Celebrations in store as Lionesses successfully defend European crown
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Irish Examiner
2 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Tralee girls shine but Ireland fall just short again Scots
Ireland Girls' captain Brenda Craig acknowledged a heroic from her players while the combined side fell just short against Scotland on the opening day of the R&A Boys' & Girls' Home Internationals in Cork. England lead the overall and Girls' standings following their comprehensive 13-8 victory over Wales, as Scotland defeated the hosts 11-10. However, Ireland are just one game point shy of the English in the Girls' standings, before they renew rivalries tomorrow. The combined Irish side had made a fast start and took a 4-3 lead after the morning foursomes against Scotland. Hannah Lee-McNamara and Zoe McLean-Tattan, Kate Dillon and Róisín Scanlon, and Tralee pair Lucy Grattan and Ella Moynihan all won their matches for a clean sweep for the Girls. Caelan Coleman and Harry O'Hara combined for an important point for the Boys. Scanlon and Dillon both won their singles matches in the afternoon and despite further wins for Isaac Oliver, William O'Riordan and John William Burke, Ireland came up just short. 'A little bit disappointed with the overall result but we still got 10 points which is a good start for everybody for the week,' said Craig. 'The girls had a really good day, three great wins in the foursomes this morning followed up with two wins and two halves this afternoon, so we won our Girls' section 6-3, absolutely delighted and looking forward now to England tomorrow. 'We would have preferred to keep the English game until Thursday but we have to play them at some stage so really looking forward to it. 'We beat them in the Girls' match in the Home Internationals last year, we beat them not so long ago in the quarter-finals of the Europeans, so looking forward to another great match tomorrow. First match out so the girls will be going out fresh and looking forward to it. 'Three new girls in and the two Tralee girls getting a super win this morning, and Ella Cantwell getting an absolutely fabulous half this afternoon, so our experienced girls and the new girls are mixing and blending really well. 'There's a long way to go and hopefully we're chatting tomorrow afternoon and I have another smile on my face.' England also impressed against Wales on Tuesday. Charlotte Naughton and Annabel Peaford were part of a 7&6 win, there were three 4&3 results in their favour too as England took a 5-2 lead from the morning foursomes. Naughton had another big 7&6 win in the afternoon, with Alex Boyes (6&5) and Aaron Moody (8&7) also shining. 'We had a really good start in the foursomes, so that's always good to get a couple of points on the board because that's always difficult,' said England captain India Clyburn. 'This afternoon in the singles, we had some good battles out there, hard-fought matches to the end, and some good comebacks from the matches that we did lose, but all really good.'
RTÉ News
10 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Katie Mullan eyes semi spot for Ireland ahead of EuroHockey Championships
Katie Mullan and her Ireland team-mates have set themselves a goal of reaching the semi-finals stage at the upcoming EuroHockey Championships in Germany. Ireland, who have been drawn in Pool A in Monchengladbach, get the eight-team tournament under way with an arduous opener against the Netherlands on Saturday (Live on RTÉ). After facing the side at the summit of the world rankings, fixtures against France (world ranking 19) and Germany (world ranking 6) follow for Gareth Grundie's charges, who themselves are 11th in the global standings. The 31-year-old Mullan, who made her international debut back in 2012 against Wales, recognises the rigours in achieving a semi-final berth but believes a last-four place is obtainable. "This is going to be Europeans number six for me," the Coleraine native told RTÉ Sport. "We've never cracked it, the highest we've finished is fifth, but we've never made that semi-final so that's a big motivator for me and for the rest of the team. "I was just explaining that to the girls the other day, the journey we've gone on each Europeans, it's the hardest continental games by far because of the standard of hockey. "You've got so many top-10 teams on the European continent and then the other thing is the set-up of the tournament – you have to finish top two in your pool. "For us, it means beating a nation ranked a good bit higher than us. That's a challenge, but we're ready for it now and we've had a lot of practice games and we're just looking forward to getting going now." Mikayla Power's late, late winner last Friday at the Sport Ireland Campus in Dublin secured the home side a 2-1 series win over a Spain outfit ranked seventh in the world, delighting fans and buoying confidence ahead of the Euros. "It's huge, and do you know what? It's been the greatest pleasure to play these games here in Dublin," Mullan explained. "I can't remember the last time Spain came over and played us. "It's been brilliant to have these games here on home soil, get a bit of a crowd around the pitch, just to drum up momentum going into next week, and it's fantastic that RTÉ is showing the games live throughout the Europeans tournament. It's so important for our sport and for the growth of our sport. The encounter against the Netherlands is likely one where Ireland will come up short, while the France fixture has to be regarded as one of the must-win variety, meaning there is a strong likelihood that pool finale against Germany will decide Ireland's knockouts fate. "I think Germany is a really important game for us," Mullan acknowledged. "We used to play the Germans quite a lot and we haven't played them in the last 18 months so much. "They've had a lot of retirements, their team is very, very different, so we've been watching them closely in the Pro League. "I think there is opportunity. "One thing I've noticed is the Europeans immediately after the Olympics is always an exciting one because people don't know one another as well. "There have been retirements, there are new players, there are changes of coaches, there are all these different variables that you find within 12 months of an Olympics. "It won't disappoint, I can guarantee you that!"
Irish Times
a day ago
- Irish Times
Ben Stokes hails Chris Woakes's one-armed effort in dramatic defeat to India
Ben Stokes paid tribute to the bravery of Chris Woakes as a series during which players battled at various stages through broken feet and shattered fingers ended with a one‑armed man at the crease, his other arm in a sling, enduring obvious agony as England fell seven runs short of victory against India at The Oval. Stokes said: 'That never-say-die, never-back-down attitude we've installed in the group nearly paid off. It was never going to be a question for him to go out there. He was in a lot of discomfort even running between the wickets. 'But we've had Rishabh Pant go out to bat with a broken foot, we've had Shoaib Bashir bowling, batting and fielding with a broken finger and then we had Chris go out there and try and get his team over the line with a quite recently dislocated shoulder. 'Before he went out I didn't get a chance to give him a tap on the back and say: 'Go well.' Coming off it's obvious what would have been said, just: 'Great effort, unbelievable.' He just shrugged his shoulder and said: 'I wouldn't do anything else.'' READ MORE Stokes, who was ruled out of the game with a shoulder injury of his own, pinpointed when Woakes went down on the opening day as the moment that decided the match. 'It took, I don't know, half a second for a shoulder to pop out and everything just completely changed for us there' – but the captain admitted that the six catches England dropped during India's second innings had not helped. Mohammed Siraj celebrates the match-winning wicket of Gus Atkinson with India wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel on day five of the fifth Test at The Oval. Photograph:'You could say those chances we put down did cost us, but back to Headingley where we chased down those runs, India dropped quite a few chances and that probably did contribute to us winning. Maybe if we did hold on to those chances, things could have been a little bit different.' Though the game ended in defeat in the adversity of playing most of it a man down, Stokes felt certain players demonstrated previously unknown courage. 'Some guys will leave this series having found out a lot more about themselves,' he said. 'In particular, with Woakesy going down early on, the responsibility that fell on Gus Atkinson, Josh Tongue and Jamie Overton's shoulders – their roles completely changed from why they were selected, the impact we thought they would have on the game. They had to dig deep. I think a couple of guys have found out more about themselves in a very, very positive way. 'They took that responsibility on without adding pressure to themselves. They did that in a way of pride – one of the boys has gone down and we're going to have to take on that workload. Some people would shy away from that and be worried about what it means for them. They showed a lot of courage, a lot of heart. They can be very proud of the way they threw themselves into that.' After an appropriately, brutally tense conclusion on its 25th day the series will be remembered as a classic, with Stokes admitting the final scoreline of 2-2 was 'probably fair'. He said: 'There's that disappointment and frustration, not to have got the result that gives us the series win, but this series has been fantastic to be a part of. 'It's been full of ups and downs, ebbs and flows, throughout every game. India have been in control, we've been in control, it's gone back to them and then it's come back to us. To be a part of it has been pretty special. 'There is still that disappointment, but for the wider game, and we want to constantly be promoting the game, this series has been great.' India's Dhruv Jurel hugs Ravindra Jadeja after the win over England at The Oval. Photograph: Henry Nicholls/AFP via Getty Images At the end of his first series as India's captain, to which he contributed 754 runs and four centuries, Shubman Gill said its – and his own – vacillating fortunes had demonstrated 'how the game of life works'. He said: 'There are moments like this where you feel the journey is worth it. There've been a lot of highs and lows and that's kind of expected in sport. 'Every time you go into bat you want to perform, you want to score a century, but that's not how the game of life works. You should be able to navigate through the highs and lows of life and stay balanced. I want to stay balanced whether we've won the match, lost the match, I've done well or not well. 'This morning summarised what this team's all about. The way Brook and Root were going [on Sunday], not many teams in the world would have given themselves a chance, but this team believes that whenever we have an opening we can get through that opening. 'That's what we were saying once Brook was out – this was our opening and you never know.' – Guardian
