Latest news with #Interpro
Irish Examiner
21-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Classy Balbirnie century leads Ireland to victory over West Indies in first ODI
Ireland opener Andrew Balbirnie struck a ninth one-day international century to lead his side to a 124-run win over West Indies in the first of a three-match series. Balbirnie (112 from 138 balls) shared a 109-run opening stand with captain Paul Stirling (54 off 64 balls) as the Irish side dominated this contest from the start. The Pembroke batter had been in exceptional domestic form having scored 255 runs at an average of 85 for Leinster Lightning in the opening games of the season, and his celebration upon reaching the three figures – a scream – seemed more in relief than celebration. "I think I haven't scored 100 in this format in a couple of years, and probably my first as an opener," said Balbirnie. "I've done it opening, but never as a proper opener. It's always sweeter when you get over the line and you've contributed with runs. "They don't mean as much if you don't get the win, but to get a win like that, it's just really good and really special. I learned a lot. "It's our first ODI on home soil in a few years, so to get a really good crowd here with family and friends, three guys making their debut, it was really special. "We want to win this series, of course, but you also have to enjoy the results. It's a huge win for us, and I think the confidence is going to be high going into the weekend." The Irish coaching and leadership setup will be particularly happy as three players made their international debuts in the match – Tom Mayes, Liam McCarthy and Cade Carmichael. "It only seems to be Test cricket where we have three debutants," said Balbirnie, "Three guys who've knocked the door down in Wolves and Interpro cricket and deserve their spot. "I don't think they looked out of place, which is great for what we're doing behind the scenes for Interpro cricket. For the guys outside the squad to see that and go, 'you know what, if I keep putting in performances, I can get to where they are'." Half-centuries to Stirling and Harry Tector, and a breezy 30 off 18 balls for Lorcan Tucker, saw Ireland post 303-6 from their 50 overs. In reply, a Harry Tector special run out of Evin Lewis in the third over started the rot, with the visitors slumping to 31-5 in the 10th over – primarily due to an inspired spell of bowling by Barry McCarthy (4-32). The Windies rallied briefly with a 98-run seventh wicket stand between Roston Chase (55) and Matthew Forde (38), but the introduction of George Dockrell (3-21) saw Ireland clean up the tail and claim an imperious 124-run win. Game two of the series is on Friday at the same venue, while game three on Sunday is now officially a sell-out. Ireland 303-6 (50 overs; A Balbirnie 112, H Tector 56, P Stirling 54; M Forde 3-68) West Indies 179 (34.1 overs; R Chase 55; B McCarthy 4-32)
RTÉ News
09-05-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Ian Costello: Derby win for Munster inspired by departing trio
Munster interim coach Ian Costello believes their 38-20 win against Ulster was the perfect send-off for Peter O'Mahony, Stephen Archer and Conor Murray at Thomond Park. The province scored six tries in a vital Interpro win, which has given their play-off and Champions Cup qualification hopes a major lift following back-to-back defeats in the league. With next week's final regular season game taking place in Cork, O'Mahony, Archer and Murray played their final games for the province at Thomond Park – barring multiple upsets in the play-offs. O'Mahony stole the show, with the former captain putting in a vintage performance which he capped off with his side's final try just before the hour mark. And Costello says putting in a performance for that trio was the focus of their motivation this week. "The biggest relief... we all know there's play-offs, we know what's at stake in terms of Champions Cup. "We know that there's a huge amount of external pressure but actually this week, we went a lot deeper than that. We knew that was there. "It was about Peter, it was about Conor, it was about Stevie. It was about what they've done for the club, how they deserve to be sent off. "We had a meeting on the pitch tonight and Tadhg [Beirne] spoke so well and it really captured the whole week around putting a performance out there that reflected how much those lads meant to us and meant to the club. That's more powerful than anything. "And it probably reflected what those lads meant to us. In a lot of elements, without being perfect, I think we did that. That's the relief." Munster eventually pulled clear in the second half after a chaotic first 40 minutes, summed up by a four-minute spell shortly after the first quarter when the team shared three tries, two of which went to Munster. The third of those was an opportunistic score from captain Tadhg Beirne who charged down a Jack Murphy kick before regathering the ball, something Costello says came straight from the analysis room and his attack coach Mike Prendergast. Ian Costello on what was Munster's 'best performance for a long time' against Ulster as the province now aims for the #URC play-offs #rtesport — RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) May 9, 2025 "We scored, they scored, we scored. That was the crazy bit. "Genuinely, Mike previewed a very similar clip; Jean Kleyn blocked someone down in training, it was shown later in the week around targeting the ball-flight. You don't always get results like that, but Gavin [Coombes] got one against La Rochelle, and that got referenced in the week, and we thought there might be one in it. "You might get one every four or five games, but it was really pleasing. Tadhg's determination to stay on his feet when Jack weas probably swinging out of him. I forgot about that crazy two or three minutes." The result lifts Munster back into the top half of the table, although they will have to sit through the weekend's action to see if they remain there. Even if they don't, a win against Benetton in Cork next week will be enough for a play-off berth. For Ulster, the defeat leaves their Champions Cup hopes over, with a play-off spot now looking impossible even if they beat Edinburgh next week. "We're massively disappointed to now miss out on the top eight but we will regroup," head coach Richie Murphy said. "We have a group of players, obviously some are massively experienced and some are very, very young players who are learning at this level. "These games over the last number of weeks will massively stand to us going forward but ultimately at this moment in time, we're not good enough. "I think even in the first half we worked quite well to get the scores that we got. I think we probably gave away a few scores a little bit easy. "Our breakdown tonight was exposed a little bit, our speed, our ability to stay on our feet and our ability to get into that breakdown quickly, Munster probably got the better of us. "We put a lot of pressure on their lineout, took away a lot of launch."
RTÉ News
09-05-2025
- Climate
- RTÉ News
United Rugby Championship Round 17: All You Need To Know
The penultimate round of the regular season in the BKT United Rugby Championship, and there's one big Interpro that has the potential to be season-defining at Thomond Park. Munster v Ulster is the pick of the games on Friday night, where both sides know a defeat could be fatal for their hopes of reaching the play-offs, but more importantly for their chances of qualifying for next season's Investec Champions Cup. On Saturday, Leinster return to action following last week's devastating Champions Cup semi-final defeat to Northampton Saints. Leo Cullen's side host Zebre, knowing a win will guarantee themselves top seed for the play-offs, which will give them home advantage for as long as they stay in the competition. Later on Saturday, Connacht host Edinburgh at the Sportsground, looking for their first URC win since early March. Even a bonus-point win against the Scottish side is unlikely to give them a realistic chance at making the top-eight, although quite a few teams around them will be hoping the province can dent Edinburgh's play-off hopes along the way. TV Watch Munster v Ulster (Friday, 7.35pm) on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, with coverage getting under way at 7pm. Watch Leinster v Zebre on Saturday from 5.10pm on the RTÉ News Channel and RTÉ Player. Connacht v Edinburgh (Saturday, 7.35pm) will be live on TG4 and Premier Sports. All games are shown live on RADIO Listen to live commentary of Munster v Ulster on RTE Radio 1 Extra from 7.35pm on Friday. Saturday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1 will have updates of Leinster v Zebre. ONLINE We'll have live score updates, reports and reaction from all games. WEATHER The weather forecast is a delight this weekend. Limerick city will have temperatures of around 14C by kick-off on Friday night, with barely a puff of wind. On Saturday, it will be around 16C and blue skies for Leinster v Zebre, although there could be a bit more wind for the kickers to deal with. It will also be a beautiful night in Galway for Connacht v Edinburgh, with a clear, dry evening and temperatures in the mid-teens. Listen to the RTÉ Rugby podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. This one doesn't need a hard sell. With two games to play, both Munster and Ulster sit outside the play-offs, although the packed nature of this middle third of the table means that whoever wins on Friday night will be right back in the mix. It could be curtains for whoever loses. If this is anything like their pre-Christmas meeting, it will be a dramatic night at Thomond Park. On that occasion it took a late Tom Farrell try for Munster to pinch a bonus-point 22-19 win in Belfast. The form book leans towards neither side. Both teams have lost three in a row in all competitions coming into this week. Even recent meetings between these sides make it a difficult one to split. Their last six clashes have been evenly split, both teams winning twice at home and once away. For Munster, it will be a final Thomond Park outing for Peter O'Mahony and Stephen Archer who are in the starting team, as well as Conor Murray on the bench. This is one of two away games Ulster have to finish the season, but they have been able to welcome Iain Henderson, Rob Baloucoune and Mike Lowry back from injury. Munster: Thaakir Abrahams; Calvin Nash, Tom Farrell, Alex Nankivell, Diarmuid Kilgallen; Jack Crowley, Craig Casey; Michael Milne, Niall Scannell, Stephen Archer; Jean Kleyn, Tadhg Beirne (capt); Peter O'Mahony, John Hodnett, Gavin Coombes. Replacements: Lee Barron, Josh Wycherley, John Ryan, Fineen Wycherley, Tom Ahern, Conor Murray, Seán O'Brien, Alex Kendellen. Ulster: Michael Lowry; Rob Baloucoune, Jude Postlethwaite, Stuart McCloskey, Jacob Stockdale; Jack Murphy, Nathan Doak; Andrew Warwick, Rob Herring, Scott Wilson; Iain Henderson (capt), Cormac Izuchukwu; Matty Rea, Nick Timoney, James McNabney It will have been a tough week at Leinster Rugby HQ as they picked apart the remains of their Champions Cup elimination, and the province will be grateful that the stakes aren't as high this week for the visit of Zebre to Dublin. With an eight-point led over Glasgow Warriors coming into this week, Leo Cullen's side know they only need one win across the next two games to guarantee the top seed for the play-offs. While Zebre have pulled off a few shocks this season, beating both Munster and Ulster, the Italian side are one of just two teams mathematically ruled out of the play-offs. Leinster have never lost to Zebre, winning all 18 meetings between the sides, and they haven't lost a URC game on home soil since January 2024. While Connacht can still mathematically qualify for the play-offs, their chances of doing so are extremely slim. Even if they pick up bonus-point wins in their final two games, Cullie Tucker's side would still need some surprise results elsewhere to go their way if they're to sneak into the top half of the table. While they're probably not going to get to the play-offs, they will have a big say on who does get there, with Saturday's opponents Edinburgh right in the mix in tenth place, with a home game against Ulster to follow next week. Connacht have been in free-fall in recent months, not helped by the off-field issues which saw head coach Pete Wilkins resign following a period of sick leave. Since their last win in early March, Connacht have lost five of their last six games in all competitions, with their only victory in that time being a Challenge Cup Round of 16 tie against Cardiff. Edinburgh have won their last two games in Ireland, against Munster this season, and Ulster last season, and have never won three consecutive games on Irish soil. The Scottish side have also won three of their last four Championship matches against Connacht. Team news: Friday 12pm With so many teams still in play-off contention, quite a few of this week's games are worth noting from an Irish point of view. On Friday, the Sharks host the Ospreys at 6pm, with the Welsh side still very much in the play-off race back in 11th place. Munster and Ulster fans will be hoping the Bulls can beat Cardiff at home on Saturday at 3pm, while they will be looking for Glasgow to pick up an away victory at eighth-place Benetton. The Lions could also do the Irish provinces a favour if they beat Scarlets in Johannesburg on Sunday afternoon at 2pm.
