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Belfast Telegraph
17 minutes ago
- Belfast Telegraph
Kris Meeke reveals the two things he's relying on to help banish his Rali Vinho da Madeira hoodoo
The 46-year-old makes his fifth start at the island-based event this evening, determined to banish past disappointments and return to the podium's top step with Stuart Loudon. Meeke's single best performance on Madeira came in 2009 during his Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) days when he finished fifth overall as a Peugeot UK-backed driver. Retirement beckoned the following year when his car developed an oil leak, followed by a bad accident in 2023 that left him injured, and a ten-minute time penalty last season. 'Madeira has not exactly been a happy place for me; the first time was in 2009 and it was tough,' said Meeke, who currently holds a slim five point lead over Armindo Araujo in the Portuguese Rally Championship points' standings after the opening five rounds. 'Since then, I have had two more attempts where, again, luck was not on my side. This year, however, I am bringing more experience and – above all – I am bringing a car that I love.' Meeke has quickly gelled with the GR Yaris Rally2 since his switch to it after two spells in a Hyundai i20 N Rally2, beginning the defence of his crown with three consecutive wins. Since then, late suspension damage meant he failed to finish Rally de Portugal and lost maximum points in the process, with a retrospective time penalty on last month's Rali de Castelo Branco handing the win to his close friend and rival, Dani Sordo. 'The GR Yaris Rally2 was incredible in Castelo Branco, perhaps even better on asphalt than on dirt,' said Meeke. 'Of course, I know that the Portuguese drivers know all of these stages very well, as they have been doing this race for 20 years, so the challenge will be enormous – but I am very happy to be back in Madeira and to give my all for a good result.' He added: 'It was really tough to lose in Castelo Branco like that, but I am very happy with the performance. The duel with Dani was excellent – he is one of the best asphalt drivers in the world – so I really had to give it my all to stay ahead of him. When the battle is like that, decided by tenths of a second on such fast stages, it is a real pleasure to compete.' Comprising 13 special stages, the first is the short Cidade do Funchal street stage this evening (7.30pm) followed by six on Friday and a further six on the Saturday.
The Independent
17 minutes ago
- The Independent
Dan Sheehan: ‘The Lions tour has been chaos – and I've enjoyed absolutely every second of it'
Perched on the bench next to Tadhg Furlong, Dan Sheehan could only watch, gut wrenched by the familiar feeling of a fate out of your hands. Plenty of times the pair had sat together exhausted yet enraptured, their front row efforts done but a game to which they had contributed plenty in the balance. Plenty of times, too, they had come out on the wrong side; the 2023 and 2024 Champions Cup finals, or perhaps most agonisingly that quarter-final night in Paris where Ireland's World Cup dreams came crashing down. With the British and Irish Lions bashing on the door for a match-winning try at the end of the second Test, the memories came flooding back. 'I was sitting there beside Tadhg and he looked at me and I looked at him,' Sheehan explains. 'He was like: 'How many times have we been sitting on this bench in this situation and we've never won a game?' And it was tough. It's almost harder watching it sometimes. 'When you're on the pitch you're so focused and you don't let your mind wander but when you're sitting on the bench it's out of your control. Obviously, the bench were doing a great job, which was nice to see but it was something that felt like a fan in some ways. You're so engulfed in what you're seeing. But it's probably almost more enjoyable watching it happen and being able to celebrate.' The story, of course, was different this time. It is perhaps wrong for Sheehan, a Six Nations grand slam winner and recent URC champion, to suggest that Ireland and Leinster have always come up short in the big moments but near misses have been a theme of a career otherwise on an outstanding track. His first-half try at the MCG on Saturday was his 17th in Test rugby and 16th in 16 games for club, country and British Isles this season, discounting his involvement in the tour games. If it was the great Keith Wood who first challenged what a hooker could be and do, the current occupant of the Ireland No 2 shirt is his spiritual successor, as comfortable in spaces open as tight. An athletically gifted front rower, he has long demonstrated his speed and skill up the touchline but Saturday's score showcased a different discipline. The legality of Sheehan's leap for the line over two would-be tacklers has been called into question – rugby's lawbook really has taken a beating this week – but the officials were happy he left his feet in the act of scoring rather than avoiding the grasping Wallabies. Sheehan blames a Lions squad-mate for having to take the tap penalty at all. 'It's a tough job in professional rugby,' he says. 'I don't know why they pick the hooker to do it. I think Exeter started that; [ Luke Cowan-Dickie ] probably did that. 'I took the first one and I got absolutely melted trying to go low. Usually, it's one lad goes low and someone maybe is high and I just got both shoulders melted low and I didn't really get much out of it. 'Then the second one I just thought: 'If I have a dive here...' I didn't know if they had anyone in the back. It was just a throw and hope and I slipped through. Yeah, I can see all the controversy about it, but I did know that you can dive in the air if you score. I'm not sure actually if I missed the line would it be a penalty or not? The play was trying to get as close to the line as possible for the second phase. I'll take all the tries that can come my way.' Sheehan has built quick bonds with Cowan-Dickie and Jamie George in the hooking group, while he has also enjoyed turning foes into friends. 'There's a few lads your own age that you've sort of come up through age-grades like Ollie Chessum, Ben Earl. You're kind of growing up hating these lads, and then all of a sudden, you're like, everyone's a pretty good fella.' The 26-year-old will extend his stay in Sydney by a couple of days to make the most of the city and savour every moment of his first Lions experience. It seems unlikely to be his last. 'I think back to that sort of two-week block where we had I don't know how many games, where it was a Saturday, Wednesday, Saturday, Wednesday, like it's just chaos going around, all these different cities and the whole organisation moving around. And, you know, you kind of get lost in it, but it just works somehow. 'It's been absolutely mental. And I've enjoyed absolutely every second of it. It's flown by. And then you think back to Perth and you're like, jeez, that was weeks ago. It'd be hard not to make a squad in the years to come when you know how special these sorts of moments can be. So I think, put the head down now for another four years, please. I'm going to try and get back on the plane.'
The Independent
17 minutes ago
- The Independent
Luke Littler says practice made perfect after World Matchplay success
Luke Littler feels hours of dedication on the practice board proved key to his World Matchplay success and completing the PDC Triple Crown as he targets maintaining his top form through the rest of the year. Littler, 18, claimed a hard-fought victory over veteran James Wade at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool, becoming only the fifth player to lift the coveted title alongside the World Championship and Premier League. Next up on the PDC schedule is a trip Down Under for the back-to-back Australia and New Zealand Darts Masters in August, before attention turns towards the end-of-year run-in. 'What I have achieved so far is unbelievable for myself,' Littler told the PA news agency. 'I didn't expect it to go my way, but it is just all down to me practising and playing really good darts. 'The Matchplay win was just so good. I practised quite a lot leading up to it, the most I had done in some time – and it certainly paid off as I completed the Triple Crown.' Littler knows every success then raises the level of expectation on his young shoulders. 'If you come into a tournament and you are the champion, I think people can expect you to try and defend it, because you have been there before and you have won it before, but that is not always the case,' the world number two said. 'Even this year with the Premier League, it was not easy trying to defend it – and on the night (of the final) Luke Humphries played his best darts and won it. 'But leading up to the Grand Slam (of Darts, in November), I want to defend that and also try to pick up some more titles along the way.' Littler added: 'Ever since my first World Championships, where I was runner-up and started on the (PDC) Tour, I think everyone just wanted to beat me. 'It is still the same now because these players want to be the best and have always wanted to beat me, but most of the time I do come out victorious.' The 18-year-old's achievements have transcended the sport – helping darts reach to a new audience and a younger generation. 'For what I have done, it has definitely spurred a lot of people on to get into their darts,' Littler said. 'But for myself, I have got to keep winning, keep picking up trophies and get even more people involved.' Littler has teamed up with KP Snacks 'Nuts for Darts' campaign, which will see one pub win an appearance from the world champion. 'There are so many pub leagues that I played in when I was younger, this is where game of darts has come from,' he said. 'That is where I started and where most of these big top players started is in pubs, so this is about giving those pubs an opportunity for an appearance from me.' :: KP Nuts are giving one lucky pub the chance to win an appearance from Luke Littler as part of the 'Nuts for Darts' campaign. Rally your landlord to pick up a promotional pub card to enter from August 11.
