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RTÉ News
3 days ago
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Joe McCarthy: 'We know everyone loves to hate Leinster'
Joe McCarthy believes "everyone loves to hate Leinster" and admitted that they use that perception as motivation. The Ireland second row was speaking following the province's 37-19 victory over Glasgow Warriors, which secured a first BKT URC final berth since 2021 Leo Cullen's side were never really challenged by the defending champions, who scored two late tries to put a flattering sheen on the scoreboard. Leinster had come in for severe criticism following a series of lacklustre performances in the last month but came out firing against the Warriors, scoring four of their six tries in the opening half. "We know everyone loves to hate Leinster so that definitely drives us on," the 24-year-old told RTÉ Sport. "We have a great fan base so we don't really care about the outside noise, what you guys [on the TV panel] say or the fans or other people say." FT: LEIN 37-19 GLA Joe McCarthy: 'Everyone loves to hate Leinster and that drives us on'. 📺 @rte2 & @rteplayer 📻 Saturday Sport on @rteradio1 Live updates 👇 — RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) June 7, 2025 Last champions four years ago, Leinster had lost all three semi-finals since the South African teams joined the competition. "We just want to rip into next week," added the Dubliner, who will go on his first Lions tour this summer. "We definitely needed that, it's our first URC final. "It's massive for us. We need the fans behind us now, we're into Croke Park. "It's exactly where we want to be, it's a great buzz. "There's always pressure, we've never reached a URC final. "We've disappointment this year already so we want to finish strong and get the fans back on our side. Asked if Leinster prepared any differently this week, he said: "Nothing crazy, the lads are so up for it, so hungry to win silverware, there's a good feel but the job's not done yet." Hooker Dan Sheehan scored trademark lineout maul tries at the start and end of the first half, with Jamie Osborne and Thomas Clarkson crossing the line in between. "Our set-piece dominance has been a cornerstone of our success this year," said McCarthy. "Sometimes we haven't got a reward for it but today was a good day, we were accurate, really physical, we shut them down at lineout and scrum and we'll keep building on that." Glasgow boss France Smith admitted the better team won: "It was a huge performance from them from the word go. I felt the urgency. "On the day we weren't good enough, especially in the first half. They are a quality outfit. "I'm really proud [of the lads], you must see this in context."
RTÉ News
3 days ago
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Leinster set up Croke Park URC final with big win over Glasgow Warriors
Leinster marched into a first BKT URC final since 2021 with a comprehensive 37-19 victory over defending champions Glasgow Warriors. After a subdued month in the aftermath of their Champions Cup semi-final loss to Northampton, this was more like the Leinster their fans are accustomed to. They raced into a 20-point lead at the break, thanks to tries from Dan Sheehan (2), Jamie Osborne and Thomas Clarkson. It was more of the same in the second half with Osborne and Ciarán Frawley crossing to the muted delight of the 15,762 in attendance at the Dublin 4 venue. The 2024 winners, who had been beaten twice already in Dublin by Leinster this season, offered little in the way of real resistance as their reign came to an end, although two late consolations helped put a gloss on the scoreboard. Leo Cullen's side, who lost at the semi-final stage in each of the last three seasons since the South African franchises joined the competition, will meet Bulls or Stormers in Croke Park next Saturday as they bid for a first trophy in four seasons. Leinster wasted no time getting on the board with Tommy O'Brien winning a jackal penalty on the 22 from the kick-off. Two minutes later, after sustained pressure close to the line, hooker Sheehan (above) powered over with out-half Sam Prendergast slotting the conversion. But the Warriors hit back immediately with a try that will annoy Leinster defence guru Jacques Nienaber. They earned a lineout on halfway from the restart and after a phase in midfield, quickly shifted the ball wide where Kyle Rowe had no trouble rounding Andrew Porter. The wing chipped ahead and George Horne found himself on his own and dotted but, with Adam Hastings wide off the tee. 5mins: LEIN 7-5 GLA Glasgow responded perfectly on their first attack of the game to make it an exciting start in the Aviva. 📺 @rte2 & @rteplayer 📻 Saturday Sport on @rteradio1 Live updates 👇 — RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) June 7, 2025 Both defences held sway for the next 17 minutes but there was no shortage of flashpoints. The visitors couldn't make anything of a promising lineout on the 22, while Leinster twice gave away penalties close to the Glasgow line, one of which resulted in a bout of pushing and shoving after James Lowe was penalised for obstruction. Prendergast pushed the Leinster lead out with a straightforward kick after a scrum penalty and Cullen's men were denied a second try when the TMO spotted a needless forward pass by Jamison Gibson-Park before Osborne ran in. But that only delayed the celebrations momentarily as the centre raced in on the wing after Jimmy O'Brien, and Lowe combined to create the space on the short side. 27mins: LEIN 15-5 GLA Jamie Osborne puts the disappointment of a disallowed try behind him immediately. Prendergast sets it out right to miss the conversion. 📺 @rte2 & @rteplayer 📻 Saturday Sport on @rteradio1 Live updates 👇 — RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) June 7, 2025 Leinster were really beginning to get the upper hand in the air, the breakdown and scrum, and after declining a sure three points from a penalty, scored a third try following a close-range lineout. Lowe came off his wing to try and power in but prop Clarkson was on hand to fight his way over the line to give Leinster a 20-5 lead. They effectively killed off the game as a contest with the clock in first-half overtime when Sheehan scored another trademark lineout maul try; Prendergast was once again off target with his conversion but the hosts had a healthy 20-point advantage. Leinster, with Ryan Baird named player of the match, began the second half in the front foot with Jordie Barrett knocking on on the line and Prendergast missing a long-range dropgoal attempt and a penalty as Glasgow held on by their fingertips. 54min: LEIN 32-5 GLA Another outstanding looping pass from Gibson-Park finds Osborne who launches over to extend Leinster's lead further against an under-pressure Glasgow. 📺 @rte2 & @rteplayer 📻 Saturday Sport on @rteradio1 Live updates 👇 — RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) June 7, 2025 But they were under severe pressure and after referee Andrea Piardi had issued a warning for consistent infringements, Osborne got on the end of Gibson-Park's flat pass to flop over the line close to the posts. Leinster unloaded their bench and Frawley, who had replaced Barrett, scrored the next try in the corner minutes later, after Lowe sparked the attack by fielding a high ball on the wing. 57min: LEIN 37-5 GLA Ciarán Frawley only on the field a few minutes and gets Leinster's sixth try of the game from a Tommy O'Brien setup. 📺 @rte2 & @rteplayer 📻 Saturday Sport on @rteradio1 Live updates 👇 — RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) June 7, 2025 With Franco Smith's side running out of numbers, Scott Penny, Jack Conan and Tommy O'Brien combined to set up the utility back. It was starting to resemble a training session for the eight-time winners as the half progressed with Glasgow bowing to the inevitable. They did manage late consolation tries through Jamie Dobie and Sione Tuipulotu but Leinster focus had already turned to a first URC-era Grand Final decider against South African opposition. FT: LEIN 37-19 GLA Joe McCarthy: 'Everyone loves to hate Leinster and that drives us on'. 📺 @rte2 & @rteplayer 📻 Saturday Sport on @rteradio1 Live updates 👇 — RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) June 7, 2025 Leinster: Jimmy O'Brien; Tommy O'Brien, Jamie Osborne, Jordie Barrett, James Lowe; Sam Prendergast, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan, Thomas Clarkson; Joe McCarthy, James Ryan; Ryan Baird, Scott Pennny, Jack Conan (capt). Replacements: Rónan Kelleher (for Sheehan 56), Jack Boyle (Porter 60), Rabah Slimani (Clarkson 56), RG Snyman (Ryan 56), Max Deegan (Conan 64), Luke McGrath (Gibson-Park 70), Ross Byrne (Prendergast 61), Ciarán Frawley (Barrett 56). Glasgow Warriors: Josh McKay, Kyle Steyn (capt), Sione Tuipulotu, Tom Jordan, Kyle Rowe; Adam Hastings, George Horne; Jamie Bhatti, George Hiddleston, Fin Richardson; Alex Samuel, Scott Cummings; Euan Ferrie, Rory Darge, Henco Venter Replacements: Johnny Matthews (Hiddleston 45), Rory Sutherland (Bhatti 45), Sam Talakai (Richardson 45), Max Williamson (Samuel 45), Jack Mann (Ferrie 73), Macenzzie Duncan (Venter 59), Stafford McDowall (Hastings h/t), Jamie Dobie (Horne 52).
RTÉ News
4 days ago
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Camogie Championship Round 3: All you need to know
SATURDAY Glen Dimplex All-Ireland Senior Championship Group 1 Clare v Limerick, Zimmer Biomet Páirc Chíosóg, 2pm Wexford v Tipperary, Chadwicks Wexford, 4pm Glen Dimplex All-Ireland Senior Championship Group 2 Dublin v Kilkenny, Parnell Park, 2pm Waterford v Derry, Walsh Park, 4pm ONLINE You'll find score updates and match reports on RTÉ Sport Online and RTÉ News app. Dublin v Kilkenny live on Camogie Association YouTube channel. RADIO Score updates on RTÉ Radio 1's Saturday Sport. WEATHER Saturday: After a wet start to the day, cloud and rain will gradually clear eastwards leaving a mix of showers and sunny spells for Saturday. Highest temperatures of 12 to 15 degrees in moderate to fresh and occasionally strong northwest winds. for more go to Group 1 Clare v Limerick Billed in some quarters as a preliminary quarter-final, and while that may be a tad premature, with both teams having beaten Wexford, the winner of the Shannon derby will have a foot and a half in the knockout stages. Clare prevailed by nine points at this venue in the League and are coming into this off a bye after accounting for the Yellowbellies in their opener, while Limerick are playing their third game in a fortnight, having recovered from a 38-point loss to Cork by edging out the Model County. Wexford v Tipperary Tipperary need to get a win on the board after failing to land any sort of blow on Cork in their first game last weekend, having had a bye in the opening round. Wexford are 0 for 2 and given those games were against Clare and Limerick, the counties they would have been perceived to be rivalling for the third knockout berth from this group, they are up against it and must win this to have any chance of advancing. Defeat and they will almost certainly booked for a relegation play-off. Group 2 Dublin v Kilkenny This is a repeat of last year's All-Ireland quarter-final, in which Dublin surprised many by taking down Kilkenny. With the Stripeywomen losing to Waterford on home territory last week, they might be feeling a little bit vulnerable and Dublin will surely smell some blood in the water at Parnell Park. Tommy Shefflin and co will undoubtedly have learned a lot more from the reverse than the facile victory over Derry but with Dublin having had a week off after getting to within six points of Galway and with last year's Croke Park result in mind, this feels like it could go right to the wire. Waterford v Derry These two teams are enjoying very different fortunes at present, with Waterford impressive winners over Kilkenny at UPMC Nowlan Park on their belated competition start last Saturday and Derry, down two-thirds of the team that consolidated senior status last season, on a score difference of -58 points from two outings against Kilkenny and Galway.
RTÉ News
4 days ago
- Climate
- RTÉ News
Tailteann Cup Preliminary Quarter-Finals: All you need to know
SATURDAY, 7 JUNE Offaly v New York, Glenisk O'Connor Park, 2pm Westmeath v Laois, TEG Cusack Park, 5pm SUNDAY, 8 JUNE Wexford v Antrim, Chadwicks Wexford Park, 1.30pm Sligo v Carlow, Kilcoyne Park, Tubbercurry, 2pm ONLINE Live scoring on RTÉ.ie and the RTÉ News app. Highlights also available across the weekend. TV Offaly v New York and Westmeath v Laois will be streamed live on GAA+. Highlights of all the weekend's action on The Sunday Game, RTÉ2 and the RTÉ Player, from 9.30pm. RADIO Live updates on RTÉ Radio 1's Saturday Sport and Sunday Sport - and RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta's Spórt an tSathairn and Spórt an Lae. WEATHER Saturday: After a wet start to the day, cloud and rain will gradually clear eastwards leaving a mix of showers and sunny spells for Saturday. Highest temperatures of 12 to 15 degrees in moderate to fresh and occasionally strong northwest winds. Sunday: A mix of sunshine and showers, with cloud increasing in the west through the afternoon, before brightening again by the evening. Highest temperatures of just 13 to 16 degrees in moderate westerly winds. For more go to We welcome New York And so 16 became 11+1. The add-on, the footballers of New York, who again enter the competition at this stage. Perhaps, supporters in Leitrim are cursing their arrival, as they were the third-placed side to lose out after the regulation phase. A crumb of comfort for Stephen Poacher's side is that they finished a difficult year on a high with that win over Tipperary. Poacher is already looking towards next January, plotting Leitrim's escape from Division 4, no doubt. New York have been preparing for this weekend since their Connacht exit at the hands of Galway on 6 April. More time to get used to the new playing rules. That said, the Exiles looked more than assured in adjusting to the changes, with Frank O'Reilly, Bobby O'Regan and James Walsh catching the eye with their two-pointers. New York certainly put it up to the Tribes in the opening half, trailing only by three points at the break. They gave as good as they got, before being overpowered 2-18 to 0-06 by the Connacht champions on the resumption. They will obviously hope to stay in the game longer when taking on Offaly at Glenisk O'Connor Park. The counties previously met at the quarter-final stage in 2022. A point that New York forward Shane Brosnan alluded to, when speaking to RTÉ Sport last month. "We were very good for 35 minutes, we know we need to probably add on another bit of fitness and hopefully complete that performance that we had in the first-half for a full 70-minute game, he said. "We probably just didn't have the legs to keep going in the second-half, but it was good to get the game against a team like Galway." Preliminary and onto quarter-finals proper So we have our pairings this weekend: Offaly v New York, Westmeath v Laois, Wexford v Antrim and Sligo v Carlow. Watching on with their quarter-final spots guaranteed after topping their groups are Kildare, Limerick, Fermanagh and Wicklow. This quartet will have home advantage in the last eight, where the draw, live on Morning Ireland, RTÉ Radio 1 from 8.35am on Monday, shall be subject to the avoidance of repeat pairings from the group stage where possible. Pairings that can't happen: Kildare v Sligo, Wicklow v Offaly, Wicklow v Laois, Limerick v Westmeath, Limerick v Antrim, Fermanagh v Wexford, Fermanagh v Carlow. The quarter-finals are scheduled across the weekend of 14/15 June. Surprise participants at this juncture Ahead of the concluding round, both Westmeath and Offaly were favoured to secure their quarter-final berths. The same could be said of Carlow, who faced the already eliminated Longford. But the trio suffered defeats: Westmeath and Offaly by the bare minimum against Limerick and Laois respectively, the classic sucker-punch in both cases, while Carlow were well off it against their Leinster opponents and were somewhat flattered with the five-point difference in the end. Now it's a case of picking up the pieces. For Declan Kelly and Mickey Harte (above), New York are something of an unknown quantity, as they look to get the Faithful ship back on course. Losing to a 75th-minute penalty against their neighbours was a jolt. In truth, they would have expected this week off. That said, you'd fancy them too see off their overseas visitors here, where Ruairi McNamee will surely get another chance to impress after kicking some fine scores when introduced last weekend. Westmeath v Laois, on paper, is the game of the weekend. A clash of the maiden winners and last year's finalists. For the Lake County, 2025 has so far been a year of agonising defeats, most notably during their Division 2 campaign. Relegation was the outcome there. More heartache last weekend when Emmett Rigter's point at the death denied Dermot McCabe's men a last-eight berth. It was a nip and tuck affair in Portlaoise, where both teams had periods of ascendancy, one such period saw Westmeath score seven points on the spin in the second half to re-establish the lead. They couldn't push that out and were caught in the end by an improving Limerick side. Laois' victory over Offaly was characterised by a decent spread of scorers across their starting XV and substitutes. Brian Byrne, in the full-forward line, was excellent throughout, while Mark Barry was coolness personified in slotting home the winning penalty. Justin McNulty really got a tune out of Laois throughout the knockout phase last year. That took them all the way to the final. Accounting for another of the pre-competition favourites should set them up nicely again, though the slight nod here is in the direction of Westmeath. First up on Sunday is the clash of Wexford v Antrim. The Slaneysiders could not live with Fermanagh's second-half onslaught at Croker and dropped to second in their group. They can have no complaints in what was their second defeat at GAA HQ this season after losing the Division 4 final to Limerick. Antrim squeezed through in third spot in their group, when seeing off London by eight points. The margin of victory was significant in just edging out Leitrim for that remaining place. Late scores from Marc Jordan and Dominic McEnhill were crucial to give Andy McEntee's men another day out. Wexford, on their home patch, should have enough to advance. With Markievicz Park having work done on its surface, Kilcoyne Park in Tubbercurry will stage Sligo v Carlow. A fair assessment of the Yeats County so far would suggest they have not quite hit the same levels reached reached in 2024 where they nearly took Galway's scalp in Connacht and then lost narrowly to eventual winners Down in the semi-finals of this competition. They were expected to push for promotion from Division 3. That never materialised and they were far from impressive in defeating Tipperary and Leitrim in the group stage. Fifteen points down against Kildare, they fought gamely to reduce the deficit, prompting manager Tony McEntee to hail a resilience that hasn't been in this team here before. Carlow, after that setback against Longford, will need to regroup. Manager Joe Murphy is accentuating the positives and speaking on local radio, said: "They're in a division higher than us and that, but you know, we travelled well before when we went to Fermanagh. We won't fear anyone and we will give it our all." Sligo, however, are the best bet to progress.
RTÉ News
6 days ago
- General
- RTÉ News
Rising stars raising Galway's standards, says Cathal Mannion
Cathal Mannion believes that Galway's crop of young players have helped to drive on the Tribesmen to higher standards, as they prepare for their Leinster SHC final showdown with Kilkenny. Kilkenny are chasing six Leinster titles in a row against Micheál Donoghue's Tribesmen, who haven't lifted the Bob O'Keeffe Cup since 2018. The Cats will go into the final as the favourites once again, particularly given they've already beaten Galway in the competition, running out 3-24 to 0-21 winners back in April. However the Tribesmen recovered from that disappointing start to finish level with Kilkenny on points in the round-robin table and with a slightly stronger points difference. Under manager Donoghue, Galway appear to have rediscovered their killer instinct and Mannion has been pleased with the way his side have bounced back from that opening day defeat to Kilkenny. "Obviously Micheál and his team bring a lot of expertise to it and they demand a very high standard every day," he said. "We didn't start as good as we wanted, but we got a reaction as far after that. We're still only in a Leinster final which was our aim so we have to prepare as best we can. "We'll prepare like any other game, but we know it's going to be a bigger challenge than what we faced already this year. "You know if you want to win any title at this level, you're not going to get it easy. Kilkenny are the standard bearers in Leinster for the last couple of years so it's up to us train, get up to that level and see where it takes us." Part of Galway's success story - apart from Mannion's own career best form - has been the introduction of new blood to the squad with the likes of Anthony Burns and Declan McLaughlin catching the eye when given an opportunity. For Mannion, having young players coming through not only adds to the squad's depth, but drives the more established names to higher standards. He said: "You need young lads coming through every few years and you know, even lads that are in their 20s, they're putting their hand up now and you need that. "As with any of the good teams or best teams in any sport, you need competition because that gets the best out of everyone and that's what we're hoping to get. "We have Anthony Burns, he played the last day, has played a few games up until now and he's been very good at inside forward and he has a good goal threat obviously for us. "You have younger lads in who are on the fringe of the teams, the likes of Rory Burke and lads that are really pushing for a starting spot. I've no doubt before the end of the year some of them lads, younger lads, will win, see game play." Watch Limerick v Cork in the Munster SHC final live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player from 5.15pm Saturday. Follow a live blog on and the RTÉ News app and listen to commentary on RTÉ Radio 1's Saturday Sport.
