Tailteann Cup quarter final draw sees Kildare face Offaly
The draw for the Tailteann Cup quarter-final took place this morning with Kildare drawn to face fellow Leinster side Offaly.
Limerick have been drawn against Wexford while Fermanagh will face Sligo with another all Leinster affair with Wicklow drawn against Westmeath.
The games will be played over the weekend of June 14/15 with the fixtures details to be finalised by the CCCC later today.
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Irish Daily Mirror
2 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Update on Tadhg Furlong's Lions tour hopes - Andy Farrell on Finlay Bealham call
Tadhg Furlong is on course for Lions action after fears that his tour might be over before it began were dismissed by forwards coach John Dalziel. The Leinster and Ireland tighthead has started the last nine Lions Tests over three tours but hasn't played for his province since early May, when he suffered another calf injury set-back. Furlong has only started five games in nine appearances in total this season and is not expected to be named in Leinster's matchday squad for Saturday's URC Grand Final clash with the Bulls at Croke Park. 'Tadhg has the availability to be able to train and play this week with Leinster,' said Dalziel said from the Lions' Portuguese training base. 'There are no real concerns in terms of his ability to come back to full training. "Tadhg had returned to play and was playing. He's now being modified in terms of [being] off-feet in the last few weeks. We've got no real concerns (around) when comes back to full training and playing. 'We will put our best team and our best foot forward for Argentina, with everybody available the squad will be together on Sunday, everybody in after the finals, then we will select and prepare that team that week. "We will get some structures in place here, some language and some learning with the wider group, then we will arrive back in Dublin on Sunday with everyone and prepare for Argentina.' Dalziel also provided a positive update on Connacht and Ireland winger Mack Hansen, who has been sidelined with an ankle injury, but who could come into contention for Friday week's opening Lions warm-up against the Pumas. Meanwhile, Lions head coach Andy Farrell admits it was an emotional phone call to Finlay Bealham to inform the Connacht tighthead that he was being called into the squad for the Australia tour following Zander Ferguson's withdrawal through injury. 'He was certainly right up there in the conversation from the very start as well, and he would have been disappointed not to make the group," said Farrell. 'So we just know he will be a great fit for the group going forward. He is the only conversation that I was able to have because of the way we did the squad announcement. 'By giving him a phone call and telling him he was selected within the squad, unfortunately for Zander, but it was one of the best phone conversations I have ever had. The emotion that went through the phone actually welled me up. It was great to be able to do that.'
Irish Times
2 hours ago
- Irish Times
Louth have already secured a glorious feat in 2025, now they're out to avoid unwanted piece of history
Eight games across four groups this weekend and no such thing as a dead rubber. The conclusion to the All-Ireland senior football championship round-robin series also has two teams facing the prospect of leaving an unwanted mark on football history. Leinster champions Louth and Connacht champions Galway are both playing for their survival. If one or both fail to progress, they would be the only provincial champions not to do so in the three years of the format. That very format may be consigned to the dustbin of history after this year, but neither Louth nor Galway had ever envisaged leaving behind such a legacy. Louth at least know exactly what is required for them to progress from Group 3 when they play Clare on Sunday (O'Moore Park, 2pm). Both teams lost to Monaghan and Down, but Louth's superior scoring difference means a draw would still see them through to the preliminary quarter-finals. READ MORE Galway's fate in Group 4 is partly out of their hands when they play Armagh on Saturday evening (Breffni Park, 6.30pm). Even if the Tribesmen win, they'll need Dublin to lose to Derry. Louth can point to the excuse of the hangover that accompanied the end of their provincial title famine . They were out against Monaghan in the first round of the All-Ireland series 13 days after winning their first Leinster football title in 68 years. [ All-Ireland group stage permutations Opens in new window ] When it came to playing Monaghan, Louth were clearly a little off the pace. They were always chasing the game and never got their noses in front. In the end, they were soundly beaten by six points. Ger Brennan didn't deny that lingering hangover afterwards. The Louth manager rated his team's performance against Monaghan at four out of ten, adding 'that is maybe down to the effects of winning the Leinster final and also to Monaghan, too'. Whether they win or lose at the weekend, they're always going to be legends — Ger Brennan A week later against Down, Louth were 10 points down early in the second half, before Sam Mulroy inspired what might have been a spectacular comeback. Mulroy finished with a dozen points, including four two-pointers. Tommy Durnin looked to be lining up a last-gasp equaliser just after the hooter when Adam Crimmins made a brilliant block for Down. Now it's win, draw or bust in Portlaoise. Clare are coming in off heavy defeats against Kerry in the Munster final and Down in the first round. However, they surprised many with their spirited performance against Monaghan when they led at half-time, 0-14 to 0-7. The Banner men eventually surrendered to Monaghan's wind-aided second-half display, losing 1-25 to 1-16. Tommy Durnin of Louth came close to rescuing a draw against Down. Photograph: Ryan Byrne/Inpho 'Looking at their performance against Down, they would have been disappointed with how they started,' said Louth manager Brennan, who spoke to local media earlier this week. 'Particularly in their own patch, they seemed to perform a lot better the last day against Monaghan, albeit Monaghan pulled away in the second half. 'And they will certainly fancy themselves against Louth this weekend. Three seasons ago, they beat a Louth team in the early rounds of Division 3, although Louth mobilised quite well and finished on eight points and won promotion themselves. So, they're an excellent team . . . but I suppose we're trying to think of our own group and trying to look at a bigger picture.' With Mulroy still shooting the lights out, Louth should have enough firepower to get past Clare on Sunday, or certainly draw. For Brennan, however, it won't define their 2025 season, which will go down in history. 'What this group of players have done for Louth GAA has been phenomenal,' says Brennan. 'Whether we win or lose at the weekend, that will never change. 'The joy and the happiness that they've brought to people's lives; that ending of a 68-year famine . . . these fellas, whether they win or lose at the weekend, they're always going to be legends. For me, there's no pressure on them. 'For me, they're just a wonderful group of lads and they should have no fear of the outcome at the weekend. [They can] go out and have fun and express themselves because they have brought so much pride and given so much joy to the people of Louth.'
The 42
3 hours ago
- The 42
'We got here, we're playing for our brothers, and we're playing for our friend that we have lost'
THE BULLS' URC semi-final victory over Leinster at Loftus Versfeld last season is a game best remembered for Willie le Roux's expert exploitation of Leinster's backfield, his umpteen crossfield kicks exposing one of the only chinks in the visitors' blitz defence. Springbok World Cup winner Le Roux, who turns 36 in August, is well attuned to Jacques Nienaber's ways, of course. But for all that he may rightly be described as a veteran, Saturday's potentially seismic encounter at Croke Park will be his first URC final, whereas it will make for a third bite of the cherry for many of his Bulls teammates. Consequently, when he's asked by a South African journalist about the Bulls' mental capacity to finally get over the line in their toughest-looking championship decider to date, Le Roux can afford a shrug of the shoulders — his are unburdened by recent history. 'I think it's about the moment now', says the fullback, 'and going out there with a smile on your face, enjoying it, and playing for one and other, even though all the odds are against you and everyone has written us off. 'We have been enjoying ourselves this season, playing for one and other. It has got us to the final. It's about doing the same thing that we have been doing the whole year. 'I don't think there is any need to put added pressure onto us. We got here, we are playing for our brothers, and we are playing for our friend that we have lost. Former Bull Cornal Hendricks, who died of a suspected heart attack last month, aged 37, was a dear friend of Le Roux's in particular. The duo began their professional careers together with the Boland Cavaliers, subsequently playing alongside each other Cheetahs, as Springboks, and, last season, as Bulls. Just over three weeks have passed since the charismatic former winger passed away, leaving little time for Le Roux or his teammates to fully process the loss amid their URC knockout run. There will be further scope to do just that when the curtain falls on the season at Croke Park on Saturday, a day on which the Pretorians hope to honour their former player in the most joyous way possible. Advertisement But the memory of Hendricks, who earned 12 caps for South Africa between 2014 and 2015, has played a significant role in pushing the Bulls even this far. 'That wasn't something that you woke up one morning and expected to happen,' Le Roux says of his friend's untimely passing. 'I think that what the Bulls have done when we retired his jersey this season — and [Canan] Moodie has been playing with the number 24 jersey — and the photos and stuff at the back of our numbers, it is just a reminder; reminding us that every time, before we put on the jersey, what an influence he had at the club, his positive attitude… 'He would light up a room when he walked in,' Le Roux adds. The Bulls, then, will be emotionally charged when they take to the field at GAA Headquarters, hellbent on doing right by a club icon and amending the wrongs of 2022 and 2024. And while it will be Le Roux's first URC final, his experience of even greater showpieces with the Springboks will prove an invaluable tool as Jake White and co. navigate the week in Dublin. For a youngster like the aforementioned Canan Moodie, for example, who didn't feature in the Boks' matchday 23 for the last World Cup final, Saturday's meeting with Leinster will be the most significant of his career to date. But Le Roux's advice for the Bulls' less experienced charges will be simple: 'It's the same as playing the first game of the season'. 'It's not to put this [final] on a pedestal and make this that much bigger', Le Roux adds, 'and you go into your shell where you don't want to try stuff and you don't want to run from your own half. That is not what got us here in the first place. 'You shouldn't wait. If you're a winger, you don't wait outside on the wing to get the ball: you come in and you work off your wing and you get your hands on the ball as much as you can. We got here through taking chances. We see an opportunity, we take it. That is what you must do in those big games as well: whether you make a mistake or not, it's about putting yourself out there, putting yourself in battle. You might lose a few battles but you might also win. 'That's just the little things that I tell the guys. You might lose a few battles but it's about getting back up and putting yourself into as many as you can.' When those battle lines are finally drawn at 5pm on Saturday, hosts Leinster will be heavily favoured to end their own trophy drought and lift their first title of the URC era. Le Roux is distinctly unperturbed by the Bulls' underdog status but he is equally uninspired by the Bulls' healthy record over Leinster, against whom the South Africans have played six and won four — including two semi-finals and a semi-recent, regular-season squeaker. Recent records can be torn up, says the fullback. Each side, equally desperate for silverware, will have 80 minutes to set straight the only record that actually matters. 'It's a final, it's one game away now,' Le Roux says. 'You could have had the worst season of your life or [been] the the best attacking team of this season, but that doesn't matter. This is the game. This is the only one you need to win to lift the trophy. 'Finals are fine margins whether it's at home or away. These games come down to maybe one moment, one mistake you might make, one piece of brilliance someone else does. 'They all say it's 'mission impossible', but we'll have to wait and see on Saturday. 'It's all about playing for each other, playing for your brother next to you, and and playing for Cornall.'
