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Irish Examiner
4 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Paul O'Connell on Portugal pasting: "We can only beat what is put in front of us"
A record win for Ireland and a biggest ever defeat for Portugal, but Paul O'Connell was more interested in effort and attitude than any line his team added to the history books in Lisbon on Saturday evening. The 106-7 defeat of the Portuguese by his second-string side made for the biggest ever victory and the most points scored in the history of the men's senior Test team. For the hosts it was a black day in the history less than two years since a breakthrough World Cup. Ireland claimed 16 tries and conceded just the one against a Tier 2 team that was blown away from minute one, and the interim head coach put it that all his side could do was tend to their own garden on the night at the Estadio Nacional. 'Listen, we can only beat what is put in front of us and they have performed quite well against Scotland and South Africa in the last few years so we were ready for a big challenge. And it wasn't about them really, it was more about us. 'It wasn't even about the rugby we were going to play. It was more about our mentality and that was a big part for us in terms of how they prepared and how they played. I was hoping it would be sticky and we would see what we were like. 'Then when we were pulling away I was kind of excited to see what our mentality would be like and how we were going to set our own standards. I was really pleased in that. They didn't care about the scoreline, they just kept playing as hard as they could. 'I love seeing some of the kick-chase stuff late in the game. It really shows the mentality of the players so I was really pleased from that point of view. The scoreline isn't ideal and it's not good for them but I was happy with the mentality.' Captain Craig Casey echoed that. The Munsterman said there was no talk of hitting triple digits at half-time when they led 52-0. And Casey had no idea that Ireland's standing record win at that point was an 83-3 defeat of the USA in New Hampshire in 2003. 'God no, no.' For O'Connell, who also guided the side to a comfortable win against Georgia last weekend, the tour has been proof that there are enough players down the depth chart in Ireland to blossom when offered the opportunity. 'We've seen it on the Emerging Ireland tour, just guys dying for the chance. They will do everything and anything once they get their chance. They are great tourists to coach, guys with an incredible attitude and it's your job as coaches not to 'f' that up.' For Portugal, this shows up just how far behind they are. A side that defeated Fiji in France in the global tournament in 2023 was no match for an Irish side flooded with players looking to make their mark and head coach Simon Mannix made the claim that this was a clear reflection of the road they need to travel. 'Explain it? I'm not sure that I can explain it. If it was a boxing fight it would have been called off at half-time,' said the man who once coached at Munster. 'We have bluffed ourselves in the last 12 months believing that we could perform. 'We're not in a performance space at all, we are in a total reset. We are in a development phase, Portuguese rugby, because of the hole that was left after the World Cup in 2023. We need to do a whole rest on what we are doing as a union, what we are doing with our players. 'We are starting to do that, those processes are in place. It is very difficult to play a Tier 1 nation when 1: you don't have access to your players, 2: the players have had no preparation to come and play this game with no warm-up game. 'And 3: we have had players coming off of ten weeks playing in a local championship that just cannot prepare them for this type of opposition, which is an outstandingly organised rugby team. 'Rather than throwing out excuses, we knew where we were at. Did we think we would be a hundred points worse than Ireland? No we didn't. Are we disappointed? We are absolutely devastated but we will work. Good things will come through if we work hard.'
Irish Examiner
07-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Mark O'Mahony to work under Noel Hunt during loan spell at Reading
Cork striker Mark O'Mahony will link up with fellow Munsterman Noel Hunt at League One side Reading after Brighton and Hove Albion sanctioned the 20-year-old's second loan move. O'Mahony expanded the Irish legion at Brighton in 2023 when joining from Cork City for an initial fee of €80,000. He made three first-team appearances for the Seagulls, two in the Premier League and a goalscoring League Cup outing against Crawley Town. Injuries restricted his game-time to 13 appearances on loan at Portsmouth last season but he links up with Reading fit and fresh. The Royals have emerged through the tumultuous ownership period of Dai Yongge to gain stability under Rob Couhig. Waterfordman Hunt is rebuilding his squad in his first full season at the helm, having taken over last December. O'Mahony, whose contract was last year extended to 2027, visited the club's training ground today to finalise his season-long temporary switch, with an announcement imminent.
TimesLIVE
19-06-2025
- Sport
- TimesLIVE
B&I Lions nearing full fitness after good Gibson-Park news, Farrell says
The British and Irish Lions expect to have a fully fit squad in the next week or so after a positive update on scrumhalf Jamison Gibson-Park, coach Andy Farrell said after naming his side for Friday's warm-up against Argentina. The Lions are in relatively rude health as they prepare to fly to Australia having only lost Scotland prop Zander Fagerson to injury in the lead up. Gibson-Park was the other main concern after he missed Leinster's United Rugby Championship (URC) final victory on Saturday with a minor glute strain. Hugo Keenan also missed the final but Farrell said the Leinster fullback ran for the first time a couple of days ago and is going pretty well, while Scotland centre Huw Jones returned to full training this week. 'Good news on most of the injuries, they're all a week or so away from being fit,' Farrell said ahead of the Argentina clash at Lansdowne Road in Dublin. Four bespoke portraits for four British & Irish Lions 🦁🎨 — Sky Sports (@SkySports) June 18, 2025 'We didn't quite know until Jamison got another scan on Monday night, that was pretty positive. We're in good shape.' With half the Lions touring squad involved in the URC and English Premiership finals last Saturday, Farrell's options for Friday's warm-up at the Aviva Stadium were limited but he was nevertheless excited to try out some new combinations from the four nations. 'I did an exercise a couple of weeks ago, and I've done it about five times since, of what you think your Test side could be, and you actually can't even go there because there's such good competition, and that's how it should be,' Farrell said. 'The exciting thing about Friday night is these guys get to show the teammates sat in the stands what they're all about. Because ultimately what happens on these tours, these guys, all they're trying to do is gain the respect of one another. Impress one another.' British & Irish Lions on Twitter / X A partnership Farrell is looking forward to seeing is one he hopes will prove a 'dominant' option at centre as Ireland's Bundee Aki lines up next to Scotland's Sione Tuipulotu, who has barely played in an injury-hit season. Another physical combination sees captain Maro Itoje pack down next to Ireland's Tadhg Beirne in the second row. Tourists together in 2021, the pair have been roommates this time around and the big Munsterman has been surprised so far by one aspect of Itoje's leadership style. 'He doesn't curse,' Beirne said, noting that he struggles with such restraint as Munster skipper. 'He's been leading the team really well.' Having played many a battle in Dublin wearing the white of England, Itoje has enjoyed a novelty of his own this week while walking around the streets of the Irish capital. 'It's very nice to be so warmly received in Dublin, because that tends not to be the case,' he said.
Straits Times
18-06-2025
- Sport
- Straits Times
Lions nearing full fitness after good Gibson-Park news, Farrell says
DUBLIN - The British and Irish Lions expect to have a fully fit squad in the next week or so following a positive update on scrumhalf Jamison Gibson-Park, coach Andy Farrell said after naming his side for Friday's warm-up against Argentina. The Lions are in relatively rude health as they prepare to fly to Australia having only lost Scotland prop Zander Fagerson to injury in the lead up. Gibson-Park was the other main concern after he missed Leinster's United Rugby Championship (URC) final victory on Saturday with a minor glute strain. Hugo Keenan also missed the final but Farrell said the Leinster fullback ran for the first time a couple of days ago and is going pretty well, while Scotland centre Huw Jones returned to full training this week. "Good news on most of the injuries, they're all a week or so away from being fit. We didn't quite know until Jamison got another scan on Monday night, that was pretty positive. We're in good shape," Farrell told a news conference. With half the Lions touring squad involved in the URC and English Premiership finals last Saturday, Farrell's options for Friday's warm-up at the Aviva Stadium were limited but he was nevertheless excited to try out some new combinations from the four nations. "I did an exercise a couple of weeks ago, and I've done it about five times since, of what you think your test side could be, and you actually can't even go there because there's such good competition, and that's how it should be," Farrell said. "The exciting thing about Friday night is these guys get to show the teammates sat in the stands what they're all about. Because ultimately what happens on these tours, these guys, all they're trying to do is gain the respect of one another. Impress one another." A partnership Farrell is looking forward to seeing is one he hopes will prove a "dominant" option at centre as Ireland's Bundee Aki lines up next to Scotland's Sione Tuipulotu, who has barely played in an injury-hit season. Another physical combination sees captain Maro Itoje pack down next to Ireland's Tadhg Beirne in the second row. Tourists together in 2021, the pair have been roommates this time around and the big Munsterman has been surprised so far by one aspect of Itoje's leadership style. "He doesn't curse!" Beirne said, noting that he struggles with such restraint as Munster skipper. "He's been leading the team really well." Having played many a battle in Dublin wearing the white of England, Itoje has enjoyed a novelty of his own this week while walking around the streets of the Irish capital. "It's very nice to be so warmly received in Dublin, because that tends not to be the case," he said. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
The Star
18-06-2025
- Sport
- The Star
Rugby-Lions nearing full fitness after good Gibson-Park news, Farrell says
DUBLIN (Reuters) -The British and Irish Lions expect to have a fully fit squad in the next week or so following a positive update on scrumhalf Jamison Gibson-Park, coach Andy Farrell said after naming his side for Friday's warm-up against Argentina. The Lions are in relatively rude health as they prepare to fly to Australia having only lost Scotland prop Zander Fagerson to injury in the lead up. Gibson-Park was the other main concern after he missed Leinster's United Rugby Championship (URC) final victory on Saturday with a minor glute strain. Hugo Keenan also missed the final but Farrell said the Leinster fullback ran for the first time a couple of days ago and is going pretty well, while Scotland centre Huw Jones returned to full training this week. "Good news on most of the injuries, they're all a week or so away from being fit. We didn't quite know until Jamison got another scan on Monday night, that was pretty positive. We're in good shape," Farrell told a news conference. With half the Lions touring squad involved in the URC and English Premiership finals last Saturday, Farrell's options for Friday's warm-up at the Aviva Stadium were limited but he was nevertheless excited to try out some new combinations from the four nations. "I did an exercise a couple of weeks ago, and I've done it about five times since, of what you think your test side could be, and you actually can't even go there because there's such good competition, and that's how it should be," Farrell said. "The exciting thing about Friday night is these guys get to show the teammates sat in the stands what they're all about. Because ultimately what happens on these tours, these guys, all they're trying to do is gain the respect of one another. Impress one another." A partnership Farrell is looking forward to seeing is one he hopes will prove a "dominant" option at centre as Ireland's Bundee Aki lines up next to Scotland's Sione Tuipulotu, who has barely played in an injury-hit season. Another physical combination sees captain Maro Itoje pack down next to Ireland's Tadhg Beirne in the second row. Tourists together in 2021, the pair have been roommates this time around and the big Munsterman has been surprised so far by one aspect of Itoje's leadership style. "He doesn't curse!" Beirne said, noting that he struggles with such restraint as Munster skipper. "He's been leading the team really well." Having played many a battle in Dublin wearing the white of England, Itoje has enjoyed a novelty of his own this week while walking around the streets of the Irish capital. "It's very nice to be so warmly received in Dublin, because that tends not to be the case," he said. (Reporting by Padraic Halpin, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
