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The 42
26-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The 42
Duff's Shels era went as nobody would have believed and ended as anyone would have predicted
WHICH IS YOUR stand-out, Duffer-you're-not-in-Kansas-anymore moment? This column's is from Shels' league game at the UCD Bowl during his first season, when a sprinkler went rogue and stalled proceedings for eight minutes until it was quelled by an upturned wheelbarrow. This was one episode in the general fascination with his time in the League of Ireland. How would Duff adapt from performing on Broadway to directing on local arts venue stages? Ultimately it went as nobody would have believed and ended as anyone would have predicted. Duff proved to be loveable and maddening; tactical and impulsive; angry and empathetic; hilarious and austere and just generally magnificent. He has been likened to his old boss Jose Mourinho but there are vital differences. Mourinho always cuts an air of cynicism and calculation; with Jose, he always felt slightly separate to that in which he was involved, and so his stunts and rows were always refracted through cool self-interest. Duff was nowhere near as haughty or calculating: he was all-in, standing not above his players but among them. He did not give the impression of a Machiavellian schemer, whose heart and head are kept in strict segregation. No, Duff's were integrated to the point of appearing irretrievably tangled. Hence you never knew whether any of his actions were driven by chilled rationality or raw emotion. Advertisement Around Duff, no ironies or cynicisms could survive, and this is what made the whole show so compelling. Here was a manager who was liable to say anything without ever giving you the impression he didn't firmly believe in that which he had just said. This is a very rare quality: Roy Keane and Eamon Dunphy have been as unpredictable on camera, but they often wore a slight wry smile to allow the audience know it's all just showbiz at the end of the day. Not Duff. This column sometimes wonders if the intensity of Duff's involvement in it all was a slight over-compensation, as he arrived into the job aware that he was a Football Man, but not a League of Ireland man. That there is such a distinction is of course the original sin of Irish football, but it is a reality. The most encouraging fact of the last few years is the chipping away at these divides, with the country and then the FAI waking up to the fact that the health of the national team is symbiotic with the health of the national professional league. The Brexit impact on player development along with the national team's low ebb have played a big part in dissolving these idiotic past boundaries, but Duff played his own role. That a man this successful and famous would be so absorbed within the League of Ireland conferred the league with a certain legitimacy in the eyes of the Floating Voter. It's a hell of a legacy to leave. While Duff is not solely responsible for the league's recent boom, no single person has done more to launch that boom. The trajectory of his Shels team, meanwhile, was irresistible: Cup final in his first year, European qualification in his second, and league title in his third. That league triumph will live in the memory as one of the most improbable Irish sporting triumphs of the century. There is no sporting competition more difficult to win as an outsider than a professional football league, and there is no competition in Irish sport more attritional than the 36-game League of Ireland Premier Division. It was an absurd achievement, really, with a group of players who even in their manager's abrasive final days could acknowledge had their lives changed. A good manager fulfils his players' potential, where a great manager awakens his players to their potential before then fulfilling it. Shels' league triumph will be remembered forever because Duff did the latter. But maintaining that trajectory's peak was beyond him. Duff began grumbling about his players' standards and motivations as early as pre-season, which culminated in those extraordinary comments last Friday night, in which he said he was on his knees trying to provide spark and motivation where his players steadfastly refused. This was the predictable ending, as Duff appears to be another great footballer worn out by his intolerance for the lower standards around him. For all his inconsistencies, Duff's entire Shelbourne career was a war on low standards, both among his squad and around the league. Pitches, referees, facilities, academies, Friday-Monday turnarounds, Abbotstown, mid-season breaks, even the picture him on Dalymount's grassy knoll: all have been attacked at some point for being unbecoming of Irish football. He has appeared to have walked from Shelbourne because he felt his players were incapable of meeting his standards once again. You might argue that Duff is a man of unreasonable demands, but he is a man of unreasonable accomplishments. A 100-cap senior international, a World Cup goalscorer and a key part of one of the best Premier Leagues sides of all time: nobody achieves any of this without a wild and unstinting commitment. (Some footballers write an autobiography to reveal the truth of their playing days – Duff instead became manager of Shelbourne.) The ending, though, is only a small part of the story. Duff is a man of multitudes, and he dedicated them all to Shelbourne and the League of Ireland. He should be forgiven for feeling exhausted. Our golden days have suddenly dimmed.
Irish Examiner
21-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
'It's funny being on the same side as him' - No lingering Lions tension for Russell and Sexton
Any suggestion that Johnny Sexton and Finn Russell might have trouble coming together as parts of the same team would have been cut short last week when the British and Irish Lions went about their business at the UCD Bowl. Opposing tens for so many years with Ireland and Scotland, Sexton had retired by the time he spoke publicly about the 'flashy' nature of the Bath out-half and how Owen Farrell would be his own preference for a Lions playmaker. That was before his appointment as an assistant coach with a Lions squad whose most experienced out-half is none other than Russel. So, Sexton was keen to dismiss the import of those words when facing the media in Dublin last week. Blown out of proportion, he said. That old chestnut. In truth, this was absolutely a potential source of angst and awkwardness in a camp that has little time to bring disparate personalities and erstwhile enemies together for a tour on the opposite side of the world and at the fag end of a long season. Word has it that Andy Farrell went about lancing any possible boil by addressing it in front of the wider squad. Whatever was said, or not, Russell is adamant that the two of them have found themselves on the same page, on and off the field. 'It was never a thing almost,' said the 32-year old. 'When we came in we had a laugh straight away and Andy kind of put it to bed so that was good. Not that it was ever going to be an issue, I don't believe. 'We're all here with the same goal, which is to win the series. I've only been here a few days but it's been good working with Johnny. I'm happy to bounce questions off him and chat to him about what he's seeing because with the numbers we've had he's had to jump in sometimes. 'So it's been quite funny being on the same training side as him.' That assimilation is key to every Lions tour. There are a record 18 Irish players in the squad, two-thirds of those from the one province, while the likes of Northampton Saints and Glasgow Warriors are supplying their own fair shares to the travelling party. That Irish core has been buttressed in the coaching staff and in the various support departments. Farrell has always been credited with a high level of emotional intelligence, though, so any barriers should be overcome. 'I wouldn't say there's barriers,' said Russell. 'Players are going to have players they're more friendly with. If you've got a pair of old Leinster boys you know each other very well. I know the Scottish boys and English guys know the English guys and Welsh are the same. 'You're always going to get these pockets where you're more comfortable with each other but over the last few days it seems like everyone's mixing really well. When you get into it you become a team so quickly. For us coming in this week you saw the boys had relationships and that was all built from last week in Portugal. 'It does change so quickly and you build these relationships so quickly. Whether they're an Irish set up or an English, Scottish or whatever it is, I don't think it makes too much of a difference. We're all here with the same goal and trying to pull in the same direction.' Russell flew into Dublin on the back of Bath's Premiership title in 29 years and one that sealed a treble thanks to the already claimed Premiership Cup and Challenge Cup trophies. All that and a new three-year deal with the West Country club. Fin Smith is a superb out-half who did fine against Argentina on Friday. Marcus Smith started that one at full-back and seems third in line for the No.10 short as things stand. Russell is also the only one who has worn this shade of red before. Part of the controversial 'Geography Six' called up towards the end of the 2017 tour to New Zealand, he travelled from the off four years later in South Africa and produced the first real dash of the tour when finally given his Test shot ten minutes into the final game. This really should be his time. Farrell has talked about the later arrivals having to play catch-up and he has no problem with that after celebrating Bath's triumph last weekend and joining the Lions party only last Monday. New playbook, different words, unfamiliar faces. That's just the gig. Friday's opener against the Pumas, regardless of the disappointment with the result and collective performance, was always going to help in getting people on the same page, but it might be a few more runs before we can figure out what sort of rugby team this Lions outfit will be. Tommy Freeman has voiced an intent to play on a side that plays heads-up rugby and scores plenty of tries. Well, as a winger, he would. The reality can be more pragmatic for the game's most famous tourists, but what does Russell see as the 'Lions way'? 'I wouldn't say there's a typical Lions way. That would depend on the coach," he replied. "With Andy there and the coaching staff we've got here, it's hopefully going to be a free-flowing, fast style of rugby we're going to play. There's obviously a lot of structure in there but then at times if there's no structure we're happy to play unstructured rugby as well. 'So it's getting that balance of using structure to create unstructured, and then go from there. It's just different types of coaching. I wouldn't say there's a Lions way of playing. It depends on the coach, it depends on the players.'
The 42
21-06-2025
- Sport
- The 42
'Not here to make up the numbers' - Conan keen for his Lions shot
HUGO KEENAN, JAMES Ryan, and Jamison Gibson-Park are down the far end of the sin-kissed pitch in the UCD Bowl, getting through some running as they continue to recover from injuries. Jack Conan appears to have taken some sort of knock too, but he's in the middle of a bunch of kids, leading passing and sidestepping drills. The Leinster, Ireland, and Lions number eight has compression bandaging covering his entire right leg but when he strolls over for a chat, he explains that it's nothing to worry about. 'Bangs and bruises… too many pints on the weekend,' jokes Conan. He and his Leinster team-mates celebrated their URC success heartily last weekend, enjoying a couple of days together before the Lions contingent joined Andy Farrell's squad on Monday, while others headed for Dingle to keep the party rolling. 'Class,' says Conan of the days after the win over the Bulls. 'It was a bit weird in the changing room after, like we didn't know how to win. Lads were a bit awkward or something like that, but it was good craic. Advertisement 'We went to the RDS for a bit which was good and then just pottered into town and everyone did their own thing. We had a great few days, it was nice, a few pints on Sunday as well early doors which was good. It was enjoyable celebrations.' He was home early on the Sunday and on the road at 7am on Monday morning to collect his dog in Bray. The afterglow of URC success vanished pretty quickly as Conan packed up for the next eight weeks on the road with the Lions. He says that going into camp on Monday was like the first day at school. Conan lifting the URC trophy at Croke Park. Laszlo Geczo / INPHO Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO Conan trained with the Lions for the first time on Tuesday – 'soul-searching stuff, we had to run out the demons!' – but didn't play in last night's defeat to Argentina, although he did the warm-up beforehand as cover. Conan was among the nine players at yesterday morning's training session in UCD, which involved children from schools in each of the four Irish provinces – Moorefields Primary School in Ballymena, St Columba's National School in Dublin, Clerihan National School in Clonmel, Tipperary, and St Brendan's National School in Galway. Conan was thrilled that Leinster could finish their season on a high with that URC victory, but the Champions Cup semi-final defeat to Northampton will linger. That's reflected when he's asked if Leinster's campaign was a success or failure. 'I think any season where you win something can never be deemed a failure,' he said. 'Obviously, we want to go well in both competitions, and I think if it hadn't been for the performance against Northampton, even if we had lost that game, but we performed really well, I don't think people would have said much about it. 'They're a quality side, but I think it was just the way we didn't show up that day and had a bit of a hangover for a few weeks. 'Maybe we don't get the result over the last two weeks if it wasn't for that game. Maybe it was the bit of a kick that we needed. 'The problem is when you win most of the time, it papers over cracks a little bit, so we had to have a good, hard look at ourselves and it was tough for a lot of lads, for everyone in the building. You get to win a trophy at Croke Park with all your mates, at the end of the day, I would have taken that. 'I definitely wouldn't say it was a failure, but there's definitely some more in this club and more in the lads, so hopefully there'll be a few years still ahead of us.' Conan with the Lions at the Aviva Stadium. Dan Sheridan / INPHO Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO Thoughts of Leinster have been pushed aside for now because Conan knows he has to bring his best to return to the starting Test shirt he wore on the last Lions tour in 2021. He says he loved that trip to South Africa, even if the pandemic meant it was like 'eight weeks of kind of solitary confinement' with the squad. This time in Australia will be very different. The injury to Caelan Doris means that Conan is the only out-and-out number eight in the squad, but Ben Earl and Henry Pollock have both played at the back of the scrum. Conan's leadership qualities add to his claims for a Test shirt. He will get his shot next Saturday against the Western Force in Perth. Conan has been rooming with Welsh flanker Jac Morgan this week, enjoying his company even if the Irishman says, 'I need subtitles half the time, it's a strong Welsh accent!' Related Reads 'Johnny is very different than what he was on the field' England's Freeman can be the 'untidy' wing that Farrell likes He knows that the battle for back row slots will be fierce, with Tom Curry and Josh van der Flier also firmly in the mix. 'There's some unbelievable athletes,' says Conan. 'We were training against the lads on Tuesday and the skillset and talent was incredibly high. I look forward to competing with the lads when I get the chance. 'I know Tom from before, I've been spending a good bit of time with Ben the last few days, a good fella and a great athlete. It's great to see them go to work and I'm sure myself and Josh, in particular, are excited to get in amongst them because we've only really had the one training day. 'The competition brings out the best in people and we're not here to just make up the numbers, so we'll look forward to competing with the lads.'
Irish Daily Mirror
21-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
From pints to points to prove - Jack Conan on a frenetic week in Lions camp
By early Monday morning reality had set in again for Jack Conan - one job done, another only starting. As Leinster skipper at the Aviva Stadium last Saturday, Conan lifted the URC trophy with injured club captain Caelan Doris and with Cian Healy, in his last action before retirement. Then the celebrations started. "Class," he recalled. "It was a bit weird in the changing room after, like we didn't know how to win. Lads were a bit awkward, but it was good craic. We went to the RDS for a bit which was good, and then just pottered into town, and everyone did their own thing." But Leinster's Lions had one eye on what was coming next. Monday morning, Lions camp. Andy Farrell admitted he was impressed by how fresh the Leinster and Bath players were when they joined after their respective Cup victories. Conan was fresh enough - he had a 7am appointment in Bray to pick up the family dog. "We had a great few days, it was nice, a few pints on Sunday as well early doors which was good. It was enjoyable celebrations. I was home early, so I was being wise. "The afterglow went pretty quickly on Monday morning when you had to pack up for the next eight weeks of your life, and get organised and do everything else and get into camp. The anxiety was pretty high, like first day of school going in. The lads had the time together, so you feel you're behind the 8-ball a bit, so you're on catch-up." The new arrivals had to get up to speed on the Lions' plays and calls on Monday, so that was challenging. Only one Leinster player involved last weekend - Rónan Kelleher - was picked to play against Argentina last night but Tuesday still involved a serious hit-out for the newcomers under Farrell's watch. "Soul-searching stuff, we had to run out the demons," winced Conan. "You'd love to be playing, but it is what it is. Everyone has been training away without us." Nine players not involved in the Argentina game were at the UCD Bowl yesterday morning to host a training session for 90 schoolchildren. Conan was wearing a leg brace but it won't stop him being involved in the Lions' first game on Australian soil next Saturday. The 32-year-old was on the last tour in South Africa but this promises to be a completely different experience as that took place during Covid. "Four years ago was still great, I loved it and had a great experience," Conan insisted. "You get to know the lads in such a different way because it was eight weeks of kind of solitary confinement. "You have to mix. You still have to mix now but you're getting out and about in smaller groups whereas four years ago, everyone was just kind of sitting around. "I'd love to be playing against Argentina but it is what it is. Excited to see a full stadium. The only taste we got of that was four years ago against Japan in Edinburgh and there were around 16,000 there with spaced seating, so definitely a bit different. 'You know what's expected of you when you put on the jersey and when you come into this environment. Other than that, it's more just the detail, the plays, calling structures and all that, it's different. "I can't wait to get over there. Everyone says it's just a different fanfare, a different level of excitement when you get properly on tour. But you can even see it walking around town at the moment, people in jerseys, there's a pop-up shop, so many kids outside The Shelbourne. It's special." The Lions fly Down Under this morning and Perth is the first stop for a clash with the Western Force. 'For them, it's going to be the biggest game of their careers when you're playing the club sides. The Western Force are going to be unbelievably up for it. It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for those blokes. 'They might be missing a host of international stars but will be unbelievably excited so we'll have to be at our best. Every time you get an opportunity to put on this jersey it's only a very short amount of time. You've got to make the most of it and leave it in a better place. 'You've got to take those opportunities and run with it, and hopefully I'll get that opportunity next Saturday.'
Irish Examiner
20-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Examiner
Jack Conan eager to witness fanfare of a full-blown Lions tour
Jack Conan has been a British & Irish Lion before but given it was the Covid-hit tour to South Africa of 2021, the Ireland No.8 is relishing the opportunity to embrace a proper Lions touring experience when the squad leaves for Australia on Saturday. Conan, 32, was in the stands at Aviva Stadium on Friday night as Andy Farrell's squad faced Argentina ahead of departure for Perth and an opening tour match against Western Force next Saturday. Like another eight of the 12 Leinster players heading Down Under as Irish Lions, the back-rower was held at bay six days after lifting the URC trophy at Croke Park but he was kept busy on matchday. He and four provincial team-mates Jamison Gibson-Park, Hugo Keenan, Andrew Porter and Josh van der Flier as well English Premiership final participants, Finn Russell and Will Stuart from newly crowned champions Bath and runner-up Ollie Chessum of Leicester Tigers were on Lions duty at Dublin's UCD Bowl earlier in the day, hosting a training session for 90 school children, girls and boys ranging from 8-12 years of age, and from four primary schools nominated by the Irish provinces. Even a meet and greet with young rugby fans was out of bounds for the Lions on their last tour, with South Africa in lockdown and matches played in empty stadiums as Conan started all three Tests at No.8 against the Springboks, each game behind closed doors in Cape Town with the players bussed in and out from a secluded team hotel and training base outside of the city. The chance to experience a proper tour, backed by tens of thousands of travelling supporters forming a 'Sea of Red' in Australia, is a return to tradition, albeit one eagerly awaited by Conan. "Four years ago was still great, I loved it and had a great experience,' he said. 'In a way, you get to know the lads in such a different way because it was eight weeks of kind of solitary confinement. You have to mix. 'You still have to mix now but you're getting out and about in smaller groups whereas four years ago, everyone was just kind of sitting around.' Conan was even looking forward to watching the Lions on Friday night as they played on Irish soil for the first time in their illustrious 137-year history, just to see those red jerseys play in front of the fans, giving him a taste of what is to come over the next six weeks across 10 tour matches and three Tests against the Wallabies in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. "The only taste we got of that was four years ago against Japan in Edinburgh (pre-tour) and there was around 16,000 there with spaced seating, so definitely a bit different. 'I can't wait to get over there, everyone says it's just a different fanfare, a different level of excitement when you get properly on tour. But you can even see it walking around town at the moment, people in jerseys, there's a pop-up shop, so many kids outside the Shelbourne (Hotel). It's special and I'm looking forward to getting a proper run-out at some stage." Conan does believe the 2021 tour, which ended in a 2-1 Test defeat to Rassie Erasmus's 2019 World Champions, can stand him in good stead for this summer's tour, with certain provisos. 'You know what's expected of you when you put on the jersey and when you come into this environment, into camp. Other than that, it's more just the detail, the plays, calling structures and all that, it's different. 'You've lads from other countries coming in is a little bit differently than we would do, so it's just getting used to each other a little bit. 'Now, luckily, the way we want to play is quite similar to how Ireland would play so it's not that difficult to get up to speed, but the calls are all different. There's a bit of overlap with a few Leinster calls but they're different things. The same wording, so I was caught out a few times on Tuesday when you just go into autopilot a little bit. 'So that's the real challenge. But no-one expects it to be perfect in the first few days. Even in the first few games we're going to build throughout the tour and continue to get better. That's the challenge, more than anything else.'
