bit of game time in the middle of the season. It's good to learn from the best, some seriously good talent. The competition is endless; it keeps you on your toes. Ireland impress as the Lions struggle Listen | 26:21 'I wouldn't say it's frustrating. Obviously, I would like to play but I'm still very inexperienced. I try to take every opportunity I get and just bide my time.' He smiles when the word 'meteoric' is mentioned. 'It did happen sooner than I would have thought. I thought I was just going to be training for the first week of Portugal (in November) but then I got held on. 'For the week of the Argentina game, I was back with Leinster and then I thought I was done, but I got the call on the Sunday night asking me to come into camp again and then I got named to start in that Fiji match. I wasn't expecting it, but I was delighted to get a shot.' Gus McCarthy's rugby career to date has been a story of success after success. Photograph: Ben Brady/Inpho He was part of an Irish front-row alongside Jack Boyle (2) and Thomas Clarkson (6) that had a combined 12 caps when Ireland faced into last week's Test in Tbilisi . Whatever about the callow nature of the team, squaring up against Georgia in a scrum is not for the fainthearted. It is a rigorous technical examination. While Ireland did experience issues initially in that facet of the game, they successfully worked their way through them and won the game 34-5. So, what was the scrum Test like? 'I really enjoyed the experience of playing against that Georgian pack,' he said. 'The Georgians are known for being a seriously strong scrum, big front-row, abrasive players. It was a great test for us as a young and relatively inexperienced pack. Everything wasn't perfect but I think we did a good job and got stuck into them physically.' Saturday will provide a contrasting test, fast and loose in the sweltering temperatures of Lisbon and a Portugal side that will engage Ireland in a different way to Georgia. McCarthy can't wait. He's where he loves to be, in the match environment.
The 42
31-05-2025
- Sport
- The 42
Players must make most of minutes in the Leinster machine
OPPORTUNITIES CAN BE limited in a squad as deep and competitive as Leinster's. This is something assistant coach Robin McBryde warned about earlier in the season, admitting the Leinster coaches had discussed the issue of getting enough minutes into their promising young players. 'It is tough,' McBryde said. 'I feel for them sometimes because it does stunt their development. I don't know what the answer is there.' Leinster try to rotate their squad and use that depth to their advantage, but, particularly as the season rolls into the business end, selection tends to fall into a more settled pattern. It presents a challenging scenario for players trying to nail down a spot in the squad, most notably those who are also starting to push through at Test level. Generally speaking, if a player is good enough to get capped in a November window or Six Nations, they tend to be highly important players at their clubs. For example, it's hard to imagine Cormac Izuchukwu going back to Ulster after winning his first Ireland cap last November and struggling to get into the Ulster 23. Likewise Cian Prendergast at Connacht or players like Munster pair Calvin Nash and Jack Crowley when they were first called in with Ireland. Further afield, Lions-bound Henry Pollock won his first England cap in the Six Nations and has built on that momentum by getting more experience in big club games – starting seven times for Northampton since returning from England camp. However there's a group of Leinster players who have worn the Ireland jersey this year, yet still been left disappointed on the big days with Leinster. Take Jack Boyle, who earlier this week was the only Irish player on the 16-strong URC Next-Gen Player of the Season shortlist. The 23-year-old prop is highly rated and came off the bench twice for Ireland in the Six Nations. That would usually be a springboard for greater exposure at club level but he's been stuck in a tough battle for minutes. Since the Six Nations finished, Boyle has started three games for Leinster. He's on the bench again today for the URC quarter-final meeting with Scarlets [KO 3pm, TG4/Premier Sports], with Andrew Porter firmly established as the first-choice loosehead and the soon-to-be-retired Cian Healy also clocking up four starts since the Six Nations. Advertisement Gus McCarthy falls into a similar bracket. The 21-year-old hooker faces some of the stiffest competition imaginable, with Dan Sheehan and Rónan Kelleher, both set to tour with the Lions this summer, ahead of him in the queue. Gus McCarthy won't be involved against the Scarlets today. Tom Maher / INPHO Tom Maher / INPHO / INPHO It's been a breakthrough season for McCarthy, who has played four times for Ireland – twice in November and twice in the Six Nations. Yet when Sheehan and Kelleher are both fit, McCarthy feels the squeeze at Leinster. Since the Six Nations he's played three games, with the URC round 15 win against Ulster his only start during that period. Earlier this month he lined out for Leinster A against Ulster A. McCarthy misses out again today, with Kelleher starting and Sheehan providing cover off the bench. A player like Jamie Osborne is in a slightly different situation, but can also fall on the wrong side of those selection calls. Osborne's versatility is one of his great strengths, and this season he's had starts at inside centre, outside centre, left wing and right wing. The 23-year-old is further along the line that many of Leinster teammates when it comes to international rugby. He memorably started both Tests against South Africa last summer and has added five caps across the November and Six Nations windows. In the Six Nations he earned two starts, at fullback v Wales and on the wing against France, and had been spoken about as an outside bet for the Lions. He's built on that with more time on the pitch at Leinster, starting five games since returning from the Six Nations, but notably he was left out of the Leinster 23 for their biggest game during that run – the Champions Cup semi-final loss to Northampton. Today he's back in the starting team, perhaps benefitting from the short-term injuries to Garry Ringrose (calf) and Tommy O'Brien (foot), who both miss out. It's a challenge not just confined to the province's younger squad players. Jimmy O'Brien, 28, is another Ireland international who watched the Northampton game from the stands, despite enjoying a good run in the team in the URC. At 27, Ciarán Frawley has been on the scene for some time now and looked to be hitting a new level last season. He was an important part of Leinster's run to the Champions Cup final defeat to Toulouse and played a starring role off the bench on Ireland's tour to South Africa. His form dipped earlier in this season and it's been a mixed bag since. Frawley was in the Six Nations squad but only got to pull on the Ireland jersey in an 'A' game against England. Lose ground, and it can be tough to claw your way back in. The Skerries man has had starts at 10 and 15 for Leinster over the last two months but has started the last three games – including today's quarter-final – on the bench. Frawley looked set for a big season coming out of that South Africa tour but as it stands at Leinster, Hugo Keenan is the locked-in first choice fullback, with Sam Prendergast the same at out-half. That fierce competition is part of the package when it comes to being a Leinster player, but it means that on days like today, they have to step up and make the most of their gametime. Leinster are expected to get the job done at Aviva Stadium and secure a home semi-final next week. Leo Cullen's side have three games to hurdle if they are to end their trophy drought. For some of those players who have been involved in tight selection calls across the campaign, there's still time to have a big say in how the season ends. LEINSTER: Hugo Keenan; Jimmy O'Brien, Jamie Osborne, Jordie Barrett, James Lowe; Sam Prendergast, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Rónan Kelleher, Thomas Clarkson; Joe McCarthy, James Ryan; Ryan Baird, Josh van der Flier, Jack Conan (capt). Replacements: Dan Sheehan, Jack Boyle, Rabah Slimani, RG Snyman, Max Deegan, Scott Penny, Luke McGrath, Ciarán Frawley. SCARLETS: Blair Murray; Tom Rogers, Joe Roberts, Johnny Williams, Ellis Mee; Sam Costelow, Arhie Hughes; Alec Hepburn, Ryan Elias, Henry Thomas; Alex Craig, Sam Lousi; Vaea Fifita, Josh Macleod (capt), Taine Plumtree. Replacements: Marnus van der Merwe, Kemsley Mathias, Sam Wainwright, Dan Davis, Jarrod Taylor, Efan Jones, Ioan Lloyd, Macs Page. Referee: Hollie Davidson (SRU).
