Cork Con have AIL history in their sights against Clontarf
When Clontarf and Cork Constitution go head-to-head, there's rarely much to separate them. And so it should be again today in the Energia men's AIL Division 1A final.
In the three previous final encounters between them, two have been decided by four points or fewer. Even their more recent regular-season clashes have been defined by fine margins, only occasionally marked by double-digit scorelines.
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Irish Times
25-05-2025
- Irish Times
West Indies beat Ireland by 197 runs to square up three-match series
West Indies (385-7) (Keacy Carty 170; Barry McCarthy 3-100) beat Ireland (165-8) (Cade Carmichael 48; Jayden Seales 3-26) by 197 runs (DLS method) On Friday the weather saved Ireland from the unenviable task of chasing down a mammoth West Indies total. They were not so lucky this time around. Replying to an even bigger score of 386, reduced to 363 in 46 overs by rain, Ireland's attempt was ugly. In just his second international innings, Cade Carmichael reached 48 before getting stuck looking for a maiden milestone, but that was as good as it got. West Indies wrapped up a dominant 197-run win to square the three-match series at one apiece, honours shared after Ireland's own dominant victory in game one before the rain scuppered things on Friday. The day started promisingly for Ireland, Barry McCarthy continuing his hex over Brandon King, dismissing the West Indies opener for the third time in as many matches. He added Evin Lewis for good measure, leaving the visitors two down inside five overs. READ MORE The fight back was something to behold. Shai Hope and Keacy Carty combined to put on 137 runs, the latter passing three figures in back-to-back matches. His effort of 170 anchored a late onslaught of hitting, Ireland's inability to take middle overs wickets biting them by opening up the Caribbean power game at the death. Justin Greaves added 50 runs off just 23 balls, Ireland struggling to contain the scoring rate at the small Clontarf venue. They were not helped by injuries. Debutant Jordan Neill bowled just five overs before suffering a nasty shoulder issue. Josh Little managed seven before tweaking something in his leg. Neither man emerged to bat later in the day, meaning West Indies needed to take just eight wickets for victory. Irish skipper Paul Stirling started the chase with the required aggression when needing nearly eight runs an over but he departed for 26. Jayden Seales accounted for him, Andy Balbirnie and Harry Tector cheaply, tearing the heart out of this Irish chase. Carmichael, Lorcan Tucker and George Dockrell all made contributions, but nothing close enough to the magic needed for a record victory. A pair of run outs only added to the ignominy, the West Indies wrapping things up with 16 overs still remaining. The Caribbean outfit now heads to England before returning to these shores in June for a three-match T20 encounter to be held in Bready Cricket Club.
Irish Times
25-05-2025
- Irish Times
Why are so many young Irish rugby players moving to France?
'Did you hear Richie Whelan has signed for La Rochelle? ' You never know when a sliver of transfer gossip will fall into your lap. This one came from overhearing punters taking in the annual fixture between Ireland U20s and a Leinster Development XV. The name of the club was familiar. That of the player less so. Who is Richie Whelan, and why has Ronan O'Gara taken him on? Whelan played for Leinster in the 2024 edition of this fixture in Donnybrook. Injury and a competitive backrow saw him miss out on Ireland U20s. He didn't earn a Leinster academy offer, playing instead for Clontarf in the AIL. Despite captaining Roscrea in the Senior Cup back in 2023, he would be unfamiliar to all bar the most stringent of rugby fans – those of the sort to take in an underage trial match on a Baltic January evening. French rugby has a long history of padding their academies with foreign talent. Irish provinces have had their difficult days against Georgian props and flying Fijians. Such is the frequency of Australian youngsters signing for French clubs – Emmanuel Meafou a prominent example, 16-year-old 147kg giant Visesio Kite the latest case – Rugby Australia chairman Daniel Herbert has cried poaching to World Rugby. READ MORE But now we're hearing of provincial castaways making the journey. There are a handful of Irish players already in France, predominantly in second-tier clubs. They are small in number for now, but plenty are convinced that more will join. There is a catch. French rugby has its now infamous JIFF regulations – short for joueurs issus des filières de formation. This quota mandates a certain number of home-grown players in each match day squad, limiting foreign imports. Financial incentives are attached to giving JIFFs game time. Penalties are handed out for not fulfilling the requirements. To earn JIFF status, players need to spend three years in a French academy before turning 23. Ireland's Ronan Loughnane in action against France in a U20 Six Nations match in July 2021. Photograph: Laszlo Geczo/Inpho Moving to France at a young age is a necessity. Ronan Loughnane, another former Roscrea man currently at Aurillac in the second-tier Pro D2, dropped out of college to take up an offer after attempts to impress Leinster and Munster fell through. 'All my mates told me you've some balls to go over there and drop everything,' says the former Ireland U20 hooker. 'I signed a three-year deal. For me, it was the obvious next move when nothing was coming back home. I just had to do it.' The influence of Irish coaches in France is undoubtedly a factor. La Rochelle's assistant coach Donnacha Ryan used his connections back home when scouting for an academy backrow. Pat Whelan, based close to Roscrea in Nenagh, coached both Ryan and Richie Whelan. He helped make the link. James Coughlan, who is now director of rugby at Biarritz. Photograph: Dave Winter/Inpho James Coughlan, the former Munster backrow, is the current director of rugby at Biarritz. Speaking to Off the Ball earlier this year, he explained his desire to offer more Irish players a pathway to professional rugby. Coughlan has history when it comes to recruiting from Ireland. When previously coaching at Pau, he signed a pair of youngsters out of his old school, CBC Cork. Eoghan Barrett and Ben Roche were immediately given three-year deals with a view to earning JIFF status. Roche struggled with injury and returned home, but Barrett, who was never seriously on Munster's radar, is still playing in France, now at Soyaux-Angoulême. 'I've gotten seven years of rugby as opposed to getting none at home,' he says. 'I struggle to think I'd even play AIL, but here I am now in the Pro D2 having played in the Top 14 and the Challenge Cup.' Coughlan emphasised his wish to sign only those who don't make it provincially. 'We're not looking to take any Irish players who will go on to play for Ireland,' he said. 'We're looking to give guys who are a bit outside the academy bracket that we see have potential, we could do something with them here.' In theory, everyone wins. Irish rugby doesn't need to be worried about losing its best prospects. Though it's difficult to see Messrs Coughlan and Ryan saying no on the off-chance a young star can be convinced to give up on the Irish dream. O'Gara did try to sign Jack Crowley for La Rochelle , after all. The players clearly benefit, enjoying the better odds offered by the size of France's professional structure. 'In Ireland there's only four provinces, there's 30 teams in France,' explains Karl Martin, who chose to leave Leinster for Montpellier in order to see more game time during the pandemic. 'You have more opportunity, more games as a young guy. It will get you noticed.' There is also the chance, however slim, of late bloomers. The French equivalent of Tadhg Beirne, someone who finds a different pathway to professional rugby and later turns the IRFU's head. Irish coaches could never acknowledge using France as another development pathway on the sly. Yet, given the backlog of schools talent, it's not the worst idea to answer the phone when French clubs ask for recommendations. What's in it for the French? The simple answer is Ireland's school system. Aged 18/19, Irish players are not necessarily more talented than France's equivalent, but they appear better prepared for the pros. CBC's Eoghan Barrett on his way to scoring a try in the Munster Schools Senior Cup quarter-final against St Clement's College in February 2018. Photograph: Oisin Keniry/Inpho 'When I explain the schools set-up to the lads in France, they find it really bizarre,' explains Barrett. 'Just how positive it is at creating professional young players. I've often said to my team-mates here that I could name six or seven guys way better than me in school who would have what it takes to make it in France. They just weren't given the opportunity.' 'I'd say the basics would be nailed on in Ireland from a very young age,' says Martin. 'An 18-year-old in France vs Ireland, their senior cup year; knowledge of the game, physicality, fitness, the Irish player would be superior,' explains Loughnane. Money is inevitably another factor. If a Pro D2 club develops a JIFF player only to then lose him to the Top 14, they could be in line for around €250,000 in compensation. The more JIFFs you develop, irrespective of birthplace, the better the odds for smaller clubs of earning big pay-days. Stade Rochelais' head coach Ronan O'Gara before the Champions Cup match between La Rochelle and Munster. Photograph: Billy Stickland/Inpho If all these boxes can be ticked, positives gleaned for everyone involved, why are there only a handful of current Irish JIFFs? 'It's beginning to happen,' says Peter Lydon, the former Kilkenny College pupil now at Angoulême. Lydon is not JIFF qualified but has been on the lookout for those who have potential. 'Our backs coach asked me if I knew any Irish guys coming through who I could recommend for them to bring into the academy here.' 'Our head of recruitment has come to me and asked if I know of players in certain positions that would still be eligible for JIFF,' says Loughnane. 'When I go back home to Birr or Nenagh, I'll ask if there are any boys playing outhalf aged 17 who might want to come across and get their JIFF.' For now, the recruitment pathway is still reliant on old-fashioned connections. Word of mouth. Taps on the shoulder. A nod and a wink. By contrast, some French clubs have academies in Fiji, built with the sole purpose of creating a conveyor belt of young athletes who can earn JIFF status. While Coughlan wants to improve links with provincial coaches, there won't be an Irish branch of a French academy any time soon. The combination of luck and individual belligerence which sent the current crop across still remains key. O'Gara says his experience working with Whelan has left him open to hearing from Irish players, but they have to do some legwork. 'He's come in, he's represented what he stands for and what the people of Ireland stand for,' says the La Rochelle boss. 'I'm very proud of him, I need to just sort out what the best thing for him and his future is. 'It works both ways. Some people have reached out, some haven't. If there are young kids frustrated, I'm here.'
Irish Times
23-05-2025
- Irish Times
Rain halts play in Clontarf as West Indies come charging back
Sod's law dictates that rain was always going to have a say at some point in Ireland's summer calendar. With just nine days of men's international cricket pencilled in between May and September (the women have eight), fans already felt short changed. That the rain ruined any hopes of a result on Friday afternoon in Clontarf and with Sunday's forecast threatening the series finale, all involved are underwhelmed. With such a barren schedule to sell the top level of the sport to the Irish public, Cricket Ireland always ran the risk of rain ruining their already limited product. READ MORE West Indies did manage to bat for 50 overs before the heavens opened. After the visitor's head coach Darren Sammy called their Wednesday performance 'timid', many predicted a response. Still, nobody saw Matthew Forde's record performance coming, equalling 50-over cricket's fastest half-century at 16 balls. Josh Little bore the brunt of the Caribbean onslaught, Forde launching Ireland's left-armer for four maximums in one solitary over. Little went short, Forde went long over the Clontarf scoreboard and into the houses. Liam McCarthy suffered too, his attempted wide yorker ploy leading to a pair of lost balls. Tom Mayes didn't escape punishment either. In a way, the rain was Ireland's friend. They would have needed to break their record chase to haul in the West Indies' total of 352-8. With the odds not in their favour, they probably would have taken a rain-affected draw which leaves the West Indies needing a win on Sunday just to level the three-match series. Yet with the volume of cricket they had this summer, they probably wanted to get out as much as anyone. The good news from Ireland's effort with the ball was McCarthy – before Forde got hold of him. Pegged as a rare bowler with pace who can give Ireland something different in the middle overs, he took three wickets in the thankless part of the game, his first international scalps. West Indies captain Shai Hope nicked one which just left him after starting to look dangerous. Keacy Carty also nicked off after an impressive century. Forde's fun was ended by a searing McCarthy yorker at the death. Barry McCarthy stuck to his good new ball form when finding Brandon King's edge, adding a second later on, while George Dockrell continued his bowling renaissance with another dismissal. Most of this preceded Forde's ludicrous onslaught. Ireland were poor – they either bowled without an apparent plan or an inability to execute when tactics did become clear. Clontarf being a small ground certainly aided Forde's cause, but his display was still one of brutal beauty. The neighbours may well disagree. It's only a shame the West Indies didn't get back out to secure the win his performance deserved.
