Latest news with #GerryThornley
Irish Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Irish Times
How can the provinces break France's dominance?
Gerry Thornley joins the latest episode of The Counter Ruck fresh off his trip to Cardiff to watch the Champions Cup final. He breaks down the future landscape for free-to-air rugby in Ireland, analyses France's domination of the Champions Cup, looks at the chances of Noel McNamara returning home and more. Alongside host Nathan Johns, talk also turns to injuries ahead of the provincial run in the URC knockouts, and the importance of Leinster lifting the domestic trophy at the end of the campaign. Produced by John Casey.
Irish Times
20-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Powers-that-be ‘don't give a damn' about paying Six Nations fans
Rugby fans might have done a double-take when the fixtures for the 2026 Six Nations were released on Monday. Ireland opening their campaign away to France o n . . . a Thursday night? The reason for the first Thursday game in the championship's history? The broadcasters didn't want a clash with the Winter Olympics opening ceremony on the Friday. Gerry Thornley, to put it mildly, is not impressed. 'Supporters wishing to attend this game will have to take at least two days off work. That is a huge imposition and is bound to affect the number of Irish supporters who will attend the game.' The scheduling simply underlines the fact that the powers-that-be 'don't give a damn' about the paying fans . Jamison Gibson-Park, James Lowe, Bundee Aki and Mack Hansen won't be giving too much thought to that Thursday night in February just yet, they have Lions' matters to consider first. The quartet are among seven players in the Lions squad 'who grew up playing rugby outside of Lions nations' , a fact that has stirred no little comment of late. Nathan Johns talked to Gibson-Park, Lowe and Scotland's Sione Tuipulotu about the issue. 'Everyone's got a different story and mine just didn't start in Ireland,' said Lowe. 'I can see it ending in Ireland.' Owen Doyle, meanwhile, gives his thoughts on the refereeing in Munster's URC game against Benetton, and he salutes Hollie Davidson and Nika Amashukeli for being appointed to referee the European Challenge and Champions Cup finals, respectively. 'If anybody had suggested a few years ago that a Georgian man and a Scottish woman would referee the two European finals in 2025, they would have been scoffed at. It's a terrific achievement.' READ MORE In Gaelic games, Conor McManus looks back on 'a rough weekend for Connacht football' , with defeats for Mayo, Galway and Roscommon. 'I know we've seen Mayo bounce back over the years, but it's hard to know where this leaves them,' he says of their first championship loss to Cavan since 1948. Malachy Clerkin wonders too where Mayo can go from here. The one saving grace for them, he writes, is that almost nobody saw their defeat - it wasn't televised, and only 7,387 turned up for the game in Castlebar. In soccer, Paul Buttner was at Tallaght Stadium on Monday evening to see Shamrock Rovers extend their lead at the top of the Premier Division table to five points with a 4-0 win over St Patrick's Athletic. And in golf, Denis Walsh reflects on Scottie Scheffler's US PGA Championship triumph , one that is moving him in to Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods territory in terms of the records he's stacking up. And Philip Reid looks at Leona Maguire's season so far . It hasn't been her best, with just one top 10 finish to date, but she'll hope to sharpen up at this week's Riviera Maya Open in Mexico ahead of next week's $12 million US Women's Open. TV Watch : After Monday's rest day, the Giro d'Italia resumes with a Lucca to Pisa time trial (TNT Sports, from noon). And this evening, Manchester City will have to dust themselves down after that FA Cup final defeat if they are to boost their Champions League qualifying hopes - they play Bournemouth at home (Sky Sports, 8.0).
Irish Times
13-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Rachael Blackmore: A trailblazing career from a ferociously determined jockey
One of the very great Irish sporting careers came to an end on Monday with the announcement by Rachael Blackmore that she was retiring from horse racing. It was, writes Brian O'Connor, reflecting on ' a trailblazing career by a singularly talented and ferociously determined figure ', 'perhaps the most groundbreaking career any jockey has ever had'. Mercifully, Blackmore was never asked to wear a skort (as far as we know). 'Is this some sort of joke,' asked Carla Ward when she was first told about camogie's controversy, Gavin Cummiskey hearing from the Republic of Ireland manager when she was asked about the issue on Monday. In Gaelic games, Conor McManus looks back at the weekend's Ulster and Leinster finals , the Donegal v Armagh game providing 'further evidence that the new rules have improved football and brought back the excitement'. And he doffs his cap to Louth, their first Leinster title in 68 years vindicating the development work put in by the county in recent years. For Gordon Manning, the fact that the four finals attracted a total of 134,892 spectators proves that there's life in the provincial championships yet . 'Those praying for their demise can forget about seeing any white smoke on that particular issue in the near future.' READ MORE In rugby, Gerry Thornley takes you through the permutations for the final round of URC games , and looks ahead to Munster's 'all-or-nothing' shoot-out against Benetton on Friday - effectively 'a playoff to reach the playoffs'. An emotional night it will be too, marking the final game on Irish soil for Peter O'Mahony, Conor Murray and Stephen Archer. While Munster's season is still alive, Ulster and Connacht's campaigns are fizzling out , Ulster's decline, writes Gerry, the 'more alarming' considering their bigger history and tradition. But after the disappointment of their Champions Cup exit, Leinster can still salvage something from their season , Daire Walsh talking to assistant coach Tyler Bleyendaal about their URC hopes. Owen Doyle, meanwhile, gives us his thoughts on the refereeing in last weekend's games , Scotland's Sam Grove-White, who looked after Leinster's tie against Zebre, 'falling short of requirements'. 'There is little point in repeating that Hollie Davidson is the best referee in Scotland,' he says, 'it's a little insulting considering she has no competition.' Tom McKibbin will have a fair amount of competition at this week's US PGA Championship, as Philip Reid tells us in his Different Strokes column . Denis Walsh is our man over at Quail Hollow, drenched he was too after 'downpours that would have tested Noah's nerve' during the first day of official practice. Denis heard from McKibbin as he prepares for just the third major of his career , the LIV man relieved to have received a late invitation to the tournament. And in athletics, Ian O'Riordan talked to Nichola Sheridan at the launch event for the 2025 Dublin Marathon, which will take place in October. Sheridan only made her marathon debut a year ago, but at 28 she believes her best years are still to come . She's one of 22,500 entries for October's race. Sadly, some of us forgot to put a stamp on our envelope. TV Watch : After Monday's rest day, the Giro d'Italia resumes today (TNT Sports 1, 11.30am) and while golf's PGA Championship might not start until Thursday, Sky Sports are already kicking off their build-up (2pm). And this evening, Sunderland take a 2-1 lead in to their Championship play-off semi-final against Coventry (Sky Sports Football, 8pm), Sheffield United waiting for the winners in the final.
Irish Times
03-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Leinster v Northampton live updates: Champions Cup semi-final
6 minutes ago Hello and welcome to the Champions Cup semi-final between Leinster and Northampton Saints at the Aviva Stadium. John O'Sullivan here, and I'll take you through all the pre-match fare, the game and the post-match reaction including Gerry Thornley's match report and Johnny Watterson who has his red pen ready for the Player Ratings. It's a repeat of last season's semi-final, a game Leinster led 20-3 early in the second half through a James Lowe hat-trick but had to cling on for dear life to edge home 20-17. There's been plenty of throughput in the Saints pack, Courtney Lawes, now with Brive a huge loss. But the visitors have a precocious young flanker in Henry Pollock who obviously believes that all the world's a stage for his talent. The Saints are without some stellar attacking talent in Ollie Sleightholme, George Furbank and George Hendy too. Leinster are without secondrow James Ryan – he hasn't started any of Leinster's last five Champions Cup knockout matches as he was a replacement in the 2024 final – but otherwise have few injury concerns. Tommy O'Brien and Max Deegan are rewarded for their brilliant form, Cian Healy gets another starting role like the last day, while the bench contains………well a hell of a lot of talent not least Leinster's man of the match in the quarter-final, Jordie Barrett.
Irish Times
29-04-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Health of Irish rugby and Dublin football come under focus after lost weekend
As weekends go, the one just gone wasn't the most fruitful for Irish rugby, to put it mildly. For the first time since March 2015, all four provinces were beaten – add in the women's defeat in the Six Nations and, as Gerry Thornley puts it, 'all seems even less hunky dory underneath the surface' . At this rate, Ireland could end up with just one side in next season's Champions Cup. 'That,' says Gerry, 'would be quite a fall.' A very different Leinster team will, though, line out against Northampton in Saturday's Champions Cup semi-final to the one that lost to Scarlets, Johnny Watterson bringing news that RG Snyman is among those who'll be back on duty. Owen Doyle gives his thoughts on the officiating in the URC , saluting Hollie Davidson, 'the best referee in Scotland', but Sam Grove-White ... not so much. 'I won't be alone in remaining completely unconvinced by his performances.' Owen also writes about the upcoming World Rugby session when 'there will be huge focus and debate on the 20-minute replacement red card'. While it was a bleak weekend for the provinces, it was a mighty one for Clontarf, Gerry talking to their coach Andy Wood about Sunday's AIL triumph over Cork Constitution – in which 21-year-old centre Hugh Cooney shone. READ MORE Before Sunday, how long had it been since Dublin last lost a Leinster championship game? An entire 5,418 days, according to Malachy Clerkin's calculator. The Dubs will, he says, 'regenerate and refresh', but for now, Meath can revel in a win that was 'nothing short of astonishing' – and, ironically, former Dublin supremo Jim Gavin's new rules played no small part in their victory. Dublin's defeat 'came as a surprise, but not a big surprise' to Conor McManus, 'the signs that they were not functioning had been clear all season' . Meath are, then, through to the final where they'll play Louth, but for Conor 'it's hard to see anyone from the province as All-Ireland contenders'. Ulster? That's a whole different ball game. Gordon Manning, meanwhile, hears from the GAA's new head of hurling, former Tipperary player and manager William Maher . His mission is to grow the game outside its traditional heartlands. 'That,' he says, 'would be the dream'. After just 10km of the Düsseldorf Marathon on Sunday, Peter Lynch was just dreaming of finishing the race, so fast was the pace. In the end, he broke the Irish men's record . Ian O'Riordan talks to him about the achievement in what was only his second race over the distance. Imagine how he'll fare when he puts in a bit of practice? There'll be a fair amount of speediness on view at the Punchestown festival which gets under way today , Brian O'Connor previewing a week that will feature 40 races worth €3.5 million in prize money. Small change, mind, if you're playing golf on the LIV tour. As Philip Reid tells us, Tom McKibbin collected close to €800,000 in Mexico at the weekend after winning the team competition as part of Jon Rahm's Legion XIII crew and finishing tied for 34th in the individual competition. But is he happy? TV Watch : RTÉ 2 has the opening day of the Punchestown festival this afternoon (3.30-6.30), and this evening Arsenal host PSG in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final (Premier Sports 1, 8pm).
