Linfield will ‘assess' squad in summer after back-to-back losses to end season, admits David Healy
Coleraine moved up to fifth in the Premiership table ahead of the end-of-season European Play-Offs after Rhyss Campbell's firecracker edged out champions Linfield at The Showgrounds.
In a low-key first-half, it was brought to life on 43 minutes when Campbell's half volley from 25 yards left visiting 'keeper David Walsh with no chance.
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The Independent
27 minutes ago
- The Independent
Bath boss plays down Finn Russell injury fears after semi-final win over Bristol
Bath boss Johann van Graan has played down injury fears over Finn Russell, insisting that the fly half was just dealing with cramp when he limped off late in the Premiership semi-final win over Bristol. The hosts battled back after a fast and furious first half from Bristol to book their place in the Premiership final for a second straight year, with Russell typically influential in a 34-20 win. The Scotland fly half, set to tour Australia with the British and Irish Lions this summer, helped turn the tide in combination with half-back partner Ben Spencer as Bath powered clear to set up a meeting with either Leicester or Sale next Saturday. The 32-year-old appeared to give Van Graan, and perhaps Lions coach Andy Farrell, reason to fret as he departed before the end of the game sporting a large bruise on his left leg, with the Scot in apparent discomfort even while exchanging verbals with the Bristol team and smiling. But Van Graan has moved to allay worries of an injury, stressing that he expects Russell to be fit as Bath look to end a 29-year wait for a top-flight title. 'Multiple parts of his body are cramping," Van Graan said as his side took a step closer to a possible treble."He put in some effort, I thought. His goalkicking was phenomenal, the chases that he put in too. He was still cramping in the changing room but there's no reason to suppose he won't be fine. "It was amazing how many guys on both sides went down with cramp. It just showed the effort that both teams put in. We worked incredibly hard to get into this position, to get back to Twickenham." Bath were beaten finalists last year, pushing Northampton close at Twickenham despite Beno Obano's early sending off. Their depth was on full display as they rallied to beat their rivals on a raucous Friday night at The Rec, with back rows Guy Pepper, Miles Reid and Ted Hill all producing standout performances even in the absence of the suspended Sam Underhill. The impact of Springboks tighthead Thomas du Toit also proved key, with the South Africa international relieving a possible Lions starter in Will Stuart to further illustrate the options on offer to Van Graan. "That's a Premiership semi-final for you,' the Bath coach explained. 'We knew this was going to be a tough game and we picked a 23 that we believe will get the job done. "I thought at 34-13, we got some momentum but Bristol is a good team. They kept on attacking and it's never dead on 34-20. It was some game of rugby. We knew that we were going to be stretched but we actually defended pretty well. "At half-time we spoke about our game and composure. It shows that we are a team that is fluid and adaptable. We made one or two tactical changes and then our fitness came through, our hunger, our will to win.'
The Independent
42 minutes ago
- The Independent
Bath fight back to beat rivals Bristol in thrilling Premiership semi-final
Bath are heading back to Allianz Stadium, Twickenham for another crack at the Premiership final after running in four tries in a 34-20 victory over Bristol Bears thanks to a powerful second-half performance. But the hosts had spent an anxious first half trying to quell the challenge of their nearest neighbours, whose unique sense of adventure lit up their play-off semi-final. Bristol were 13-6 in front at the break and it could have been more. The try of the match was scored by their lock James Dun after Fiji wing Kalaveti Ravouvou set off from his own line, leaving four Bath defenders in his wake. Guy Pepper started in the Bath back row in the absence of the suspended Sam Underhill, while Cameron Redpath replaced Will Butt at centre. England prop Ellis Genge was recalled to the Bristol pack along with Dun and centurion Steven Luatua. A fast and furious first half opened with a penalty to Bristol which was quickly reversed for some ill-advised verbals. When Bath then laid siege to the visitors' line, Genge was the man who held up the ball to earn a relieving drop-out. Both sides were probing for any advantage they could find and the first points went to Bristol as AJ MacGinty punished Pepper's infringement at a ruck with a straightforward penalty after 12 minutes. When hooker Gabriel Oghre broke clear, Bath had to defend desperately before Ben Spencer eased the anxiety with a long kick upfield. But Ravouvou, collecting the ball near his own line, somehow evaded a quartet of would-be tacklers and the home defence was soon spreadeagled at the other end. Lock Dun eventually cut a simple line to the posts and MacGinty added the conversion for a 10-0 lead. Ravouvou was soon sent to the sin bin for preventing a quick-tapped penalty by Spencer, allowing Finn Russell to pull back three points for Bath but MacGinty immediately replied to make it 13-6 at the break. Losing scrum-half Harry Randall to a shoulder injury just before half-time had not helped Bristol's cause and a Ted Hill try converted by Russell straight after the break brought Bath level. Joe Cokanasiga swooped on a teasing kick ahead by Tom de Glanville to score Bath's third try shortly after to put them ahead for the first time. When Will Muir finished off a prolonged period of pressure by touching down in the left corner and Max Ojomoh added a fifth on the hour, Bath were back in command. With Russell faultless from the tee, the score was suddenly 34-13. Bristol were not about to lie down but very little luck was going their way and they were twice held up over the Bath line. With six minutes left, Benhard Janse van Rensburg finally stretched out to score in the corner and McGinty converted. One concern for Johann van Graan and his men ahead of next weekend's return to Twickenham was Russell limping off after treatment to his left leg.
The National
an hour ago
- The National
Who's going to step up and replace Scotland's golden generation?
The youthfulness of Steve Clarke's squad for the friendly internationals against Iceland and Liechtenstein this month has, what with Connor Barron, Kieron Bowie, Tommy Conway, Josh Doig, Billy Gilmour, Max Johnston, Lennon Miller, Nathan Patterson and James Wilson all receiving call ups, certainly been heartening. The members of that nonet have an average age of just 21. Every one of them has a huge amount to offer their country at international level for many seasons to come. They have numerous qualifying campaigns left in them and hopefully a few finals too. The same is true of the injured duo Ben Doak, the Liverpool winger, and Aaron Hickey, the Brentford full-back. It was also encouraging to see the SFA roll out their Cooperation System – which will see up to three Scotland-qualified prospects under the age of 21 move freely between Premiership and Championship parent clubs and lower league outfits on loan from the 2025/26 season onwards – this week. Read more: Similar agreements already exist in Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Hungary and Serbia. Hopefully the long overdue scheme will enable our best prospects, who have often been prevented from gaining much-needed competitive game time in the senior ranks simply because their presence is needed to satisfy homegrown player quotas in European competition, to make the difficult transition from the age-group ranks. That initiative was one of the main recommendations contained within the Transition Phase paper which was co-authored by Andy Gould, the SFA's chief football officer, and Chris Docherty, the governing body's head of men's elite strategy and was published last year. That report contained many worrying revelations, damning findings and stark conclusions about how poorly Scotland is doing in comparison with other countries of a similar size across Europe when it comes to producing talented young footballers who are capable of flourishing in the paid ranks. But if anybody needed reminding just how few professionals are emerging, Brown Ferguson, the former Alloa, Hamilton and Partick Thistle midfielder and the current Stenhousemuir assistant manager who is also the assistant regional performance manager at sportscotland and the high performance manager to Scottish Golf, took to X (formerly Twitter) to tell us. He posted a series of alarming statistics about the Premiership last season. Here are a few of the most startling. Just 31.46 per cent of players to start games in the top flight were Scottish. That is down from 45 per cent three years ago. On average, just 3.23 per cent of players kicking off on a Saturday are under 21, just four out of 132. No fewer than 20 team selections failed to contain a single Scot. Aberdeen and Celtic didn't start an under-21 player in the 2024/25 campaign. The SFA have identified these major problems and are endeavouring to address them. The SPFL clubs, who in the past have shown they are more concerned with self-interest than the greater good, have endorsed and embraced their plans. But is it too little too late? Our leading clubs face a raft of challenges running academies and bringing through youngsters who are capable of representing their first teams every year. The issues which Brexit and raids on their age-group squads by their wealthier English rivals have presented in recent years have been well documented in these pages. Far fewer footballers who are good enough are emerging. These are pretty exciting times in Scottish football with Brighton owner Tony Bloom buying a major stake in Hearts and a consortium comprising American billionaire Andrew Cavenagh and the San Francisco 49ers taking over Rangers. With Hibernian a far more formidable force than they were and Aberdeen lifted by their epic Scottish Cup triumph, next season promises to be a belter. Read more: But the focus in recent weeks has very much been on how much money every club will spend and who will be brought in this summer. The new powerbrokers seem unconcerned about doing their bit to help our national game by rearing homegrown heroes. Sure, wanting to promote youth has been mentioned in passing. It appears, though, fairly far down their list of priorities. Such is the money mad modern game. There is, with Barron, Bowie, Conway, Doig, Gilmour, Johnston, Miller, Patterson and Wilson as well as Lewis Ferguson, Jack Hendry, George Hirst, Andy Irving, Scott McKenna, Scott McTominay and John Souttar all in the current Scotland squad, no reason for Tartan Army footsoldiers to panic. (Image: Craig Williamson - SNS Group) Yet, the World Cup qualifying campaign which will get underway with away games against Denmark and Belarus in September may well prove to be the last that Che Adams, Stuart Armstrong, Ryan Christie, Lyndon Dykes, Craig Gordon, Grant Hanley, John McGinn, Kenny McLean, Andy Robertson, Lawrence Shankland and Kieran Tierney are involved in. Some will retire after it, others will stay on. But we are witnessing the last hurrah of a golden generation. Will those who come after that aforementioned group grace, as many of their predecessors did, the Premier League and the Champions League? The majority of them still have some way to go to scale the same heights as their compatriots. A few will manage it, but many won't. Clarke lamented how few goalkeepers he had to choose from when he announced his squad last month. He, or his successor, may be left bemoaning the lack of centre-backs, full-backs, holding midfielders, playmakers, wingers and strikers going forward. There must be a concerted collective effort from club owners and managers or qualification for the finals of major tournaments will be a thing of the past.
