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Denis Leamy: 'It's a great opportunity for the boys coming in to show what they can do'
Denis Leamy: 'It's a great opportunity for the boys coming in to show what they can do'

Irish Examiner

timea day ago

  • Sport
  • Irish Examiner

Denis Leamy: 'It's a great opportunity for the boys coming in to show what they can do'

Paul O'Connell's Ireland squad take off for Tbilisi on Wednesday ahead of the first of two summer Tests which could prove to be pivotal to many of the 33 squad members international rugby aspirations. This Saturday's meeting with Georgia and the following week's Lisbon Test against Portugal represents perhaps the biggest window of opportunity in a generation for the 13 uncapped players in the touring party and the dozen with less than 10 Ireland caps thanks to the absence of 16 frontliners on British & Irish Lions duty, an injury to captain Caelan Doris and the international retirements post-Six Nations of Cian Healy, Conor Murray and Peter O'Mahony. 'It's a great opportunity for the boys coming in to show what they can do and just build on some of the things that have (been) done to date,' Denis Leamy said on the eve of departure as Ireland's interim coaching staff wrapped up preparations at the IRFU High Performance Centre in Abbottstown. Gavin Coombes has perhaps more reason than most to take advantage of that opportunity. The No.8 from West Cork has been a consistently shining light for Munster but Test recognition has eluded the 27-year-old since a Test debut off the bench against Japan in 2021 and the 80-minute start the following week against the USA, both on home soil four summers ago. Coombes was not jettisoned by head coach Andy Farrell, indeed the back-rower toured New Zealand the 12 months later and started both midweek games in the drawn series with the Maori All Blacks, alongside Cian Prendergast and Nick Timoney, both of whom will board the team plane with the hope of adding to their four and three cap tallies respectively. It was a trio that also started the November 2022 A international against an All Blacks XV at the RDS on a night when many observers feel Coombes became one of the fall guys for a 19-47 defeat that left Farrell seething in a manner not seen since his post-match media conference following the Lions' pre-tour defeat to Argentina. Tellingly Prendergast and Timoney have earned Test caps since that dark night in Dublin, though not since before the 2023 World Cup, when the former and Coombes were cut from the pre-tournament training squad. So does the door remain open? Ireland interim defence coach Leamy was asked just that of Coombes, with whom he also works at Munster, on Tuesday. Is the door open for Gavin Coombes? Picture: Leah Scholes/Inpho 'Gavin has turned up, he's looking fit, he's looking hungry the last few days. I think he's deployed himself really well, he's been really good in training. 'Gavin has been in and out of Irish squads over the last couple of years. The times he's been left out, he's understood the reasons why and (they) have been very fair. Gavin has gone away and worked hard on those parts of the games. 'He's back in now, he has that chance now on Saturday, hopefully, if selected, that he can go and apply that and put his best foot forward. He's a guy that over the last couple of years has been very good for Munster.' It will chiefly be O'Connell's feedback to a returning Farrell that counts most, of course, but Leamy believes Coombes has learned his lessons and deserves this latest shot at an Ireland return. 'I think he's hugely strong around opposition 22. His ability to make yards, score tries, he's one of the best around at that and his general play is improving all the time. He's worked great between 22 and 22. "His ability to make yards in open play, his ability to clock up big numbers in his tackles, his rucks and the fundamentals around his basic play, around number eight (working) at the base (of the scrum). He's learning and improving that all the time. That's why he's back in this environment.' O'Connell will name his matchday squad to face the Georgians from Tbilisi on Thursday with Craig Casey set to captain from scrum-half with the interim boss set for a big decision at fly-half where the duel between Sam Prendergast and Jack Crowley continues. For some Irishmen there remains the possibility of a call up to the Lions if injuries should crop up Down Under but Leamy spoke about the importance of staying focused on the task at hand in a green jersey. 'I lean on my own experience a little bit with that, being on tours in 2009 when you're on standby for the Lions. 'And it is a challenge, but you have to keep your mind on the job that's in front of you and you have to be very conscious of being as good as you can be in that space. Obviously, you're watching what's going on in Australia if there's an injury or an opportunity coming. 'But the boys will be very good around that. Their focus will be Ireland and whatever happens after that will happen.'

James Ryan's return reseals Leinster's AWOL Champions Cup defence
James Ryan's return reseals Leinster's AWOL Champions Cup defence

Irish Daily Mirror

time18-05-2025

  • Sport
  • Irish Daily Mirror

James Ryan's return reseals Leinster's AWOL Champions Cup defence

Those wondering about Northampton posting thirty-seven points on Leinster two weeks trying to gauge what steps the Blues are taking to curb such profligacy in the run to the close of the season, were given a straightforward answer in a tense 13-5 win over while Leinster's attack was having an off day, butterfingers, wayward passing and some off-kilter running lines, their defence was superb. I caused Peter O'Mahony's TV meltdown after Axel Foley's death James Ryan will never win one of the 20/30/40 metres dashes at training and he hasn't scored a try for Leinster since December 2022 but he is a defensive rock and his return to start for the first time post-Six Nations was very much central to Saturday's night hard hits are not just the point, there is his leadership and, make no mistake, it is his voice in the huddle that's fiercest and in command, it's his 'thou shalt not pass' that has the others in unfair maybe on such Andrew Porter/Jack Boyle, Dan Sheehan, Scott Penny, Jack Conan/Max Deegan and, yes, Jordie Barrett who made big contributions when their side was without the ball but Ryan was the standout among Cullen's mob rarely post thin totals and 13 was their lowest score at the Aviva this season, albeit beating the 10 posted a 10-7 win against Bulls in Pretoria in late 13, which was '10' until 90 seconds from full-time, needed robust protection and Ryan was its berserker."Yeah, exactly," said Cullen afterwards, no doubt pleased that Jacques Nienaber might turn up for work this week with a smile for the first time the European defeat.."There is the experience he has accumulated over the last, seven, eight years."If you think he played in that final in Bilbao 2018 against Racing as a young player as an example and the impact he had that season, that was a real, obviously, breakout season for him."There has been close to 100 games for Leinster, 72 Ireland caps and selection for the 2025 Lions Tour earlier this month."He's been through it all, all the bits, ups and downs, he brings physicality to the engine room and he's growing all the time."He has captained Leinster, he's captained Ireland, he brings a ton of experience down to the table because he can still be regarded as a young man he is what, 28 (29 in July)?"There was also time to praise Boyle who, arriving on the pitch 10 minutes into the second-half made an immediate impact at the scrum."Again, a young player accumulating experience all the time and we are very lucky."You think of Andrew Porter starting in there playing the first 50 minutes, you've Cian and Jack and Paddy McCarty is obviously there too, he played the A's earlier earlier on today."And Mikey Milne who we saw running around for the other team (laughs) last night, we are doing our bit for Irish rugby there..."But Jack, listen, he was great. That's what you want. You want him to be aggressive. He's a very talented young man and he's about making sure that he's bringing all his strengths to the party."I'd say he would be pretty close when it comes to the summer tour with Ireland I'd imagine."The best of the defending came in the first quarter, it was hand-to-hand combat as Leinster saw off two rolling mauls and three very dangerous, wide, back sweeps without Cullen: 'The first 20 minutes, we didn't really have a huge amount of ball. They created opportunities, they're a dangerous team as we know. They didn't really front up here realistically when they played us a few weeks ago.'You get a sense from them even in the warm-up, very focused, you could definitely see they were up for the physical challenge, but we weathered the storm pretty well I thought and eventually we got in for a try after the previous one obviously got chalked off."We had a good bit of pressure in that period. They made life difficult for us and we had some just chances that we didn't quite execute, misfired at a couple of lineouts as well."The attack wasn't quite as fluid, delivering one first-half try from a cross kick gathered in by Jimmy O'Brien, Sam Prendergast kicking a difficult left touchline conversion while he also added a 55th minute penalty. Ciaran Frawley added his penalty 90 seconds from full-time.'There was that one where Sam was nearly over in the corner," says Cullen of Leinster having made chances."There was a technical infringement - the ref applying a Law very rarely applied - for backs encroaching off a lineout drive as well, and then they obviously hit us with a try on the breakaway to get it back to 10-5.'It gets a bit jittery then, but it was good to see us come through that. You definitely learn more from those tight games because it's more realistic to play-off games.'So yeah, good to come through it. We kicked the penalty at the end, dealt with the restart and the end of the game – that's not bad practice for knockout games."That's the league-proper finished with, Leinster move on to a quarter-final with Scarlets at the Aviva, Saturday May 31st (3pm). The winners there face the winners of Glasgow-Stormers in the semi-final. 'Listen, overall it's a win. Finishing top of the log, it doesn't obviously mean anything bar you have home advantage. The reward for us is that hopefully we get a big crowd. That makes a real difference to us as a club.'I know there was a lot of frustration after our Champions Cup semi-final but the group is focused to try and masker that right. We get another opportunity to play a knockout game. Scarlets made the last eight despite losing their last match 12-3 at Sharks but the result they will feel got them there was a 35-22 home win over Leinster in late April. "It's about preparing right now," said Cullen of looking to right some wrongs surrounding that shock result."They are definitely similar to Northampton as well. They kick a lot. The half backs are good in terms of controlling the game so it's making sure we don't get frustrated by that, making sure we gain energy from them kicking the ball away. "It's not something we would get frustrated by. They are well coached. Dwyane Peel and Jared Payne, those two in particular, have a very good understanding of the provinces from their time here with Ulster."We thought we had learned some things that week because there were things that cropped up in the game that again, not sure that necessarily applied with a different group that we had the following week."Definitely we'll look back at some of those things where Scarlets exposed us at different stages. It will be a good challenge for us." Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email.

Jamison Gibson-Park and the challenge Mitchell and Williams are posing
Jamison Gibson-Park and the challenge Mitchell and Williams are posing

Irish Daily Mirror

time18-05-2025

  • Sport
  • Irish Daily Mirror

Jamison Gibson-Park and the challenge Mitchell and Williams are posing

Jamison Gibson-Park has spent the last two years being compared with Antoine Dupont - it is accepted these two are the best scrum-halves in northern hemisphere was little surprise when his name was included in Lions selection but it was noted that the two scrum-halves 'down' the list, Alex Mitchell and Tomos Williams, were in continuing, outstanding form at Northampton and Gloucester Test selection, unlike many others, hadn't been simply boxed off post-Six Nations, rather the two main contenders have very much kept the debate alive week by week at club level. Mitchell went as far as getting the better of JGP in the Champions Cup quarter-semi-final in Dublin with all parties agreeing half-backs Williams-Fin Smith had been instrumental to the Mitchell and Williams will face off against each other on May 31st, the last round of the English Premier with the latter hoping a win will get his side to the play-off semi-finals.'You'd like to think it's a blank canvas," says Gibson-Park echoing the idea that, once assembled, Andy Farrell will be watching and learning. "There are some unbelievable players, hugely exciting talent and some fellas I can't wait to play with. Alex and Tomos are a couple of unbelievable players.'I loved working alongside Johnny (Sexton) as a player and to do it as a coach is unbelievable. I am looking forward to getting into it. It will be awesome to spend time with them and pick their brains."I am looking forward to getting stuck in, looking forward to that and let's see how we get on. We'll see once we get stuck into a bit of work."Squad selection day wasn't as straightforward as the player had hoped all the same and was framed around the knowledge Caalan Doris would be missing out.'It was bizarre, an emotional rollercoaster, pretty strang week, to tell you the truth.'There's plenty going on, Caelan being the biggest one. It was unbelievably tough on him, he's been such a good player for club and country.'You never know until you get scans and we were hanging on to a little bit that it might not have been serious but unfortunately for him it was.'His performances have been unbelievably consistent for a long time. Unbelievable from a leadership point of view, captain of club and country. He'll certainly be missed in both, he's a great fella, awesome fella to have around so he'll be missed.'He's had an unbelievable run with injuries, it's just the cruelty of the game sometimes. We were sickened for him, but in the same breath there's something there to celebrate."This will be Gibson-Park's - now 33 years-of-age - first Lions Tour.'I probably was not ready for the last Tour but once I started to get a bit more exposure at international level, it became a bit more realistic. "From then on, it has been a massive aspiration, so it is very cool.'I have a lot of memories of watching the 2005 Tour (which was to his, then, native New Zealand), I remember it was just incredible. The support was really memorable, the stadiums were packed, and I hope it will be the same this time.'Fans will be coming back this time, which is really cool. It is special to have people coming to support you, so we hope to give the fans something to cheer about.'Gibson-Park returns to the southern hemisphere with his rugby reputation further enhanced by Lions recognition and with, most likely, a red shirt to be added to the collection of his other shirts on the wall of The Curach irish pub close to where he was reared.'Great Barrier Island is very rural, I did not know it at the time but the population is very small, it takes ages to get anywhere because the roads are top to bottom.'We were biking and running around in bare feet, that is just the way it was. My friends are having kids now, so they'll be going through the same thing which is cool.'You can fly, it is a small plane, I wouldn't recommend getting on it, there is a passenger ferry otherwise. It's four hours but it is worth doing.'My family are dotted all around New Zealand but my folks are in Gisborne, hopefully they will make the trip over.''My mum is the eldest of four daughters so she kept the Gibson rolling! My Nana lives up in Auckland with aunties and uncles. Out on Great Barrier there are cousins, aunts, uncles, it'll be awesome. They'll be there in numbers!" Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email.

EXCLUSIVE Revealed: America's plans to dominate rugby including hosting Six Nations games, signing Antoine Dupont and a 'Super Bowl World Cup'
EXCLUSIVE Revealed: America's plans to dominate rugby including hosting Six Nations games, signing Antoine Dupont and a 'Super Bowl World Cup'

Daily Mail​

time30-04-2025

  • Entertainment
  • Daily Mail​

EXCLUSIVE Revealed: America's plans to dominate rugby including hosting Six Nations games, signing Antoine Dupont and a 'Super Bowl World Cup'

When Marcus Smith took a post-Six Nations holiday to Miami with his model girlfriend Beth Dolling, the presumption was he was having a well-deserved break. But when England's No 10 and arguably most marketable figure turned up to watch training at the city's rugby side during his designated time off, it quickly became clear there was more to Smith's holiday than met the eye.

Premiership ready to rumble again with a post-Six Nations glow
Premiership ready to rumble again with a post-Six Nations glow

The Guardian

time21-03-2025

  • Entertainment
  • The Guardian

Premiership ready to rumble again with a post-Six Nations glow

Premiership Rugby executives have been picking the brains of their counterparts at World Wrestling Entertainment of late. The bad news is that rugby union's version of the Royal Rumble is not in the pipeline, the good is that there is no better organisation when it comes to selling its stars and the Premiership has evidently been doing its homework over how to follow suit. The findings were instructive. Better to encourage profiles to develop organically than force growth and it was interesting to hear the Rugby Football Union (RFU) chief executive, Bill Sweeney, suggest recently that Netflix might have mis-stepped by opening this year's Six Nations documentary with an episode all about Marcus Smith, Twickenham's golden boy, buying a car. Rugby is not football was the gist of Sweeney's argument in his latest podcast appearance. A fine line to tread then but as the Premiership returns after an eight-week break with the glow of an uplifting Six Nations campaign for England still warm, the ground is fertile. As one Premiership executive put it, 'the torch is being passed' from the international arena back to the club game. It is the second of the season's Derby Weekends, kicking off on Friday night with Northampton hosting Leicester and Newcastle hosting Sale, and it intentionally comes during an international football window, allowing the broadcaster TNT Sports to throw its full weight behind it. The rub is that England players require rest and not all will be on show this weekend. It is safe to say Tom Curry will not be on duty for Sale judging by his holiday snaps alongside Northampton's Alex Mitchell in Dubai. The same goes for Smith, who has been in Miami, ensuring he misses Harlequins' trip to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to face Saracens. Another star was born last weekend in Cardiff in 20-year-old Henry Pollock, who is on the bench for Northampton, and, while the fly-half Fin Smith starts, Tommy Freeman sits it out. To be clear, it is no one's fault that not all Premiership teams will be fully loaded this weekend. It is entirely understandable that TNT – which has enjoyed an 8% bump in viewing figures this season – wants the Derby Weekend during a break in the Premier League's fixture list and so soon after the Six Nations. Equally, players need their rest – all the more so in a British & Irish Lions year – and, as Premiership officials acknowledge, they cannot control selection. It is one of the imperfections of the calendar that has improved since domestic league and international fixtures no longer clash but is still far from ideal. Indeed, after two Premiership weekends, just as post-Six Nations form is becoming apparent, there will be a pause to allow for Champions Cup and Challenge Cup matches. Perhaps it would be less of a problem without such resignation over English hopes in European competitions but, nonetheless, Premiership organisers point to how tickets for this season's final are selling twice as fast as last year's – the holy grail being to sell out before the regular season finishes. They point to how the average age of supporters is coming down, how there is a significant spike in interest in the 18-34 age bracket and point to the joint marketing agreement with the RFU – a key part of the Professional Game Partnership – as a driving force. The elephant in the room is the emerging news about Newcastle's finances. Premiership executives insist the league has come through the period of 'fire-fighting' but there are understandable concerns about the Falcons. Having lost three clubs and dropped to 10 teams it is unpalatable to consider dropping to nine. The demises of Worcester, Wasps and London Irish at least led to greater financial transparency and so both the Premiership and the RFU have a far better idea of what they are dealing with. An advance of RFU funding and a loan from the other Premiership clubs are both live options but Newcastle need long-term investment. Without it a loan would appear to be little more than a stay of execution next season. As Premiership executives acknowledge, future investment is not going to come from British benefactors, who prop up a number of clubs at present. It will be US or Middle East money that is required but so far rugby union is an outlier: it seems the one major sport Gulf states have shown little interest in investing in. That relegation is now off the table for another season is a black mark against the Premiership and broadcasters are believed to prefer a sense of jeopardy. The broadcast deal with TNT was extended 12 months ago but discussions are live about the next one. TNT is said to have bought into what the Premiership considers to be its selling points, namely athleticism, the gladiatorial nature of the sport, and the fact it is among the most unpredictable competitions around. It is now the league's unique selling point. Sign up to The Breakdown The latest rugby union news and analysis, plus all the week's action reviewed after newsletter promotion Steve Borthwick's view on that is hardly an endorsement, however. The madcap nature of the Premiership does not necessarily best prepare players for the Test arena and after repeatedly describing England's 16-15 win over Scotland as an 'arm-wrestle', he made a point of explaining how few Premiership matches pan out in that manner. Blowouts do not help prepare Test players either, even if victory over Wales transpired in precisely that fashion last weekend. For the next couple of months though, he sits and watches. Hoping that unexpected victories in Europe can boost his players' hopes of Lions selection. Hoping that the Professional Game Partnership can overcome the evident teething problems as seen in the management of Immanuel Feyi-Waboso's injury and bring the alignment we have been promised. For that was another imperfection and the Premiership returns to focus against a backdrop of a number of them, contrasted by plenty of genuine reasons for optimism yet looming again is the spectre of financial upheaval. If nothing else, it is an intoxicating mix.

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