Latest news with #JamieWall


Irish Times
14 hours ago
- Sport
- Irish Times
Ciarán Murphy: Cork may be willing to lose the Munster battle to win the All-Ireland war
We were in conversation with Diarmuid O'Sullivan, John Allen and Jamie Wall last week, at a Second Captains live show in the Everyman in Cork City. We booked the three lads a month ago, when we gazed into our crystal ball and saw a town abuzz with Munster final anticipation, supporting a team on an inexorable march to an All-Ireland title – their first since Allen was manager, and The Rock was in his pomp. The conversation we ended up having was rather different. This final against Limerick coming up on Saturday? Ahhh... we could take it or leave it. If you offered me a narrow defeat with a creditable performance, I'd snap your hand off. Cork need to focus on the big one. Lose the battle, win the war. This seemed to me to be a masterclass in expectation-management, and not even within the confines of the 'yerra' punditry framework, although I suppose that is the point. If you're yerra-ing, and everyone knows you're yerra-ing, then surely that neutralises the yerra (I've already used that word far too often.) What I'm trying to say is that when they said a narrow Cork defeat would be acceptable, I did actually take them at their word. This is not what they'd have said a month ago, but the memory of that beating in the Gaelic Grounds on May 18th, when Limerick tore Cork asunder 3-26 to 1-16, has scarred them. READ MORE I think if you offered any reasonable Cork hurling supporter a defeat by three points or less on Saturday evening, they'd take it – Munster hurling final tradition bedamned. Expecting the gap between a 16-point defeat and winning an All-Ireland title to be closed in one fell swoop seems a little optimistic. In that context, a performance to build on is what the Cork public are looking for. Seldom has one round-robin game had such an outsize impact on how the rest of the championship views itself. Up until May 18th, Cork were favourites, but Tipperary and Kilkenny would not have feared them by any means. Clare sat that round of Munster games out, having surrendered control of their own destiny by losing to Tipperary the week before. But if they could ride their luck and get out of Munster, Cork would hold no fears for them either. The big question going into this championship season was whether Limerick could regather themselves having lost the chance at immortality last year. Our answer came in devastating fashion within the first two minutes in the Gaelic Grounds last month. Limerick manager John Kiely during the Munster Chanpionship game against Cork at the Gaelic Grounds on May 18th. Photograph: Tom Maher/Inpho When Barry Nash found Cian Lynch, and Lynch found Aaron Gillane, and Gillane found the back of the net, there were barely 130 seconds gone. The writing was on the wall early. Cork's full-back line was exposed there, and it would continue to be exposed. Rob Downey's fitness, or lack thereof, was ruthlessly pounced upon – and whether he is selected or not for this Saturday will tell a tale. But Limerick scored as much last year in defeat at the Páirc than they did last month – 3-26 was good enough for a two-point defeat last year, and good enough for a 16-point win this year. It would be churlish to suggest there aren't problems all over the field for Cork. What was most stark was the desire that Limerick showed. Diarmuid O'Sullivan said he had never seen John Kiely so animated on the sideline as he was that day. Given Kiely is never less than demonstrative, that's a fair statement to make. He's managed in five All-Ireland finals, and O'Sullivan has had a ringside seat near him on quite a few occasions as a Cork selector, so he knows what he's talking about. As much as there was hand-wringing over Cork, that was a key question many people asked in the aftermath of that game. How could Limerick care that much? How could they want it that badly? That is what marks out the great from the good. Every time they heard Cork described as All-Ireland favourites, it was a dagger. It would be absurd to think that Limerick want this Munster final more than Cork – they're going for seven provincial titles in a row, for God's sake. But that is nevertheless what you're left with. Limerick have their foot on Cork's throat now, and they will be loath to remove it. The team with the most naked desire for a provincial title this weekend must surely be Galway . A Leinster title would frank some of the progress that has undoubtedly been made since their spineless showing in Nowlan Park in the first round of matches in this year's championship. After that, it looked like being a very short season. They have turned it around to the extent that their fans will travel in expectation of a performance, if not a result. And it's been seven years since their last title too. In that space of time Kilkenny haven't been good enough to win even one All-Ireland, so that's far too long for Galway to go without winning at least a provincial title or two. The standard has not been daunting, and yet Galway haven't been able to capitalise. Galway certainly won't be pulling any punches this weekend. I don't think Cork will be either, but whether it's enough to restore some of the belief that has been lost in the last three weeks – that's another question.

RNZ News
7 days ago
- Sport
- RNZ News
Final round of Super Rugby
It's Friday - but for rugby fans it's more of a Fri-YAY as Aotearoa heads into the exciting and somewhat confusing final round of Super Rugby. Sports Reporter Jamie Wall spoke to Lisa Owen. Tags: To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.

RNZ News
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- RNZ News
US rugby star Ilona Maher in New Zealand
US rugby star Ilona Maher shot to prominence at the Olympics last year and has amassed a vast social media following, which translated into a big media turnout yesterday down on Auckland's waterfront for a pre game photo shoot. Jamie Wall spoke to Lisa Owen. Tags: To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Lawmakers gather in De Pere to discuss impact and importance of educational funding
DE PERE, Wis. (WFRV) – The Unified School District of De Pere has seen its past two referendums approved by voters, both providing funding for various aspects of the education system in the area. In April 2024, a $4.75 million operational referendum was passed and then seven months later in November 2024, a $22 million critical maintenance, safety and security referendum was approved by voters. But many other communities have not seen such success. Shawano native and U.S. Army Air Forces Private killed in World War II accounted for On April 1, 2025, 89 school referendums were on the ballot statewide, and a majority of them failed to receive enough votes to go through. On Tuesday evening, multiple legislators hosted a discussion with parents, local leaders, school district representatives and teachers to give thoughts on educational funding and its impact on the communities, beyond just students. District 30 State Senator Jamie Wall said that public schools are the foundation of our society, adding that the state can do better at ensuring schools can succeed. Cellcom CEO addresses outage: 'We experienced a cyber incident' 'Everybody in this room and almost everybody in our community cares about public schools,' Sen. Wall (D-Green Bay) said. 'At the state level, we can do a better job than we have to make sure schools have the tools and resources they need to succeed.' Sen. Wall added that he personally wants to ensure class sizes are smaller so that students can get better educations while also lessening the burden of property taxes on communities. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

RNZ News
19-05-2025
- Sport
- RNZ News
Ardie Savea named Super Rugby Pacific player of the year
Moana Pasifika captain Ardie Savea has already been named Super Rugby Pacific player of the year, despite there being two more games in the regular season. RNZ's Jamie Wall spoke to Lisa Owen. Tags: To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.