Leinster Build-Up To Ospreys Away In United Rugby Championship: Leo Cullen – The42.ie – February 11 2025

Posted on February 11, 2025 by admin

‘A great experience’ – Cullen pinpoints Leinster friendlies as key for Prendergast

Leinster are back in action this Friday as they head to face the Ospreys.

WHILE HE STRESSED it wasn’t part of a grand plan for the Kildare man, Leo Cullen feels playing for Leinster in a brace of friendly encounters during last year’s Six Nations Championship was important for the development of Ireland fly-half Sam Prendergast.

Set to turn 22 tomorrow, Prendergast picked up his fifth international senior cap and the player of the match award as Ireland defeated Scotland in the second round of the 2025 Six Nations at Murrayfield Stadium on Sunday.

This represents a rapid rise for the former Newbridge College student, who was named as one of three training panellists for the 2024 Championship before ultimately making his Test debut against Argentina last November.

In addition to enjoying brief appearances in United Rugby Championship victories over Benetton and Cardiff after being released back to Leinster, Prendergast was handed starts in non-competitive duels with Saracens and Bath – which preceded the return of Cullen’s Six Nations contingent to the provincial fold. Although both of these friendlies ended in defeat for Leinster, the Wicklow native believes the experience Prendergast gained from facing the English Premiership duo was invaluable.

“We organised two games last year because we had a cohort of players, and Sam being one of them, where you wanted to try and challenge them. We had the opportunity to play against Bath and Saracens, who were both pretty loaded. Those games were important in his development. We lost both of those games quite heavily, but again it was a great experience,” the Leinster head coach remarked at a media briefing in UCD on Monday.

“He was on the back foot a little in both of those games as well, so how you manage the game when you are not on the front foot [is crucial]. It can be easy when you are. If you think of how he has progressed on from there, a couple of the South Africa experiences he has had with Leinster and then with Ireland as well. He has built up plenty of experience over the last couple of seasons.

“I wouldn’t say it’s a grand plan. You just want to set young players up well. It’s hard to skip the levels. Sometimes people think you can just crack on. He is still incredibly young.”

Though much has been made of the battle between Prendergast and Munster’s Jack Crowley, versatile Leinster star Ciaran Frawley is someone who is also viewed as an option for the number 10 jersey in the Ireland team. Despite featuring extensively at both full-back and inside centre in the recent past, Frawley had two mixed outings as a replacement for Crowley at out-half in the international arena last year.

Whereas his brace of drop goals made him the match-winner upon deputising for the Cork man in a second test triumph over South Africa in Durban last July, Frawley struggled during his 23 minutes on the pitch in an Autumn Nations Series opener against New Zealand at the Aviva Stadium four months later.

After missing out on the match day 23 for the opening two rounds of this year’s Six Nations Championship, Frawley (who had to deal with ankle and back injuries either side of that autumn window) was one of six players from the Ireland squad that was training with Leinster yesterday morning in advance of their URC clash away to Ospreys this Friday evening.

The other internationals to join him at the province’s UCD base on Monday were Jack Boyle, Jimmy O’Brien, Jamie Osborne, Gus McCarthy and Joe McCarthy – the latter having been ruled out of Ireland’s games against England and Scotland because of a concussion issue.

It remains to be seen whether this sextet will all see action in Swansea later on this week, but if selected, Frawley will be eager to deliver a performance that might put him back in the thoughts of Simon Easterby for the closing three rounds of the Six Nations.

“In terms of Ciaran, the New Zealand game doesn’t go well off the bench. Then he picks up an injury with us and he’s out of action for a while, but that happens. You have to wait for the next opportunity and if that comes this Friday, you have to make sure he is ready for it,” Cullen added.

“Because he is a quality player and you want that level of competition. When you lose out, it feels like you’re miles away when it actually really is neck and neck. Sometimes the other guys kick on and things may not work out. That’s the fickle nature of the business.”

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U20 Six Nations Championship: Scotland V Ireland – The Irish Times (Print) – February 10 2025

Posted on February 10, 2025 by admin

Ireland under-20s make light work of Scotland to earn first points in Six Nations

Charlie Molony’s first-half hat-trick sends Ireland on their way to win in Edinburgh

Daire Walsh

Under-20 Six Nations: Scotland 15 Ireland 33

Following the disappointment of losing out to defending champions England in the opening round, Ireland captain Eanna McCarthy believes a more clinical attacking edge was the catalyst behind his side’s victory over Scotland in the Under-20 Six Nations at the Hive Stadium on Saturday.

After the hurt that was left from their 19-3 reversal at the hands of the English on home soil, Ireland were determined to get their first win of the Championship in the Edinburgh venue. Thanks to a hat-trick of first-half tries from Charlie Molony – in addition to fine finishes over the whitewash by Billy Corrigan and Oisin Minogue in either half – Neil Doak’s visitors emerged from this round two clash in the Scottish capital with a maximum tally of five points.

“There was a big week’s training and a few fix-ups from last week. We had nine entries [against England] and we only converted one, whereas this week we had 15 and converted a lot more. I’m very proud of the lads, but it was a fierce physical battle with Scotland. They’re always a good team, so you never want to take them for granted,” McCarthy remarked after Saturday’s game.

“We know we’re a good side. We created so many opportunities against England and we just missed out [because of] last ball here, dropped ball there. There wasn’t much getting into it. There was a bit of hurt left from it, but there wasn’t much to say to the lads. They were fairly well motivated themselves.”

After spectacularly touching down with just over 90 seconds gone on the clock, Molony got on the end of a delicate crossfield kick by Sam Wisniewski for his second try of the action on 13 minutes.

The hard-working Corrigan added his name to the scoresheet by rounding off an enterprising attack just shy of the first-quarter mark, before Molony wrapped up his hat-trick and an Ireland bonus point in ruthless fashion on 22 minutes.

Scotland finally opened their account with a five-pointer from Fergus Watson just four minutes later and even though Ireland established a comfortable 26-5 interval lead, there were some nervous moments after Joe Roberts added a second Scottish try on the restart.

Yet the introduction of Munster hopeful Minogue (nephew of the late Anthony Foley and son of former Ireland women’s international Rosie Foley) proved to be a masterstroke by Irish head coach Doak as he dived over off an intricate lineout move mere seconds after his introduction as a 59th minute replacement.

A resolute Scotland dotted down once again via scrumhalf Hector Patterson inside the final quarter but while Ireland came up short in their quest for a sixth try in the closing moments, they had already done more than enough to earn an emphatic victory.

After kick-starting the tournament with two games in the space of nine days, Ireland will now be able to enjoy an extended build-up to their third round encounter with Wales at Rodney Parade in Newport on February 21st. Now that they have some points on the board, McCarthy is hopeful they are in a good position to push on for the remainder of the Six Nations – albeit there will be some tough challenges ahead for the Irish.

“A bonus point win is hard to get wherever you go. Five points on the table now, we just work on from here. There’s a lot of things to work on for next week now. We’ll go back and train hard next week, and the week after it we’re into Wales away then. Which will be another tough game,” McCarthy added.

Scorers – Scotland: F Watson, J Roberts, H Patterson try each. Ireland: C Molony 3 tries, B Corrigan, O Minogue try each, D Green 4 cons.

SCOTLAND: J Brown; N Moncrieff, J Ventisei, K Yule, F Watson; M Urwin, N Cowan; O McKenna, J Roberts, O Blyth-Lafferty; C Moss, D Halkon; C Lindsay, B Allen, R Logan. Replacements: S Stephen for Allen, J Shearer for McKenna, B Godsell for Moss, H Patterson for Cowan (all ht); O Duncan for Lindsay (59); J Stewart for Blyth-Lafferty (66); R Wolfenden for Urwin (71); C Waugh for Moncrieff (74).

IRELAND: D Green; C Molony, G O’Leary Kareem, C Fahy, C Mangan; S Wisniewski, C Logan; B Bohan, H Walker, A Mullan; M Ronan, B Corrigan; M Foy, B Power, E McCarthy. Replacements: T McAllister for Mullan (ht); C Magee for Walker (53); O Minogue for Power (59); W Wootton for Logan (61); D Hicks for Wisniewski (64); D Walsh for Ronan (65); E Smyth for O’Leary Kareem, (66); P Moore for Bohan (68).

Referee: T Bertazza (Argentina).

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U20 Six Nations: Scotland V Ireland – The Irish Examiner (Print) – February 10 2025

Posted on February 10, 2025 by admin

Ireland U20s used England loss hurt as catalyst for Scotland win

Ireland lost their first round clash to England and used that hurt in a clinical attack against Scotland.
DAIRE WALSH

U20 Six Nations: Scotland 15 Ireland 33

Following the disappointment of losing out to England in the opening round, Ireland captain Eanna McCarthy believes a more clinical attacking edge was the catalyst behind his side’s victory over Scotland in the U20 Six Nations at the Hive Stadium on Saturday.

After the hurt that was left from their 19-3 reversal at the hands of the English nine days earlier, Ireland were determined to get their first win of the Championship in the Edinburgh venue. Thanks to a hat-trick of opening half tries from Charlie Molony – in addition to fine finishes over the whitewash by Billy Corrigan and Oisin Minogue in either half – Neil Doak’s visitors emerged from this round two clash in the Scottish capital with a maximum tally of five points.

“There was a big week’s training went in and a few fix-ups from last week. We had nine entries [against England] and we only converted one, whereas this week we had 15 and converted a lot more. I’m very proud of the lads, but it was a fierce physical battle with Scotland. They’re always a good team, so you never want to take them for granted,” the Cork native remarked after Saturday’s game.

“We know we’re a good side. We created so many opportunities against England and we just missed out last ball here, dropped ball there. There wasn’t much getting into it. There was a bit of hurt left from it, but there wasn’t much to say to the lads. They were fairly well motivated themselves.”

After spectacularly touching down with just over 90 seconds gone on the clock, Molony got on the end of a delicate crossfield kick by Sam Wisniewski for his second try on 13 minutes.

The hard-working Corrigan added his name to the scoresheet by rounding off an enterprising attack just shy of the first-quarter mark, before Molony wrapped up his hat-trick and an Ireland bonus point in ruthless fashion on 22 minutes.

Scotland finally opened their account with a five-pointer from Fergus Watson just four minutes later and even though Ireland established a comfortable 26-5 interval lead, there were some nervous moments after Joe Roberts added a second Scottish try on the restart.

Yet the introduction of Munster hopeful Minogue (nephew of the late Anthony Foley and son of former Ireland women’s international Rosie Foley) proved to be a masterstroke by Irish head coach Doak as he dived over off an intricate line-out move mere seconds after his introduction as a 59th minute replacement.

A resolute Scotland dotted down once again via scrum-half Hector Patterson inside the final-quarter but while Ireland came up short in their quest for a sixth try in the closing moments, they had already done more than enough to earn an emphatic victory.

Scorers for Scotland: Tries: F Watson, J Roberts, H Patterson

Scorers for Ireland: Tries: C Molony 3, B Corrigan, O Minogue Cons: D Green 4

SCOTLAND: J Brown; N Moncrieff (C Waugh 74), J Ventisei, K Yule, F Watson; M Urwin (R Wolfenden 71), N Cowan (H Patterson h-t); O McKenna (J Shearer h-t), J Roberts, O Blyth-Lafferty (J Stewart 66); C Moss (B Godsell h-t), D Halkon; C Lindsay (O Duncan 59), B Allen (S Stephen h-t), R Logan.

IRELAND: D Green; C Molony, G O’Leary Kareem (E Smyth 66), C Fahy, C Mangan; S Wisniewski (D Hicks 64), C Logan (W Wootton 61); B Bohan (P Moore 68), H Walker (C Magee 53), A Mullan (T McAllister h-t); M Ronan (D Walsh 65), B Corrigan; M Foy, B Power (O Minogue 59), E McCarthy.

Referee: T Bertazza (Argentina).

Posted in International Rugby, U20 Six Nations Rugby | Comments Off on U20 Six Nations: Scotland V Ireland – The Irish Examiner (Print) – February 10 2025

LIDL National Football League Division One: Meath V Waterford – Ladiesgaelic.ie – February 9 2025

Posted on February 9, 2025 by admin

Cole leads the way as Meath hold off Waterford rally

Lidl National Football League

Meath 2-11

Waterford 1-13

By Daire Walsh

Kerrie Cole helped herself to an outstanding haul of 2-2 at Pairc Tailteann in Navan on Sunday as Meath withstood a strong final quarter fightback from Waterford to earn their third win from as many games in Division One of the Lidl National Football League.

In a confident mood following their nine-point victory over Mayo six days earlier, the Royals made a sensational start to this contest as Cole rattled the net inside the opening 30 seconds for her fourth goal in just three games this year.

While Waterford settled into the action with points from Brid McMaugh and Lauren McGregor (free) either side of a Ciara Smyth score at the opposite end, Meath stretched four clear when Cole and Marion Farrelly split the posts in quick succession. Despite the impressive McMaugh kicked her second point of the day, their Leinster counterparts kept the scoreboard ticking over through the reliable boots of Smyth and Cole.

The Waterford challenge was rejuvenated when a McGregor shot from close-range was deflected into the net on 21 minutes, but Meath immediately reinforced their authority with scores from Smyth and Farrelly. McGregor later brought her personal tally up to 1-2 with a pointed free, before Vikki Wall and Niamh Gallogly did likewise to give the Royals a 1-9 to 1-4 interval cushion.

Although the Deise made a bright start to the second half courtesy of a Kellyann Hogan point, Meath secured their second goal in the 33rd minute after Cole palmed home off a Smyth free that had dropped short. After Waterford wing-back Aine O’Neill and Wall traded scores, McGregor knocked over another free to leave the visitors six points adrift at 2-10 to 1-7 moving into the closing quarter.

The Munster side were playing with the aid of a breeze on the resumption and a further 0-2 by Dungarvan attacker McGregor kept them within reach of the Royals as the final whistle approached. The raiding Eve Power was then on hand to cancel out another excellent score from Wall and with Katie Murray kicking a brace of points from play, a tense finale was in store.

Net-minder Robyn Murray was at full stretch to tip over a McGregor strike that cut the gap to the bare minimum, but Meath eventually held out to join Armagh on nine points at the Division One summit.

Scorers – Meath: K Cole 2-2, C Smyth, V Wall 0-3 each, M Farrelly 0-2, N Gallogly 0-1.

Waterford: L McGregor 1-6 (0-5f), K Murray, B McMaugh 0-2, E Power, A O’Neill, K Hogan 0-1 each.

MEATH: R Murray; A Sheridan, S Wall, K Newe; N Gallogly, MK Lynch, C Millington; K Kealy, V Wall; M Thynne, O Sheehy, C Smyth; M Byrne, M Farrelly, K Cole. Subs: E Moyles for Farrelly (h-t), N Troy for Kealy (41), K Bermingham for Cole (48), O Smith for Millington, A Gaffney for Byrne (both 62).

WATERFORD: G Corcoran; K McGrath, R Casey, M Ryan; E Power, E Murray, A O’Neill; K Hogan, H Power; C McCarthy, B McMaugh, A Power; L McGregor, C Walsh, K Murray. Subs: A Hahesy for A Power (26), C Fennell for Walsh, N Power for McCarthy (both 39), A Brazil for O’Neill (57).

Referee: Raymond McBride (Dublin).

Posted in Ladies GAA | Comments Off on LIDL National Football League Division One: Meath V Waterford – Ladiesgaelic.ie – February 9 2025

U20 Six Nations Championship: Scotland V Ireland – The Irish Times (Online) – February 8 2025

Posted on February 9, 2025 by admin

Ireland U20’s make light work of Scotland to take opening Six Nations win

Charlie Moloney hat-trick aids Ireland to 33-15 win in Edinburgh

Daire Walsh

U20 Six Nations: Scotland 15 Ireland 33

Charlie Molony grabbed an opening half hat-trick of tries at the Hive Stadium in Edinburgh on Saturday night as Ireland defeated Scotland to earn their first win of this year’s U20 Six Nations Championship.

After being released through a gap by fullback Daniel Green – one of three players added to the Irish starting line-up for the game – Molony dotted down with just over 90 seconds on the clock.

The former Blackrock College student proceeded to double his account by getting on the end of a Sam Wisniewski cross-field kick and following a third try from lock Billy Corrigan, wrapped up his hat-trick to give Ireland the bonus point.

Scotland were left deflated by the 22-minute attacking blitz, and even though the hosts finally got up and running four minutes later when Fergus Watson touched down in fine style, Ireland had a 26-5 cushion by the interval.

Despite the deficit, the hosts carried some momentum into the second half, Joe Roberts – who moved from hooker to the backrow after the resumption – finished off an enterprising move for Scotland’s second try on 44 minutes.

But Ireland remained firmly in control of their own destiny, Oisin Minogue diving over the line seconds after his introduction just shy of the hour mark.

A spirited Scotland bagged an additional five-pointer through Hector Patterson inside the final-quarter, but ultimately it was a convincing victory for Ireland.

SCOTLAND: J Brown; N Moncrieff, J Ventisei, K Yule, F Watson; M Urwin, N Cowan; O McKenna, J Roberts, O Blyth-Lafferty; C Moss, D Halkon; C Lindsay, B Allen, R Logan.

Replacements: S Stephen for Allen, J Shearer for McKenna, B Godsell for Moss, H Patterson for Cowan (all ht); O Duncan for Lindsay (59); J Stewart for Blyth-Lafferty (66); R Wolfenden for Urwin (71); C Waugh for Moncrieff (74).

IRELAND: D Green; C Molony, G O’Leary Kareem, C Fahy, C Mangan; S Wisniewski, C Logan; B Bohan, H Walker, A Mullan; M Ronan, B Corrigan; M Foy, B Power, E McCarthy.

Replacements: T McAllister for Mullan (ht); C Magee for Walker (53); O Minogue for Power (59); W Wootton for Logan (61); D Hicks for Wisniewski (64); D Walsh for Ronan (65); E Smyth for O’Leary Kareem, (66); P Moore for Bohan (68).

Referee: T Bertazza (Argentina).

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U20 Six Nations Championship: Scotland V Ireland – The Irish Examiner (Online) – February 8 2025

Posted on February 8, 2025 by admin

Molony grabs hat-trick as Ireland under-20s grab first win of Six Nations

Ireland will now embark on a third round visit to Wales in Newport on February 21 with renewed vigour.
DAIRE WALSH

U20 Six Nations: Scotland 15 Ireland 33 

Charlie Molony grabbed an opening half hat-trick of tries at the Hive Stadium in Edinburgh on Saturday night as Ireland defeated Scotland to earn their first win of this year’s U20 Men’s Six Nations Championship.

Along with Gene O’Leary Kareem and Billy Bohan, Daniel Green was added to the starting line-up for this game as Ireland aimed to bounce back from an opening-round defeat to defending champions England.

The selection of Green at full-back saw Molony switching to the right-wing and the latter was released through a gap by the former for a try underneath the posts with a little over 90 seconds gone on the clock.

Molony was a key figure on the Blackrock College side that claimed their 71st Leinster Schools Senior Cup title with a final victory over St Michael’s College last March and he bagged his second try of the evening after claiming an elaborate crossfield kick from fly-half Sam Wisniewski.

Lock Billy Corrigan was subsequently on hand to dot down in the 17th minute, before a rampant Ireland impressively sealed a bonus point just past the first-quarter mark.

Following excellent approach work from Wisniewski and Connor Fahy, Molony completed his hat-trick by side-stepping his way over the line on 22 minutes. Scotland were left deflated as a result of this scoring blitz from their opponents, but the hosts finally got up and running four minutes later when Fergus Watson got on the end of a fast-paced move for an unconverted try.

Yet even though hooker Henry Walker had a five-pointer ruled out towards the end of the opening period, that earlier surge ensured Ireland brought a 26-5 cushion into the interval.

However, the Scottish coaching team introduced a plethora of replacements on the resumption and following a move from the front-row to the back-row, starting hooker Joe Roberts applied the finishing touches to an elongated attack for a 44th minute try.

Scotland looked to be creating serious momentum when Hector Patterson dotted down moments later and the Irish players breathed a sigh of relief after it was eventually chalked off by the match officials in Edinburgh.

Ireland head coach Neil Doak was also beginning to dip into his reserve options and two of his fresh faces combined to good effect for the visitors’ fifth try of the game on 59 minutes.

Seconds after being thrust into the action, Oisin Minogue (nephew of the late Anthony Foley and son of former Ireland women’s international Rosie Foley) was picked out by replacement hooker Connor Magee from a short line-out and dived over the line in clinical style.

Although this helped Ireland to settle back into the game, a spirited Scotland fired back inside the final-quarter with an excellent solo score from Patterson – the Edinburgh club man kicking forward along the turf before grounding over the whitewash.

Scotland’s failure to slot any of their three conversion attempts between the posts meant Ireland remained in a comfortable position, however, and they will now embark on a third round visit to Wales in Newport on February 21 with renewed vigour.

Scorers for Scotland: Tries: F Watson, J Roberts, H Patterson

Scorers for Ireland: Tries: C Molony 3, B Corrigan, O Minogue Cons: D Green 4

Scotland: J Brown; N Moncrieff (C Waugh 74), J Ventisei, K Yule, F Watson; M Urwin (R Wolfenden 71), N Cowan (H Patterson h-t); O McKenna (J Shearer h-t), J Roberts, O Blyth-Lafferty (J Stewart 66); C Moss (B Godsell h-t), D Halkon; C Lindsay (O Duncan 59), B Allen (S Stephen h-t), R Logan.

Ireland: D Green; C Molony, G O’Leary Kareem (E Smyth 66), C Fahy, C Mangan; S Wisniewski (D Hicks 64), C Logan (W Wootton 61); B Bohan (P Moore 68), H Walker (C Magee 53), A Mullan (T McAllister h-t); M Ronan (D Walsh 65), B Corrigan; M Foy, B Power (O Minogue 59), E McCarthy.

Referee: T Bertazza (Argentina).

Posted in International Rugby, U20 Six Nations Rugby | Comments Off on U20 Six Nations Championship: Scotland V Ireland – The Irish Examiner (Online) – February 8 2025

Lidl National Football League Division One: Armagh V Dublin – Ladiesgaelic.ie – February 8 2025

Posted on February 8, 2025 by admin

League champions Armagh make it three wins in a row

Lidl National Football League

Armagh 0-11

Dublin 2-4

By Daire Walsh

Niamh Reel kicked five points at Parnell Park as defending champions Armagh held off a late surge from Dublin to make it three wins from three in Division One of the Lidl National Football League.

Seeking to build on victories against Kerry and Tyrone in the opening two rounds of the NFL, Armagh established an early two-point lead courtesy of consecutive efforts from corner-forwards Reel and Maeve Lennon. Despite creating a number of scoring opportunities, Dublin initially struggled to create attacking momentum and their Orchard County opponents subsequently doubled their cushion when Aoife McCoy and Reel (free) found the target either side of the first-quarter mark.

The sin-binning of corner-back Jess Tobin also left Dublin with a temporary numerical disadvantage, but the hosts impressively overcame this set-back by wiping out Armagh’s four-point buffer in lightning quick time.

After Kate Sullivan had got the Metropolitan outfit up and running with a superb goal on 18 minutes, Chloe Darby immediately followed up with a routine pointed free to bring her side on level terms with the visitors. While Armagh settled back into the contest with successive scores by midfielder Niamh Coleman and the dependable Reel, another successful free – this time from captain Carla Rowe – left Dublin a single point adrift at 0-6 to 1-2 at the interval.

Yet the Orchard women got the ball rolling on the resumption with Reel’s fourth of the afternoon and even though they breathed a sigh of relief when Sullivan fired a goal chance just past the post on 37 minutes, the Ulster side created further daylight with points from the evergreen Caroline O’Hanlon (free), substitute Caoimhe McNally and Niamh Henderson.

Dublin finally opened their second half account with a place-ball effort from Jodi Egan on 48 minutes and while Reel registered a similar score at the opposite end of the pitch, Niamh Hetherton also raised a white flag to keep the home side in contention during the closing stages of the action.

Their deficit was then reduced to the bare minimum when Hetherton found the net at the second time of asking off a 57th minute attack, but Armagh ultimately dug deep in a tense finale to come away with the three points on offer.

Scorers – Armagh: N Reel 0-5 (4f), C O’Hanlon 0-1 (1f), N Coleman, A McCoy, N Henderson, M Lennon, C McNally 0-1 each.

Dublin: N Hetherton 1-1, K Sullivan 1-0, C Darby 0-1 (f), C Rowe 0-1 (f), J Egan 0-1 (f).

ARMAGH: A Carr; M Ferguson, C Garvey, C Towe; E Druse, L McConville, R Mulligan; N Coleman, C O’Hanlon; A McCoy, M Feehan, B Mackin; N Reel, N Henderson, M Lennon. Subs: C McNally for Lennon (39), G Ferguson for Garvey (44), E Lavery for Feehan (47), E McGeown for Mackin (53), R Cunningham for Reel (57).

DUBLIN: A Shiels; J Tobin, L Caffrey, A Nyhan; H McGinnis, M Byrne, A Curran; G Kos, N Hetherton; K Sullivan, C Darby, K Murray; A Timothy, C Rowe, N Donlon. Subs: R McDonnell for Murray (h-t), S McIntyre for Timothy (41), J Egan for Darby (46).

Referee: Gus Chapman (Sligo).

Posted in Ladies GAA | Comments Off on Lidl National Football League Division One: Armagh V Dublin – Ladiesgaelic.ie – February 8 2025

Ireland U20s Build-Up To Scotland Away In Six Nations Championship: Ian Keatley – The42.ie – February 7 2025

Posted on February 8, 2025 by admin

‘The whole team and even the coaching staff, we made mistakes on the day’

Ian Keatley says Ireland U20s recent loss to England was an invaluable learning experience for all concerned.

DESPITE COMING into the game off the back of a 16-point defeat on home soil, Ireland U20s assistant coach Ian Keatley believes it was important to resist the temptation to make wholesale changes for tomorrow’s second round meeting with Scotland in the Six Nations Championship.

From the side that lost out 19-3 to defending champions England in Cork’s Virgin Media Park last Thursday week, the Irish coaching team have made just three alterations for a Saturday night showdown against the Scots at Hive Stadium in Edinburgh (kick-off 7.45pm).

Two of these changes are enforced with Derry Moloney and Alex Usanov both ruled out this weekend through injury — the latter is set to miss out on the remainder of the tournament after being withdrawn in the opening quarter of the English game.

The addition of Gene O’Leary Kareem to the Irish midfield was more of a tactical decision than the inclusion of Daniel Green and Billy Bohan for the above-mentioned duo, but Keatley stressed the rest of the side that featured against England deserve a second chance to impress.

“Of course, we want to win, but you have to remember they’re U20. Most of them are 19, they’re just developing. It [the England game] is probably the first time they played in an arena like that with 9,000. It’s probably the first time they came against a line speed such as England and a lot of those English players play in the Premiership,” Keatley said in a video call to the Irish media yesterday.

“This is their first time and a lot of us, the whole team and even the coaching staff, we made mistakes on the day. You have to give them another chance to help them learn and try and rectify what they did.

“I think if we made drastic changes, it would be the wrong thing for us as a team and the cohesion. To give them that confidence that we trust them, to go out again and try and correct the wrongs from last week. I think it’s very important for them to develop not just for this Six Nations, but their whole career.”

Whereas Ireland saw a run of 15 games without defeat in the U20s Six Nations coming to an end on the Leeside eight days ago — stretching back to the opening round of the 2022 Championship — last Friday’s 22-10 loss to Italy in Hive Stadium was Scotland’s ninth successive reversal in the tournament.

Additionally, the Scots have recorded just one win from their last 21 games in the U20s Six Nations and have picked up the wooden spoon in three of the past four Championships at this age grade.

Yet despite recent history being against them, Keatley is anticipating a difficult battle in the Scottish capital tomorrow night.

“We have a tough challenge against Scotland. They’re actually a very good team. They like to move the ball around. They’re actually quite clever tactically. Their 12 [Kerr Yule], he’s a very good player. A very strong carrier. Very good pack, very good scrum. We’re under no illusion, Scotland are going to be very good this week.”

Having initially come on board for last year’s Championship when current Ulster supremo Richie Murphy was still at the helm, Keatley is in the middle of his second Six Nations campaign as attack and backs coach with the Ireland U20s.

After learning his trade to a certain extent for the 2024 edition of the tournament, the former Munster and Connacht out-half now feels very much at ease in a set-up that is currently spearheaded by Neil Doak — who previously coached Keatley on an Emerging Ireland team that won the IRB Nations Cup in 2014.

“I think the first few weeks of last year’s campaign, Richie just said: ‘First few weeks, just find your feet. Just feel comfortable to talk, whenever you talk. Come in and then we’ll start giving you more and more responsibility,’” Keatley added.

“By the time we got to the World Cup, I felt I was so comfortable with the environment and rolling into this year, I feel very good in this environment. Love working with these guys, these U20s. They’re all 30, 35 lads just literally willing to learn. They’ll literally listen to anything you say and they’re so eager.

“All we want as a coaching staff is for them to put their best foot forward and show their true potential. That’s all they want as well. When we give them messages, they just want to learn and they want to get better. It’s a really great environment to be in.”

Posted in International Rugby, U20 Six Nations Rugby | Comments Off on Ireland U20s Build-Up To Scotland Away In Six Nations Championship: Ian Keatley – The42.ie – February 7 2025

The Big Interview: Eimear O’Brien (Longford/Longford Slashers) – Media West Ireland – February 8 2025

Posted on February 8, 2025 by admin

‘Winning the All-Ireland in Croke Park definitely made up for any sort of disappointment’

By Daire Walsh

While there is a long road ahead of them, Eimear O’Brien has acknowledged that challenging for League and Championship promotion is the ultimate goal for the Longford ladies football team in 2025.

When the Longford Slashers star first established herself as a starter back in 2018, the O’Farrell County were operating in Division 3 of the Lidl National Football League and in the TG4 All-Ireland Intermediate football Championship. The Midlanders remained active participants in these competitions for a number of seasons, before eventually suffering relegation from both in 2023.

Last year saw Longford missing out on the knockout stages of the TG4 All-Ireland Junior Championship and Lidl NFL Division 4 – competitions they previously won in 2016 and 2017 respectively. Although challenging at the business end of the former is a major ambition for the summer time, Brian Farrell’s side will be fighting tooth and nail to book a spot in the Division 4 semi-finals at the end of March.

“There are teams that are in Intermediate Championship that are playing Division 4 or vice versa, Junior and playing Division 3. There is very little between Junior and Intermediate, and Division 3 and Division 4. The teams are nearly interchangeable, so there’s definitely no reason why we can’t be back up there playing Division 3 and Intermediate,” O’Brien said.

“We’re really targeting the Championship this year. There’s players who will come back in later on, and we’ll have even bigger numbers. We really are targeting mainly Championship, but the League semi-final is there to grab. So we’ll obviously aim for it.”

Despite losing out to Sligo at Cloonacool Community Park last Sunday, Longford remain in the reckoning for a knockout spot thanks to emphatic victories at home to Derry and Kilkenny in the opening two rounds of this year’s Division 4. Ahead of their meeting with Fermanagh at Glennon Brothers Pearse Park tomorrow afternoon (throw-in 2pm), the O’Farrell outfit occupy second place in the fourth-tier table.

Having missed out on their three games to date due to a combination of injury and being away, O’Brien is hopeful this weekend will see her playing her first competitive game since being named captain of Longford for the 2025 season. Suffice to say – after previously serving as vice-captain for several years – the experienced defender is delighted to be taking on a key leadership role in the county set-up.

“It’s a huge honour to be selected as captain. You feel like you’re really respected by the manager and the players. You also just feel like you’re obviously a good role model for younger players as well. It’s a big deal to be named county captain.

“I’m also probably one of the older players on the team. We’re quite a young team and I’ve probably been one of the longest around. It definitely will help and knowing the girls as well helps too.”

Whereas she is still striving for success at inter-county level, O’Brien has already accumulated a significant collection of medals in the club game.

A Junior county Championship winner with Longford Slashers in 2017, she played a starring role when the Farneyhoogan outfit claimed Intermediate Championship honours a year later. Slashers have continued to go from strength to strength since then and last October saw them picking up their sixth successive Droplink Senior Championship title in the O’Farrell County.

Yet undoubtedly the crowning glory for the club in modern times was their triumph over Mullinahone in the All-Ireland Intermediate Championship final of 2022. The first All-Ireland Ladies Club Final to be played at Croke Park – it was followed by a senior showdown between Kilkerrin-Clonberne and Donaghmoyne on the same day – Longford Slashers defeated their Tipperary counterparts on a score of 4-11 to 2-8 with O’Brien producing a typically committed performance in defence.

“It’s probably the biggest highlight, it was amazing. Playing in Croke Park is where every player wants to be, up on the big stage. Especially with family around you. A football team are probably some of the closest people in your life. Winning a massive thing like that is huge.

“It was very, very special. The year before we were so disappointed having lost the Leinster final, but I think winning the All-Ireland in Croke Park definitely made up for any sort of disappointment.

“It took us a while to get out of Junior. We were a very, very young team. Then when we won the Junior, at that stage we were knocking on the door for so long. We were playing division one football while playing Junior, it was nearly in our heads. Once we got over that hurdle, we knew we could push on and we did.”

Away from football, O’Brien has a busy job working as a medical scientist at St James’s Hospital in Dublin – a role she has held for the past three years.

Working and living in the capital means she has to commute up and down to inter-county training on a regular basis. However, with a number of others on the panel in the same boat, O’Brien doesn’t have any trouble striking a balance between her job and her commitments to Longford.

“There’s a good few in college who are based either in Dublin or Maynooth. There is a few in Galway as well, I think, but there’s a few of us working in Dublin. There is a good few commuting up and down,” O’Brien added.

“I love my job. I’m lucky with the lab I work in. I’m working microbiology, I work mostly routine hours. For weekend shifts, there is less staff on. It’s easier to change it, so it does work well for football. I can get off for games and training. Longford luckily is not too far away. It’s an hour and a half each way in the car.

“Thankfully James’s is on the N4. I head straight down from work if I’m working, so it’s not the worst. Luckily I’m from the town, so we normally train near enough there. I can go home and get a bit to eat before I head down to the pitch and then come back up that night. It’s not too bad. I’m close enough that I can still do that.”

Posted in Ladies GAA | Comments Off on The Big Interview: Eimear O’Brien (Longford/Longford Slashers) – Media West Ireland – February 8 2025

U20 Six Nations Championship Preview: Scotland V Ireland – The Irish Times – February 8 2025

Posted on February 8, 2025 by admin

Ireland under-20s look to get back on track as they face ‘physical’ Scottish side

Ulster hooker Henry Walker feeling less ‘spooked’ on his second Six Nations campaign

Daire Walsh

Under-20 Six Nations: Scotland v Ireland, Hive Stadium, Edinburgh, Saturday, 7.45 – Live RTÉ 2

Ireland encountered a physical challenge in their opening game of the tournament, and Henry Walker is anticipating something similar when they face Scotland in the second round of the Under-20 Six Nations at the Hive Stadium in Edinburgh on Saturday (kick-off 7.45pm, live on RTÉ2).

Following a 19-3 defeat to defending champions England at Musgrave Park last Thursday week, Neil Doak’s side will be looking to get their campaign back on track in the Scottish capital this weekend.

Coming in to their clash with the English on an unbeaten run of 15 games in the tournament, dating back to the first round of the 2022 Six Nations, Ireland ultimately came up short after conceding four penalties and a penalty try over the course of the action.

Scotland also suffered defeat in their opening game of this year’s tournament, with Italy getting the better of them on a final score of 22-10. Yet even though you have to go all the way back to 2015 for the last time they tasted victory over Ireland in the tournament, Ulster hooker Walker is expecting the Scots to pose a significant threat.

“We always know they’re going to be physical. I played them last year at the end of the Six Nations and they were a very physical side. Obviously this year they’ve got another crowd of big lads,” Walker remarked on Thursday. “They’ve got the likes of Ollie Blyth-Lafferty, Reuben Logan. They’re big lads and we’re looking forward to the challenge.”

While Alex Usanov is marked absent because of an injury he sustained in the opening stages of the England game – which is also set to rule the Leinster prop out for the remainder of the tournament – the rest of the Irish pack from that opener is retained for their first away trip of 2025.

There are also a couple of changes in the Ireland back line, with Gene O’Leary Kareem and Daniel Green indirectly replacing Eoghan Smyth and Derry Moloney, the latter missing out on selection owing to a broken finger.

As he alluded to above, Walker is currently in the middle of his second Six Nations campaign, having played in four of the five games in last year’s tournament. Whereas he admitted to feeling somewhat “spooked” for his debut appearance against France a little over 12 months ago, the Queen’s University player is now feeling much more at ease in this age grade.

“There’s a few other lads in the squad that were involved [in 2024] and it just helped me settle this year. Calmed the nerves a little bit, because it can spook you. Obviously my first game against France I was a little bit spooked, but having those players that played before around you really does settle the nerves,” Walker added.

“I feel like I want to be that player this year to help those lads through it, those tough times. You just have to get the head down and keep moving forward.”

SCOTLAND: J Brown; G Rogers, J Ventisei, K Yule, F Watson; M Urwin, N Cowan; O McKenna, J Roberts, O Blyth-Lafferty; C Moss, D Halkon; C Lindsay, B Allen, R Logan.

Replacements: S Stephen, J Shearer, J Stewart, B Godsell, O Duncan, H Patterson, R Wolfenden, N Moncrieff.

IRELAND: D Green; C Molony, G O’Leary Kareem, C Fahy, C Mangan; S Wisniewski, C Logan; B Bohan, H Walker, A Mullan; M Ronan, B Corrigan; M Foy, B Power, E McCarthy.

Replacements: C Magee, P Moore, T McAllister, D Walsh, O Minogue, W Wotton, D Hicks, E Smyth.

Posted in International Rugby, U20 Six Nations Rugby | Comments Off on U20 Six Nations Championship Preview: Scotland V Ireland – The Irish Times – February 8 2025