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Irish Daily Mirror
a day ago
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Recovering from 10-14 at half-time against Benetton saved Munster from oblivion
Brian Boru, Munster's most famous High King and along with his sons Murchad and Toirdelbach, gained a notable win in Dublin, 1014. Some 10 centuries later, latter day High King Ian Costello, along with princes Mikey Prendergast and Denis Leamy, managed a similar 10-14 feat on the final day of the URC is, recovering from 10-14 at half-time in Musgrave Park, Cork, to defeat the significance of Boru's victory was driving Sigtrygg Silkbeard's hated Vikings out of latter-day regent Costello had saved Munster not just from the vikin' ignominy of failing to qualify for the 2025/26 Champions it was also a win that may well have pulled the province back from the brink of insolvency and the potential to become bit players in future Champions Cup qualification, hit and miss, miss and hit, etc etc. Without elite European competition qualification year-by-year, Munster would be fringe theatre, noble, a night out, but tickets and sponsorship would flatline, quality foreign signings would have less quality, and when it comes to future-proofing, continually losing the battle for emerging talent - hello to currently booming Limerick and Cork is the current landscape that the Heineken Cup winning days, the wide-eyed charge of 2000 and 2002 followed by the search for Holy Grail to 2006 seem as simple as driving on the Cup participation funds and large crowds at Thomond Park that giddied at year on year thrill and spills, cheated in Lille, losing to a fevered Basque nationalist rally in San Sebastian, FOUR epic finals in nine seasons, two gone as the child might say as right now Munster's growing problems are myriad and split across many parts of the the product most needs to be seen as a string of pearls, ordered, valuable and with the wow-factor close to the surface, they are without the string, the pearls have fallen from the top table and are rolling in all directions - think of the Malteasers ad gag. Talking simply Reds, money's too tight to mention down there and fans should beware of thinking Pairc Ui Chaoimh, with it's 6,000 extra seats and 9,000 extra standing is a swingeing top end prices and that equates pulling in and around an extra €600k gross in the event of a capacity crowd. €400k if it is just 40, and South Africa A at Pairc Ui Chaoimh drew 41,400 in November 2022, a record attendance for a Munster home are costs though; ground rental from the GAA is around €200k - the Aviva is 300k - and there will be an expensive day-long stewards bill as they won't be using the Thomond stewards, while there are no corporate boxes, Thomond has 15 which take in quite the this too of their top end coaching: The province parted company with Graham Rowntree in October 2024 with Costello taking the reins immediately; he is still there, interregnum, to most likely had spoken to their new Head Coach Clayton McMillan as early as November 2024 when he was in Ireland/Limerick was with the All Blacks and knew he could not start until next June/ the news came in late February the new man and would not be in place until July, Costello was undermined ahead of the last seven URC games which went, in sequence, LLWLLWW. Who knows what players and fans were to make of Prendergast and Leamy's roles last season, this season and next season. If Costello didn't want the top job - and he said he didn't - he shouldn't have been sat on the nest. Munster might have been Munster better set in giving Prendergast a stab at the top job, interim coach, see how he got and as the squad floundered, it was easy to wonder if there was a get out clause for either party had they failed to make the 2025/26 Champions Cup, had they not come back from 10-14 in that last game with the one hand McMillan wouldn't have come cheap (circa €300k before bonuses) and on the other hand a coach with All Black aspirations might not have fancied coaching in the European bargain-basement Challenge Cup. Meanwhile the playing staff, barring RPI Player of the Year, Tadhg Beirne, have become almost an addendum to each of Central Contracting, Andy Farrell, Ireland and the Lions.I'd specifically question bringing in a coach from the other side of the world and letting FOUR iconic home-grown players leave with one sweep of a brush at a time when the first team is so short of home grown O'Mahony (2010-25), Conor Murray (2010-25), Stephen Archer (2009-25) and Dave Kilcoyle (2012-23) are all departing, taking with them a collective 57 seasons about the there are those who worry about identity, ethos, tradition, who think it has to be central to a 'smaller' club especially one on the verge of turbulence, they will be questioning just who planned it was planned watching a TV set in New Zealand it's bonkers; if it was planned by either of the Munster executive or finance committee it may end in a spotlight being shone it was planned by an in-situ coaching staff who were not going to be in charge the following season it makes no sense is currently torn between a French and an Australian offer while Kilcoyne may be injured when it comes to playing full-time and this has been done before, would it not have been worth offering O'Mahony and/or Archer contracts to Christmas to help in the dressing room given the significant power handover?I am not quite going as far as suggesting somebody hire Peter to mow their lawn every second Sunday and Munster put him on a €1 pro contract with win bonuses. Or am I?
Deccan Herald
4 days ago
- Sport
- Deccan Herald
Bengaluru, Punjab in battle royale
Mullanpur: Two old guards, still searching for their maiden coronation but playing with a newfound fire and determination, will be hoping to take a step closer to the promised land when they lock horns in a potentially blockbuster Qualifier 1 here on has been quite a season for Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru, both of whom have dished out some soul-stirring stuff over the course of the last two months to finish on top of the table and ignite hopes of finally landing their hands on the Holy Grail. To get a taste of it though, they will first cross paths for a third time this season at the new PCA Stadium with barely anything separating them. In a way, it'll be a clash of teams with nearly identical philosophies. .Royal Challengers, under the leadership of Mo Bobat (Director of Cricket Operations), have constantly tried to veer away from the superstar heavy culture of the old. They still have some icons to do the heavy lifting but at the same time they also have a blend of proven domestic performers and talented young players who have stepped up tremendously whenever the chips have been it spinning all-rounder Krunal Pandya's sizzling unbeaten 73 against Delhi Capitals or the jaw-dropping 85 not out from stand-in skipper Jitesh Sharma that saw RCB scale down a target of 228 against Lucknow Super Giants on Tuesday with consummate ease, it has been a season of teamwork for the three-time runners-up — quite unlike the sides of the past. .Royal Challengers also took a punt in the unheralded Rajat Patidar as the captain and the Madhya Pradesh star has impressed with his leadership skills, managing players expertly and making the right calls on the field whenever the pressure has been high. And all of it in a composed manner, similar to his predecessor Faf du Plessis. It's still not clear if Patidar, nursing a finger injury, will captain on Thursday or play as an Impact Substitute, purely as a one of the most underperforming sides in the IPL, too shook things up. They appointed Australian Ricky Ponting, one of the most successful captains in the history of the sport, as the head coach and picked Shreyas Iyer as the captain. The duo, who worked together in Delhi Capitals, have brought about a spectacular turnaround that has seen the franchise reach the playoffs for the first time since Ponting has been the mastermind behind the scenes, Iyer, who last year captained Kolkata Knight Riders to glory, has brought the same leadership acumen to his new employers. Together they've given young guns Prabhsimran Singh, Priyansh Arya and Nehal Wadhera the licence to thrill and the trio have boomed the teams, who are almost neck and neck in the 35 meetings between them, will be banking heavily on their batters to get the job done on Thursday. What will give RCB extra confidence is their sizzling away form where they've lost just one game (it was supposed to their home match which got shifted due to inclement weather) and the brilliant chasing record (6 wins). Punjab, on the other hand, have a fearless bunch hungry for glory. .A loss may not mean the end of the world considering the losing side gets an extra chance to seal the final ticket but neither would be wanting to take that detour.. Royal Challengers refreshing change in RCB this season has been their collective batting might. Talisman Virat Kohli has brought his vintage form to lead the charts with 602 runs but solid contributions from the rest of the pack like Phil Salt (331), Rajat Patidar (271), Jitesh Sharma (237) and Tim David (187) have added more muscle to Challengers. Add match-winning performances from Krunal Pandya and Romario Shepherd, the Challengers now believe they can chase down any total, like they did against Lucknow Super Giants on Tuesday. They now don't depend solely on the stars with heroes emerging every time they've been pushed into a the longest of time, the Achilles Heel for the Royal Challengers has been their bowling. It's not as bad as the past but sans Josh Hazlewood, who hasn't played since the game against Delhi Capitals on April 27 after injuring his shoulder, has looked vulnerable. Although Hazlewood has joined the team following a rehab programme in Australia, he didn't play in the final league game against LSG on Tuesday and RCB will be hoping the pacer is ready for the battle on Thursday. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Yash Dayal, have done well but have also leaked a lot of runs and duo will need to be at their best, considering Punjab's batting three of the top-order batters have scored more than 400 runs and are striking the ball in excess of 165, it's a no-brainer what their strength is. Skipper Shreyas Iyer (514) has led from the front with five fifties while Prabsimran Singh (499) and Priyash Arya (424), one of the centurions this season, have taken apart every bowler worth his salt. Throw in Nehal Wadhera (298), Shashank Singh (284) and Josh Inglis (197), Punjab bat deep with each of them possessing solid power. Giving them the edge has also been Iyer's excellent captaincy and head coach Ricky Ponting's tactics behind the who are in the playoffs for the first time since 2014, are in untested waters and just how the batters cope up with pressure remains to be seen. Yes Iyer has seen it and done it with KKR and the Indian team but for most of the pack, such occasions are the first time. Another worrying factor has been their bowling but Yuzvendra Chahal's expected return should ease their still summer in this part of the country and the mercury is set to peak to nearly 38 degrees Celsius on Thursday before climbing down to late 20s in the evening. The pitch at the new PCA Stadium was on the slower side at the start with batters struggling to force the pace. But things have changed drastically in the last two games with three 200-plus totals posted in four innings. So expect another batting beauty considering that's what both PBKS and RCB - .It's a great achievement till now but really if you look back we haven't achieved anything yet. The vision for me was always to finish in the top two. It's a really happy group and we've enjoyed our time in each other's company for the last ten weeks but we've got another week to go Ponting Head coach PBKS
The National
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- The National
Davy Russell body swerves yet another campaign event
THE campaign for the Holyrood by-election in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse, which is due to be held on Thursday next week, has its very own campaign song now, an adaptation of the Brave Sir Robin song from Monty Python and the Holy Grail: Brave Davy Russell ran away. Bravely ran away, away! When scrutinty reared its ugly head, He bravely turned his tail and fled. Yes, brave Davy Russell turned about And gallantly he chickened out. Brave Davy Russell has body swerved yet another campaign event, a hustings organised by campaign group No Cuts Lanarkshire. He was represented at the event by the Labour leader of South Lanarkshire Council, Joe Fagan, who insisted that Russell couldn't attend the hustings as he was at an "NHS event. Possibly he was away at the local hospital having an MRI brain scan to discern whether he's actually capable of stringing a coherent sentence together. On learning that Russell was yet again a no-show, the Tory candidate Richard Nelson announced that he would not be taking part. Nelson has a side gig as a comedy hypnotist, perhaps he was just relieved to find an excuse not to participate when he realised that not even hypnotism was going to get those attending the event to believe that the Tories have anything meaningful to say about combating poverty. Nelson said: 'I don't think it's right that I debate the council leader. I would have rather debated with Davy Russell, with the actual candidate. So, I'm going to withdraw from here because I don't think it's fair that the leader of the council comes on his behalf." Russell has consistently refused to participate in hustings, debates and media interviews since the campaign began. This has led many to wonder how Russell can speak up for the people of Hamilton, Larkhall, and Stonehouse when he doesn't even seem capable of speaking up for himself. After councillor Fagan made his opening remarks on behalf of the absent Labour candidate, a woman in the audience asked him: "How can you stand and say your speech and say about how Davy Russell is going to lead for the constituency, going to stand in Holyrood and speak for the people of this constituency when he can't turn up to radio interviews, when he can't turn up to hustings, when he can't speak without Anas Sarwar by his side?" Fagan responded: "Well, right now, he is at an event on the NHS." The woman retorted: "He's always at an event, Joe." During an interview on BBC Scotland's Good Morning Scotland show this morning, Labour's Scottish leader Anas Sarwar half-heartedly attempted to defend his perennially absent candidate and his party's woeful campaign in a by-election which a year ago would have been Labour's for the taking, but now it looks – not merely as a hold for the SNP – but as though Labour may struggle to hold on to second place. Asked by host Gary Robertson why Russell appears to be avoiding all debates, hustings, and media interviews, including an invitation to appear on the very programme the Labour leader was currently on, Sarwar could only reply: "That's a matter for the campaign team and the campaign." It's quite remarkable that Sarwar can't even take responsibility for his own party's Holyrood election campaign. It's his only job. Sarwar then insisted that Russell had done media interviews and would be doing more in future, there's only a week of campaigning left, but he's hoping we haven't noticed. He's also hoping we haven't noticed his own litany of broken promises. Those must be media interviews that exist only in Sarwar's imagination, just like the way he's standing up to Keir Starmer. During the interview, Sarwar even managed to get Russell's name wrong, calling him Davy Hamilton before quickly correcting himself. But it's unfair to criticise Sarwar too much for that, he probably hasn't seen much of Davy Hamilton, sorry, Davy Russell either. UK trade envoy visits Israel Just a week after Foreign Secretary David Lammy announced that the UK was suspending trade talks with Israel in protest at Israel's withholding of food and medical aid to Gaza, the UK Government's trade envoy to Israel, Lord Ian Austin, was pictured in Haifa in northern Israel, where he said the British Government would continue to encourage "British businesses to export to Israel and Israeli businesses to invest in the UK". Austin is due to remain in Israel until Friday in order to "maintain" the UK Government's relationship with Israeli businesses. Now the British Palestinian Committee, an independent organisation of British Palestinians advocating for Palestinian rights, has written to Lammy arguing that the visit "appears to directly contradict" the UK Government's previous condemnation of Israel. Dr Sara Husseini, the director of the organisation, said that the "limited steps" against Israel by the UK Government "are already being undermined". In its letter to Lammy, the committee wrote: "One week ago, you announced the suspension of free trade agreement negotiations with Israel in light of its ongoing military assault on Gaza. "Yesterday morning, the UK Trade Envoy to Israel, Lord Ian Austin, publicly stated on X that he was in Israel to 'promote trade with the UK' meeting with Israeli businesses and officials. The British Embassy in Tel Aviv further amplified this message by publishing a photo of Lord Austin at the Haifa Port. "This visit appears to directly contradict your Government's recent announcement and suggests that business continues as usual, despite almost 600 days of Israel's genocidal assault on Gaza." The committee has called on Lammy to clarify the nature and mandate of Austin's visit to Israel and "take appropriate steps to ensure that the government is not reneging on its own policy". The UK Government had previously insisted that the visit was unrelated to the recently suspended new free trade deal and that Austin was not involved in trade negotiations.
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
EastEnders star is worlds away from his Walford days as he is nominated at Raindance Film Festival for unique independent horror movie role
EastEnders star John Altman has been nominated for a top award at the Raindance Film Festival. The soap opera legend, famed for playing 'Nasty' Nick Cotton for 30 years, has taken on a very different role from his Walford days in horror movie The Last Grail Hunter. In a unique plot, the release follows failed grail hunter and alcoholic Johnny Calvi as he makes one last ditch attempt to find the Holy Grail - the cup that Jesus drank from at the Last Supper. Set in the 2031, society has been rebuilt and is controlled by a secret organisation called the Priory of Sion, with life being run in Arcadia 'as a mystical game'. It prompts the question about whether Johnny's life is controlled by a gamer and if his epic mission is simply a quest in the video game, titled The Last Grail Hunter. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the Daily Mail's showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. The 70-minute independent movie was shot across just four days in London and directed by Mark Christopher Lee. And John's work has been recognised as he has been nominated for Best Performance in a UK Feature at the 33rd Raindance Film Festival. In the category, he is up against Daniel McNamee for Breakwater, Mickey Angelov's Dali, Graham McTavish for Dirty Boy, and Jordan Bolger for Heavyweight. Also among the independent nominees are Charlie Robb for Loney, Row's Bella Dayne, White Guilt's Temica Thompson and Edward Hogg for The Lonely Musketeer. Speaking about his nomination at the largest independent film festival in the UK, John said: 'I'm extremely happy to have been nominated for Best Performance. 'I've worked with Mark before on music but he called me one day and said he had an idea for a film and I like things that are different. 'It was an enjoyable four days filming the entire movie on location in London and St Albans.' Set to ominous music, the trailer follows Johnny as he parades around London to find the Holy Grail, before shots show him screaming on a table while a gamer appears to control his every move. The horror flick, which is available to stream, will premiere on June 19, 2025, at the Vue in Piccadilly, London, as part of the film festival. John agreed to take on the unique role after learning about the plot, while he is also a huge fan of horror as a franchise. Though it is worlds away from his Walford days, John is a horror aficionado having nabbed roles in Demons At Dawn, Repentance and 1981's An American Werewolf In London. He told BANG Showbiz: 'I love horror films. I like to be made to jump out of my skin, which a good horror should be able to do. 'I like it when the film controls you so that you're totally relaxed and not expecting anything and that's when you jump. I like that, the power of film.' John rose to fame among the original cast of long-running BBC soap opera EastEnders, entering the scene as 'Nasty' Nick Cotton. He was an integral part of the show's first big storyline - murdering elderly resident Reg Cox (Johnnie Clayton) and became the soap's biggest villain. But he left the soap in 1991 after refusing to accept a gay storyline for his character, with John claiming he was written out. John later returned to the soap, appearing in 1993, 1998 and between 2000 and 2001, 2008 and 2009 and finally from 2014 to 2015 - when he was killed off. He died in his on-screen mother's arms after a fatal reaction to heroin for which Dot (June Brown) did not seek medical help. Earlier this year, John made headlines once again for saying a racial slur live on air during an appearance on BBC Radio 4. The broadcaster was forced to apologise for his language after he had uttered an offensive term during a conversation about whether he had ever improvised any lines. 'We knew our characters so well. We wouldn't change it drastically. We'd put in words or a line here and there to make it comical. Just to liven it up a bit,' he shared. John then recalled an incident in the late 00s when show bosses changed a racial slur in the script to 'illegal immigrant', repeating the offensive term on air himself. He said: 'I suppose I can say it on air, if you don't mind, but Nick referred to someone who was living with Dot as a ****. They start filming and they said, ''Oh I don't think we can say that''. Interjecting, Sarah stated: 'No, I don't think we can [say that].' John then claimed that 'people do unfortunately still say it these days', to which Sarah insisted: 'They don't.' Later on, Sarah apologised for the language used, saying: 'Can I apologise. It wasn't appropriate in the old days, and it wasn't appropriate now, for what John Altman said.'
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Michigan Republican unloads on Nessel over failure to provide Flint water documents
State Rep. Angela Rigas (R-Caledonia) speaks on the Michigan House floor. May 1, 2025. | Kyle Davidson Rep. Angela Rigas, chair of the Michigan House Oversight Subcommittee on the Weaponization of Government, released a scathing statement Wednesday evening blasting Attorney General Dana Nessel over continued delays in producing requested documents related to the Flint water criminal prosecutions. Nessel's office delivered numerous documents to Rigas's office on Wednesday, but the representative said it was not at all what she requested. 'Dana Nessel's office sent us an incomplete, incoherent mess of documents on a password-protected flash drive like they were bringing us the Holy Grail,' Rigas said. Rigas had requested documents related to the legal battles that ensued during Nessel's term and in the aftermath of Flint's water supply being contaminated in 2014. The contamination occurred due to a switch of the water supply without proper lead contamination prevention. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Former Attorney General Bill Schuette began an investigation and prosecution, the latter of which began in 2016. Schuette charged a city of Flint employee and two employees with what was then known as the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality [now known as the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy]. Nessel became attorney general in 2018 and scuttled Schuette's investigation and prosecution to begin anew in 2021. She formed a Flint water prosecution team led by Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy and former Michigan Solicitor General Fadwa Hammoud while Nessel spearheaded the civil litigation side, which resulted in a mammoth settlement. The criminal cases resulted in charges against former Governor Rick Snyder and several members of his administration, but those charges were later dismissed after the Michigan Supreme Court ruled that the prosecutorial team had used a one-man grand jury process to indict them without at first holding a preliminary examination that would have given the defendants a chance to poke holes in the attorney general's presentation of probable cause. Justices of the high court ruled the process as unconstitutional, and the charges were dismissed shortly thereafter. Rigas (R-Caledonia) as the chair of the House Oversight subcommittee, requested records from Nessel on March 12 with a deadline of March 25 to give the subcommittee various documents. The request included a comprehensive itemized list of all billable hours, legal fees and associated costs incurred during Nessel's tenure as attorney general, including personnel time, outside counsel and expert witnesses; a breakdown of all state funds allocated and expended on these cases; copies of contracts and invoices or memorandums of understanding with third parties retained by her office; and a summary of reimbursements, settlements or cost recoveries tied to the cases. Nessel requested an eight-week extension, which Rigas granted, with a deadline of Tuesday. Rigas in a news release issued Wednesday evening said the attorney general's staff brought a password protected flash drive to Rigas' office, which was also shared with some members of the Lansing Capitol press corps. Nessel's office also shared a copy of a letter sent to Rigas' office on Tuesday indicating that the document haul was just one half of those requested by Rigas and that the other portion would be delivered to the representative on or before June 17. Rigas said that the flash drive contained 'a mass array of unrelated documents that were never requested, mostly from [former Attorney General] Bill Schuette's tenure.' The documents delivered to Rigas mostly contained contracts with attorneys and appointed special counsel Todd Flood and various invoices from Flood's office. Needless to say, Rigas was unhappy with what was turned over to her office. '[Nessel] and her office have consistently failed to meet deadline after deadline, and it's unacceptable,' Rigas said. 'She has failed to follow simple directions and comply with what has so clearly been requested. There will be no more extensions. No more games. This ends now.' A request for comment was sent to the Attorney General's office, but has yet to be returned.
