Tiarnán O'Donnell races into final at Rowing World Cup
Tiarnán O'Donnell eased into the PR2 Men's Single Scull final by smashing his personal best and winning his preliminary heat at the World Rowing Cup in Varese, Italy.
There was a slight tailwind on the first day of racing, creating fast conditions and quick times on the water.
The Paris Paralympian capitalised on the favourable conditions, recording a 15-second personal best in his heat with a winning time of 8:41.80.
O'Donnell had established a 10-metre lead by the 500-metre mark and went on to win by a five-second margin over second-place Uzbekistan.
Due to forecasted adverse weather conditions on Sunday, the PR2 M1x A Final has been moved forward to 2pm (Irish time) to Saturday when the Limerick man will be a strong favourite.
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RTÉ News
2 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Croke Park title 'the stuff of dreams' - Leo Cullen delighted with URC win
When the Bulls shocked Leinster to inflict a very rare trophyless season back in 2022, it triggered a long summer of soul-searching. That summer turned into a four-year wait, finally ended with a 32-7 hammering of the Bulls at Croke Park. As the face of Leinster Rugby, Leo Cullen has had a heavy weight on his shoulders after a series of semi-final and final defeats, both in the URC and Champions Cup. "It was a great day today," he told RTÉ Sport at Croke Park. "An amazing occasion at Croke Park. It's the stuff of dreams really, isn't it? For lots of Irish kids growing up. To experience a final here, big thanks to the support that we've had. It's just about enjoying the moment now." Just under 47,000 people, a record for an final in Ireland, turned up at Croke Park, and Cullen was right in the thick of them in the Hogan Stand, part of the makeshift coaching box, allowing him to fully experience the noise. "It's great for everybody. The supporters is the big thing. It was an amazing atmosphere out there today. Normally when you're in the Aviva, you're in a glass coaches box and you're way off getting the sense of the occasion so it was amazing. "Two Wicklow lads [Cullen and Jack Conan] here getting involved in a final at Croke Park, a rare sight but listen, it was a great week, lots of great stuff over the course of a season. "It's a very difficult competition to win, just the nature of the way the season is and there's a lot of great teams involved in. The South African teams have been an amazing addition to the tournament. The Bulls are a great team." While it doesn't fully erode the pain of their Champions Cup elimination last month, it does allow them finish a campaign with something to show for it. Although Cullen insists his side wouldn't be defined by their trophy haul. "We had this question yesterday, wasn't it? Is your season, when you get to a final, is it a success or a failure? "Unfortunately, you guys, the way you write, the losers of a final suddenly are failures. Whereas you get to the last day of the competition, I think you need to celebrate the two teams that are in the final. "Obviously we've been on the flip side of that in the past. Does that deem us failures? I personally don't think it's a failure. We win today, it's great but we'll move onto the next challenge and that will be... we'll watch the guys that are on tour with Ireland and the Lions." Bulls coach Jake White was effusive in his praise for Leinster after the game. The former Springbok boss admitted he had been quietly confident about pulling off another play-off win against Leinster after their successes in 2022 and 2024, but added that his Bulls were totally outclassed by Leinster's stacked squad of international talent. "You have to understand, this is not a normal rugby team," he said of Leinster. "We are naïve when… I made a note in my book, they are 19-0 up and they bring on RG Snyman. "It's just a different league altogether and that's why Leinster supporters are probably so disappointed because they were waiting for that performance the whole year and we just happened to get the 40 minutes that they were waiting for the whole year. "We couldn't get our hands on the ball. I say again to all the Irish, I don't think they give the credit to that Leinster team. They are well coached, they are fantastic guys as well." This afternoon's final was a third defeat for the Bulls in four appearances at the big dance, and White was blunt when asked what he needs to turn silver medals into gold. "The lesson I've taken from that is we need more international players to play in our province. I need what Leinster have. I need to be able to fight fire with fire. "They're sitting in the coaching box, 19-0 up, and say, 'RG [Snyman], warm up'. They put him on and let him menace the defence like he did tonight. "I keep banging the same drum. I've coached some of the best players in the world, players who have won player of the year twice. If you're playing against 23 internationals, I think today Leinster were short with only 22, there is a complete difference. "That's a phenomenal provincial team. That must be the best Leinster team, I know that's going to be headline but that must be one of the best Leinster squads they've ever had."
Irish Examiner
2 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Playing Leinster 'like watching a horror movie' for Bulls coach Jake White
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Irish Daily Mirror
2 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Leo Cullen's hilarious reaction to being asked about 'Leo' chants at final
Chants of 'Leo, Leo, Leo' rang around Croke Park during and after Leinster's URC final victory over the Bulls. And Leinster head coach Leo Cullen exploded with laughter when he was asked by a South African journalist about his emotions on hearing his name being chanted by the record crowd for an Irish final. "Ha ha, that was for Leo the Lion," exclaimed Cullen."Just to say I don't want to take the credit here! "One of my memories when I came back from England, I was playing in England between 2005 and 2007, Leinster wasn't a happy place back in those days. "But I remember playing in the RDS in 2007 and we were defending a lineout and I could hear the crowd go, 'Leo, Leo!' and I was thinking 'this crowd love me' and then in the corner of my eye I could see the lion doing a dance, and I was like, 'Ahh good luck'. "But Leo the Lion did a great job!" After the official URC trophy presentation on the Croke Park pitch, a contingent of the playing group walked up the Hogan Stand steps where skipper Jack Conan lifted the trophy again in the traditional spot that many a GAA captain has done the same. Asked who came up with the idea, Conan replied: 'I have absolutely no idea. "Marcus O'Buachalla (Leinster media manager), he needs a shout out at least once a week! 'I was conscious of the lads trying to lift up my shirt and making an absolute mug of me so I was tucking that in. 'Look, to be on the Hogan Stand to lift a trophy with all your mates, family, loved ones, it's incredibly special and something that will live long in the memory. 'I had a few words as Gaeilge but I was told my pronunciation was all over the place, so they told me not to do it! I don't think they wanted me to do a speech, I was told less is more!" Conan described the victory as "incredibly special", adding: "It's not something you could ever dream of when you were growing up or even in the last few years because obviously it has been long since we had played here as a club. 'So, it's not something that was ever on your radar but it's just fantastic. I know it wasn't full today but there were 46-odd thousand people and we could feel every single one of them. 'We could hear their voices and they got behind us. They stayed after the final whistle for us to do a lap. "One of the big reasons we do what we do is to give back to the people who come to support us through the good days and the bad days. 'It's incredibly pertinent that we give them something to celebrate. I think everyone is just elated."
