Leinster Build-Up To Bath Home In European Champions Cup: Jordie Barrett – The Irish Examiner – January 17 2025

Posted on January 17, 2025 by admin

Leinster and Ireland are in great hands with Prendergast, says Barrett

The All Blacks star has been impressed by the Blues’ No 10.
DAIRE WALSH

While he stresses that he still needs time to develop his game further, All Blacks star Jordie Barrett is confident Leinster and Ireland ‘are in great hands for a number of years’ with Sam Prendergast at their disposal.

Since joining the eastern province less than two months ago on a deal that will last until the end of the current club season, Barrett has featured on three occasions in the European Champions Cup – twice as a starter and once off the bench. Prendergast has been selected at out-half for each of these games and contributed 11 points off the kicking tee in last weekend’s 16-14 pool stage win away to La Rochelle.

Still just 21 years of age, Prendergast picked up three senior international caps for Ireland in last November’s Autumn Nations Series and was selected in their squad for the Six Nations Championship that was announced on Wednesday.

“He’s a great young player and he’s got a great skill set. He’s very aware of his strengths and uses those strengths to his advantage. He’s still young, he’s a kid. All his best years are ahead of him. I think Leinster and Ireland are in great hands for a number of years,” Barrett remarked at a Leinster media briefing in UCD earlier this week.

“Look, he’s not going to be perfect every game. There’ll be things he’ll do really well and things he’ll get wrong, but that’s important for a young 10. Just learning through those experiences. You can’t become the complete package overnight.

“There’s a number of great young 10s in Ireland and I know there’s always a search to find a replacement for Johnny [Sexton], who was unbelievable over a number of years. There’s great 10s all around the country, so that’s positive.”

Of course, last Sunday saw Leinster coming up against a La Rochelle side that are coached by a former Ireland number 10. In the wake of his charges losing out to the Irish province, Ronan O’Gara revealed on social media that Barrett had gifted the boots he wore in the game to the Cork man’s son and the New Zealander outlined how this all came to pass.

“I was chatting with ROG after the game and his boys come up with another young fella and they asked for my jersey. I said, ‘Sorry, I can’t give you this jersey probably because it’s a Leinster one and your Dad might not take it.’ So I said they could have my boots and they were very grateful. It was nice.” As a result of their victory against La Rochelle, Leinster are now guaranteed a home draw in the Champions Cup round of 16 in advance of their final pool game against Bath at the Aviva Stadium tomorrow.

After losing the last three European top-tier finals in agonising fashion, the Blues will be hoping the addition of players like Barrett, RG Snyman and Rabah Slimani this season can offer them a crucial edge come the business end of the competition.

Yet even though being an All Black with 68 international caps ensures he has an ambitious streak, Barrett acknowledged there will be more to this time in the Leinster set-up than whether or not he wins silverware.

“I can’t just sit here and say I want that or that, and don’t want that or that. I’ll just learn from experience and hopefully I can sit back when it’s a year on, when I get back to New Zealand, and apply certain things to my game or my preparation that are going to help me and make me a better player and person.”

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Ireland U20s Squad Announcement: Ciaran Mangan – The42.ie – January 16 2025

Posted on January 16, 2025 by admin

Mangan has sibling rivalry experience to count for making Ireland U20 squad

Schoolboy friends of Sam and Cian Prendergast, Ciaran and Diarmuid Mangan are making their way in the rugby world.

IN HIS FINAL  warm-up appearance before being officially named in the Ireland U20s squad for the forthcoming Six Nations, Ciaran Mangan found himself pitched into battle against a member of his own household.

The older brother of Ciaran, Diarmuid Mangan was part of the Irish squads that won back-to-back Championship Grand Slams at the U20 international grade in 2022 and 2023.

Although he has already made five senior appearances for the eastern province – including starts against Ulster and Connacht towards the tail end of 2024 – he was selected on a Leinster Development XV that played the Ireland U20s in a friendly encounter at Energia Park a little under a fortnight ago.

Whereas Diarmuid was amongst the Leinster pack, younger sibling Ciaran donned the number 11 jersey for his opponents. While the roles they took on for their respective teams meant they didn’t have a face-to-face showdown during the game, it was an interesting occasion nonetheless for the Mangans.

“I don’t think Diarmuid was initially meant to be playing, but a few injuries came and he was in. We were playing against each other, but I know one of the other brothers Ruben and Derry [Moloney], they had a few match-ups,” Ciaran explained at an Ireland U20s squad announcement at the PwC headquarters in Dublin on Tuesday.

“Me and Diarmuid didn’t really get to have any. He was lurking out on the wing a few times and I was thinking ‘hopefully he doesn’t get the ball here’. He was good, in fairness.”

Before progressing up the underage international ladder, the Mangan brothers shone brightly at junior and senior cup level with Newbridge College – located a little under 10 miles from their hometown of Sallins in Kildare.

This is also the alma mater of Cian and Sam Prendergast, both of whom the Mangans were quite close to in their childhoods.

Having previously played against each other in the colours of Connacht and Leinster, the Prendergasts finally got a chance to play on the same team when Ireland faced Fiji in the Autumn Nations Series at the Aviva Stadium last November.

Given he and his brother have ambitions to make a significant splash in the professional game, seeing Sam and Cian as part of the same Ireland senior set-up is a great source of encouragement for Mangan.

 “We’d be family friends with them as well, so we kind of knew them when we were younger. Obviously those two have been doing class. It’s class to see them making their cap together and playing together.”

A Junior Cup winner with Newbridge in 2021, Mangan subsequently enjoyed three successive campaigns in the Leinster Schools Senior Cup. His coach during this period was Johne Murphy, who also attended Newbridge as a student before going on to have a career in professional rugby with Leicester Tigers and Munster.

Though he has been featuring in the back-three more recently, Mangan played a lot of his schools rugby at outside centre. Given he was known as a versatile back in his own playing days, Murphy was ideally placed in his role as Newbridge senior coach to help Mangan develop his game.

“In junior cup we didn’t have him [Murphy], but then as soon as I went into TY, we had him for the cup teams. In fairness, he taught us loads. He obviously has loads of experience himself, playing for Munster. I had him for fourth year, fifth year and sixth year, so I was always picking his brains on different ideas.

“I was always kind of a centre in Naas [rugby club] and then when I went into Newbridge, I was centre in first year. Then I played number 9 a year in second year for the junior cup team. I was a bit smaller and then in fourth year I played on the wing. In fifth year and sixth year, I played centre again for the cup team. All over the place.”

Yet despite beginning up in Naas RFC at just four or five years of age in their minis section, rugby wasn’t necessarily always going to be the main sporting pursuit for Mangan as he also played extensively for Sallins in both Gaelic football and hurling at underage level.

However, as time went by, he began to apply a serious focus to rugby and eventually decided to place GAA on the back burner.

“I played hurling and football all the way up, since I was younger. I was always kind of balancing two. You play rugby on a Saturday morning and then you go off to a game at two o’clock and you play Gaelic or hurling,” Mangan added.

“I never really knew which sport I preferred until I went on. I started focusing on the rugby more when I got into the later stages of Newbridge with senior cup. I had to give the hurling and football up unfortunately.”

That said, when you consider he is in the frame to feature against England in a packed-out Virgin Media Park in Ireland’s U20s Six Nations opener on Thursday, 30 January, this is a move that looks like it is currently paying off for Mangan.

Posted in International Rugby, U20 Six Nations Rugby | Comments Off on Ireland U20s Squad Announcement: Ciaran Mangan – The42.ie – January 16 2025

Aer Lingus Ambassador Piece: Robbie Henshaw – The42.ie – January 16 2025

Posted on January 16, 2025 by admin

‘Simon is an unbelievable coach. He’s been a big voice within the team’

Robbie Henshaw on Simon Easterby, Ireland’s Six Nations opener against England, and Leinster’s upcoming clash with Bath.

HE MIGHT HAVE some big shoes to fill over the next few months, but as he prepares to lead the country into the Six Nations as interim head coach, Simon Easterby has received the full backing from one of Ireland’s most experienced performers.

After previously being in charge of Welsh outfit Scarlets for two seasons, Easterby first joined the Irish backroom team as a forwards coach in 2014. He remained in this role until 2021, at which point he was redeployed as a defence specialist within Andy Farrell’s international set-up.

He subsequently served as head coach of the Emerging Ireland teams that toured South Africa in 2022 and 2024, and the former flanker now finds himself in the main international hotseat due to the sabbatical Farrell has taken in order to assume the mantle of the British & Irish Lions for their series in Australia later this year.

Speaking ahead of being named in his squad for the Six Nations, Henshaw offered up a ring endorsement of a man he has worked alongside in the Irish set-up for more than a decade.

“Simon is an unbelievable coach in terms of being around the dressing room for I’m not sure how many years, a long time. We really respect him as a coach, he’s done unbelievable things for our defence and for the forwards when he was there,” Henshaw remarked on a media call yesterday in his role as an Aer Lingus ambassador.

“It’s exciting because he’s been there for a long time and he knows the group really well. There’s that continuity, he’s been there with Andy before. It’s hugely exciting and it’s exciting for Simon as well. He takes a good few of our meetings. He’s been a big voice within the team.”

Although success in the competition eluded him as a player, Easterby has been a part of four Six Nations successes as an Ireland assistant coach – including the Grand Slam triumphs of 2018 and 2023. He will be hoping this year’s campaign ends with his charges winning the competition for a third consecutive season, but history has shown it is often dangerous to look beyond the opening round of the Championship.

Back in 2019, Henshaw was named at full-back as Ireland began their defence of the Six Nations against England at the Aviva Stadium. It was a difficult afternoon for the Athlone man in the number 15 jersey and the hosts ultimately fell to a 32-20 defeat at the hands of their arch rivals.

The English (who were the only side to defeat Ireland in the 2024 Championship) will be back in the Aviva for the opening round of this year’s Six Nations on 1 February and Henshaw is aiming to avoid a repeat of their clash at the same stage of the competition six years ago.

“I remember it was a tough game. It was tough European fixtures we had before that and they came all guns blazing as we expected so I think the same again. We know what they’re going to bring. Physicality, intensity, a proper Test match.

“For us, I think when we get together next week we have to hit the ground running in terms of our preparation and make sure we switch into Irish mode as quickly as possible. I know the coaches will be all over that for us. We are expecting a proper battle, as you always expect from England in this competition.”

Before he and a large contingent of his provincial colleagues link up with the Ireland squad, Henshaw will be seeking to make it four wins from four with Leinster in this season’s European Champions Cup. Following victories against Bristol Bears, Clermont and La Rochelle, Leinster are at the summit of Pool 2 and already guaranteed a home game in the Round of 16 in Europe’s top-tier competition.

Yet Leo Cullen’s men also want to play additional knockout fixtures on home soil and will therefore be hell-bent on getting the better of Bath in their final pool encounter at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday to secure the highest possible ranking. Given the English Premiership table-toppers have former Munster head coach Johann van Graan at the helm – and also include his former Leinster team-mate Ross Molony amongst their squad – Henshaw has a strong idea of what to expect in Lansdowne Road this weekend.

“He’s a great coach and he’s done some brilliant things for the club there. Turning them around a huge amount in terms of when he got there and where they’ve got to now. They’ve a good game plan in terms of how they play the game. It’s exciting for us because we haven’t played them in a couple of years in this competition. It’s going to be a good test for us,” Henshaw added.

“It will be great to see Ross and hopefully play against him. I know the forwards will probably be saying ‘change a few of the calls’ because he is such a good line-out operator, Ross. He’s a great guy, a great player.”

Posted in European Rugby, International Rugby | Comments Off on Aer Lingus Ambassador Piece: Robbie Henshaw – The42.ie – January 16 2025

Sigerson Cup Round 2A: TU Dublin V St Mary’s University College – Independent.ie – January 15 2025

Posted on January 16, 2025 by admin

TU Dublin withstand St Mary’s fightback to make Sigerson Cup quarter-finals

TU Dublin 3-14 St Mary’s University College 3-11

Daire Walsh

TU Dublin held off a spirited challenge from a Niall McKenna-inspired St Mary’s University College at Grangegorman to earn a spot in the quarter-finals of the Sigerson Cup.

While traded scores between St Mary’s attacker Callum Lagan and Jordan Morris ensured there was little to separate the teams in the early exchanges, a quick 1-1 salvo from midfielder Cian McBride helped TU Dublin to assert their authority on the game.

Mary’s were firmly back in contention when McKenna rifled a penalty to the net on the first-quarter mark, only for TU Dublin to respond immediately with a spot kick finish of their own from Jack Lundy.

The Dublin hosts were playing with great confidence and went on to bag a third goal when full-forward Conor Fee fired home from close-range.

Although Seán Rock shook the net at the end of the opening period to leave the Belfast-based Mary’s just five points adrift (3-5 to 2-3), TU Dublin had the luxury of introducing established Dublin star Colm Basquel off the bench in the second half.

His fellow substitutes Seán Jones and Ollie Brooks also made strong impacts upon entering the fray and with Morris in fine form throughout the course of the action, they largely kept their Ulster counterparts at arm’s length.

McKenna did bring his personal haul up to 2-7 with a goal from a free deep into stoppage-time, but Mary’s ultimately fell short and will now face into a round-three encounter against the winner of a Round 2B clash.

Scorers – TU Dublin: J Morris 0-7 (2f, 1m), C McBride 1-1, J Lundy 1-0 (pen), C Fee 1-0, S Jones 0-3, S Hanafin 0-2, O Brooks 0-1. St Mary’s University College: N McKenna 2-7 (1-5f, 1-0 pen), S Rock 1-2 (0-1f), C Lagan, F O’Brien 0-1 each.

TU Dublin: J Rodgers; C Reilly, M Nolan, N Carolan; D Fee, C McGeough, J Prendergast; C McBride, S Hanafin; D Rooney, J Lundy, D McCartan; J Morris, C Fee, S Reynolds. Subs: S Jones for Rooney (h-t), C Basquel for Reynolds (34), O Brooks for Fee (44), D Lovett for McCartan (57), D Finneran for Lundy (62).

St Mary’s University College: S Magill; J Donnelly, F Murdock, M McCallan; D Haigney, M Hynes, F O’Brien; D Treanor, S Quigley; D Mooney, S O’Donnell, S Rock; N McKenna, C Lagan, D Loye. Subs: N Burns for McCallan (44), C Reavey for Hynes (49), C Burns for Mooney, S Rooney for Quigley, C Walsh for Treanor (all 58).

Referee: C Dourneen (Cavan).

Posted in Colleges GAA, Gaelic Football | Comments Off on Sigerson Cup Round 2A: TU Dublin V St Mary’s University College – Independent.ie – January 15 2025

Leinster Build-Up To Bath Home In European Champions Cup: Jacques Nienaber – The Irish Times – January 15 2025

Posted on January 15, 2025 by admin

Jacques Nienaber wary of the threat Bath can pose for Leinster

‘Premiership leaders versus URC leaders. It’s going to be a proper Test match-intensity game’ says Leinster’s senior coach

Daire Walsh

Leinster senior coach Jacques Nienaber is expecting a “proper Test match-intensity game” when he reunites with a former colleague at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday.

Just before moving to these shores in 2016 to work with his fellow countryman Rassie Erasmus at Munster, Nienaber found himself alongside Johann van Graan as part of South Africa’s coaching set-up for a compelling three-Test summer series against Ireland.

When Nienaber and Erasmus returned to the South African system in 2017, Van Graan subsequently took over from the latter as Munster head coach and remained there until assuming the reins of current English Premiership table-toppers Bath in 2022.

Despite earlier defeats to La Rochelle and Benetton, last Sunday’s triumph over Clermont keeps the Somerset-based side in contention for a Champions Cup knock-out spot in advance of their Pool Two final round clash with Leinster in the Aviva this weekend.

“The challenge for us this week is Bath are putting up scores on average just shy of 40 points, so it’s going to be a massive test for us defensively to try and keep them at bay,” said Nienaber.

“They’ve got a very good squad with experience across the board and then they are also the stingiest team in the Premiership. They don’t concede points. They score the most and concede the least, so it’s going to be a big challenge if you think they are two different competitions. Premiership leaders versus URC leaders. It’s going to be a proper Test match-intensity game. Tactically, physically. That’s what I expect.”

In addition to his side already being assured of a home draw in the Champions Cup round of 16 in advance of Saturday’s fixture – albeit the Blues will be looking to extend their unbeaten run in all competitions this season to 13 games – Leinster head coach Leo Cullen will be greatly encouraged by the latest squad update.

As well as Tadhg Furlong, Jack Conan and Ciarán Frawley all coming through last weekend’s win away to La Rochelle with flying colours, James Lowe, Will Connors and Dan Sheehan are all due to step up their respective rehabilitations this week and will be further assessed before a final decision is made on their availability for the Bath game.

Sheehan, in particular, is making excellent progress from the anterior cruciate ligament injury he sustained playing for Ireland in last July’s tour of South Africa.

While this has raised the possibility that the hooker could feature in the upcoming Six Nations, Nienaber acknowledged it remains to be seen if this will be the case.

“I don’t know, to be honest. I’ll put myself in the Springboks [position], as an international coach who probably would like to see him get through a game. Not necessarily always. I mean, things change. If you pick up an injury, you might just throw him in straight away. So, I don’t know. I’m not sure,” Nienaber added.

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Ireland U20s Squad Announcement: Neil Doak – The Irish Examiner – January 15 2025

Posted on January 15, 2025 by admin

Ian Costello comfortable with inclusion of just five Munster players in Ireland U20 Six Nations squad

Daire Walsh

Ahead of his debut Six Nations campaign with the side, Ireland U20s head coach Neil Doak has heaped praise on team captain Éanna McCarthy.

A native of Cork, McCarthy is set to lead out his country in this year’s championship – beginning with an opener against title holders England in the familiar surroundings of Virgin Media Park on the Leeside on January 30.

When you consider six players are returning from last year’s set-up, it is quite a feat for McCarthy to be tasked with this key leadership role in his maiden season at this international grade.

Yet on the basis of what he has seen to date from the Connacht Academy star (particularly in the recent warm-up game against a Leinster Development side), Doak believes he has the ability to lead his Irish side into battle.

“You look at that game last week, Éanna led from the front. When we put the squad together and put the management together, and tried to build what we were about… for me I’m a bit more action orientated. I want to get in the middle, I want to do things,” Doak remarked at a squad announcement in PwC’s headquarters in Dublin on Tuesday.

“I want to give the players the best opportunity to deliver. Éanna last week, he was physical, he was direct. We’re going to need that in abundance against England first up. If he can lead from the front, we can get the rest of the squad in behind him and we’ll be in a good spot

Posted in International Rugby, U20 Six Nations Rugby | Comments Off on Ireland U20s Squad Announcement: Neil Doak – The Irish Examiner – January 15 2025

Three Players To Watch In Ireland U20s Squad: The Irish Examiner – January 15 2025

Posted on January 15, 2025 by admin

Three players to watch in the Ireland U20s squad

Éanna McCarthy has been selected as captain by new Ireland head coach Neil Doak for this year’s Six Nations.
DAIRE WALSH

Éanna McCarthy (Connacht/Galwegians)

A native of Ballygarvan in Cork and a newcomer to this grade, McCarthy has been selected as captain by new Ireland head coach Neil Doak for this year’s Six Nations.

This will make the Championship opener against defending champions England on January 30 in the Leeside venue of Virgin Media Park particularly special for the former CBC Cork student and he is expected to have a substantial impact from the Irish back-row throughout the course of the tournament.

Having captained the Munster U19s in 2024, last summer saw McCarthy joining the Connacht Academy and he currently represents Galwegians in Division 2B of the All-Ireland League.

Ciaran Mangan (Leinster/Blackrock College)

By making the cut for this year’s Championship, Mangan is following in the footsteps of his older brother Diarmuid – a Grand Slam winner with the Ireland U20s in 2022 and 2023.

From Sallins in Kildare, the younger Mangan won a Leinster schools junior cup with Newbridge College in 2021 before being coached on their senior team by former Munster back Johne Murphy.

Capable of playing at outside centre or on the wing – where he featured for the Ireland U19s last year – he should be well suited to the attacking style that Neil Doak wants to deploy at this age grade in 2025.

Alex Usanov (Leinster/Clontarf)

One of six players in the current squad who is returning to the Ireland U20s set-up for a second consecutive year, loosehead prop Usanov has made great strides since he last donned the green jersey at this level.

A member of the Leinster Academy, Usanov was called up to the Emerging Ireland squad that toured South Africa last October, featuring in all three games that Simon Easterby’s side won in the southern hemisphere.

Given title holders England are noted for having a physical pack, the Ireland coaching staff will be looking for the Clontarf club man to deliver a big performance in their Championship opener in Cork.

Posted in International Rugby, U20 Six Nations Rugby | Comments Off on Three Players To Watch In Ireland U20s Squad: The Irish Examiner – January 15 2025

Ireland U20s Squad Announcement: Eanna McCarthy – The42.ie – January 15 2025

Posted on January 15, 2025 by admin

‘It’s a dream growing up to play for Ireland – and I’m captaining them’

Eanna McCarthy came up through Dolphin RFC and will ‘take good pride’ in leading the Ireland U20 team onto his home pitch.

EANNA McCARTHY WILL find himself in familiar territory when the Ireland U20s kick-start their Six Nations Championship campaign against defending champions England at Virgin Media Park on 30 January.

McCarthy, a native of Ballygarvan in Co Cork, played his underage club rugby with Dolphin.

While it has become a regular home venue for the Ireland U20s since 2019 – and has also hosted a number of Ireland senior women’s internationals in recent years – Virgin Media Park (or Musgrave Park as it is more commonly known) is also where Dolphin are based.

Making his international debut at the U20s grade on his home patch is the stuff of dreams for McCarthy and he is virtually guaranteed to feature against the English in their Championship opener at the end of this month. This is due to the fact he has been selected as captain of this year’s squad by new Ireland head coach Neil Doak.

“It’s a huge honour for me and my family. It’s a dream as a young fella growing up that you’re going to play for Ireland and I’m captaining them. I’ll take good pride in it now when I’m wearing the jersey on the 30th,” McCarthy remarked at the Ireland U20s squad announcement for the Six Nations in PwC’s headquarters in Dublin yesterday.

“I was captain last week against Leinster [Development] when we played them. The thought was in the back of my mind, but I wasn’t 100% sure or I wasn’t sure what the story was. I was delighted when I got the call after.

“It is massive, because I grew up playing rugby in Dolphin. It was more or less my home of rugby. It’s going to be good now, I’m looking forward to it. I think we have the capabilities to go out and beat England down there as well.”

Although he captained the Munster U19s last year – and was also skipper for Christian Brothers College in the Munster Schools Senior Cup in 2023 – McCarthy won’t be alone in the leadership stakes as Ireland seek to reclaim the U20s Six Nations title under the stewardship of former Ulster scrum-half Doak.

In addition to Sale Sharks’ Will Wootton and Ulster hooker Henry Walker, the Leinster quartet of Alex Usanov, Alan Spicer, Mikey Yarr and Billy Corrigan were included in the 31-player squad for the Championship yesterday after featuring for Ireland at the same age grade in 2024.

“Captain is only a label at the end of the day. There’s leaders all over the field. I think the lads are going to drive it on as well as me. I won’t be the only fella.”

Although he did don the red of Munster at underage level, last summer saw McCarthy making a move out west after he was offered a spot in the Connacht Academy for the 2024/25 season.

This switch has also led to him lining out for Galwegians in Division 2B of the All-Ireland League alongside his housemates – former Ireland U20s star Finn Treacy and Argentinian native Gonzalo Alvarez.

He may have to bide his time before breaking into Peter Wilkins’ senior squad, but McCarthy has already played for the Connacht Eagles since making the move to Galway. This included an outing against Leinster in the Interprovincial ‘A’ Championship that took place towards the end of 2024.

While this proved to be a baptism of fire for a number of reasons, it was just what McCarthy needed in advance of becoming a bona fide member of the Ireland U20s set-up.

“You aren’t really exposed to that kind of physicality if you’re not after playing 20s last year. It’s a different speed game as well. Leinster had a few older lads playing, Will Connors and a few more like that. You wouldn’t be used to getting hit by lads like them,” McCarthy added.

“I played the full 80, I was fairly bate out after it! I was meant to start 8, but the second row pulled out in the warm-up. I had to go to second row then. I actually done my neck. I got injured for a few weeks after it!”

Posted in International Rugby, U20 Six Nations Rugby | Comments Off on Ireland U20s Squad Announcement: Eanna McCarthy – The42.ie – January 15 2025

Post-Match Reaction: Sigerson Cup Round One – ATU Donegal Manager Maxi Curran – Donegal Live – January 11 2025

Posted on January 11, 2025 by admin

‘Our boys will take a lot learnings for the next round’ – Maxi Curran

Maxi Curran praises his young ATU Donegal side’s resilience despite facing a physically dominant opposition in MYU Cork in the opening round of the Sigerson Cup

By Daire Walsh

Despite acknowledging his side were second best to their Leeside opponents on the night, ATU Donegal manager Maxi Curran was able to take some positives from a Sigerson Cup round one defeat to MTU Cork in Abbotstown on Friday night.

In a game that was initially set to take place two days earlier in the National Games Development Centre, ATU found themselves 1-6 to 0-0 adrift after facing into a stiff breeze for the duration of the opening half.

The Donegal college gave themselves a fighting chance on the resumption with three unanswered points from Luke McGlynn, Reid Kelly, and Daniel Marley before their Cork counterparts ultimately prevailed on a score of 1-10 to 0-6.

Curran felt their Munster rivals were the more ‘physically mature’ of the two sides on show in Abbotstown, but with the likes of McGlynn and Fionnan Coyle enjoying a considerable impact off the bench, he remained upbeat ahead of his charges entering the Sigerson Cup round two losers section next week.

“Our boys will take a lot out of that tonight, there will be a right bit of learning as we head for round two now next week,” Curran remarked after the game.

“Luke McGlynn played the second half there and made a massive difference when he came on. He and Fionnan Coyle added a real injection of pace in our half-forward line.

“That definitely caused Cork a few problems. I just think ultimately we left ourselves with too much of a mountain to climb after going 1-6 down and they just put us to the sword as the game went on then. There was a very, very clear difference in the physique level of the two teams.

“They were a much bigger, more physically mature team. We just watched them coming out here and there’s an awful lot of huge men, whereas we have a lot of kids.

They [ATU Donegal] are first and second years in college and that. They [MTU Cork] are maybe second and third year, so it doesn’t help matters. Listen, the best team won on the night, we’ve no complaints.”

Posted in Colleges GAA | Comments Off on Post-Match Reaction: Sigerson Cup Round One – ATU Donegal Manager Maxi Curran – Donegal Live – January 11 2025

The Big Interview: Ciara Whyte (Mayo/Kilmoremoy) – Media West Ireland – January 11 2025

Posted on January 11, 2025 by admin

Ciara Whyte back in green and red of Mayo after Aberdeen adventures

By Daire Walsh

Following a prolonged absence, Mayo’s Ciara Whyte has spent the past few weeks gradually readjusting to the life of an inter-county footballer.

A regular fixture for the Connacht county over the course of several years, Whyte subsequently journeyed across the water in 2023 to study for a masters in physiotherapy at Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen.

She also worked part-time in the Scottish city as a sports massage therapist in a private physio clinic, before returning home on a permanent basis after her graduation from Robert Gordon towards the tail end of 2024.

It was around this point that Whyte spoke to Mayo ladies manager (and her fellow Ballina native) Liam McHale about rejoining the county panel and she soon found herself back in pre-season training for the green and red’s forthcoming campaign in Division One of the Lidl National Football League.

“I came back to Ballina and I always knew I was going to see if they’d have me back, when I came back. I was chatting to Liam and I said I’d give it a go. I was a bit apprehensive because I hadn’t been there for two seasons, so I knew my body probably would be in a bit of a state of shock initially,” Whyte explained.

“I went back in and it’s looking good so far. The body was in a little bit of a state for the first few weeks, but I’m getting back into things now. I actually never worked with Liam before and there’s a good few now from Ballina in there, which didn’t used to be the case.

“When I came in, I didn’t really know him, I had never met him before. He’s really open and he’s really friendly. I think that works really well with the team we have at the minute. It’s a learning environment and it’s really open. There’s just not a lot of negativity, it’s very positive.”

While she did transfer from her home club of Kilmoremoy to Dalriada GFC in the north east of Scotland in June 2023, Whyte’s main focus was on studies and work rather than football during her time in the UK. Yet as she explains, the former TUS Athlone student found ways to maintain an active lifestyle in Aberdeen.

“I never played any games with them. I had been training with them, but the nature of my course that I was doing, I genuinely just felt that I didn’t have the time to do it and give my 100% to it. I just kind of went a few times, but then just said I’d take a step back instead of coming in and out.

“You don’t want to string anyone along. I just said I’d take that time to just focus on studying and everything like that. You find yourself as an adult and you find out what you like and what you don’t like doing. I got into things like rock climbing and finding other sports that you wouldn’t get a chance to do really if you’re playing football all the time.”

Despite still being eligible for minor football the following year, Whyte was introduced to the Mayo senior panel in 2017 and quickly found her feet at the highest grade of the LGFA. On September 24 of that year, she was named at left half-forward as the westerners lost out to Dublin in a TG4 All-Ireland senior football championship final that was played in front of a then-record crowd of 46,286 at Croke Park.

Having been one of the newest additions to the squad back then, Whyte is remarkably the only one of the 19 players that featured for Mayo on that day to still be part of the current set-up. It is a relatively young panel of players that McHale is calling upon for 2025 and Whyte is looking to be a guiding force for them as they attempt to navigate their way through the upcoming season of action.

“It’s almost a shame in a way that I was so young at the time when that experience happened. Because looking back on it, I’d do anything to be able to relive it and appreciate it. I came up mid-season and then all of a sudden, ‘Oh boom, we’re into championship. All-Ireland semi-final, grand okay’ and then an All-Ireland final in Croke Park.

“I’m thinking, ‘I’ve never played in front of more than maybe 200 people in my life’ and then there was [just under] 47,000 at the final. I’m lucky I have that experience to want to go back to and to know what it’s like.

“I don’t think anyone else on the team has, so I suppose that gives me the confidence to really step up as a leader this year and be able to take the girls through it. Against the big teams like Dublin and help out in terms of how not to let it pass you by in a way.”

Whyte and her youthful colleagues will get an immediate test in that respect at the end of this month as they are set to kick-start their Lidl NFL Division One campaign away to Dublin on 25 January.

There will be plenty of eyes on this game as the Jackies are now under the new joint management of Paul Casey and Derek Murray after their predecessor Mick Bohan brought a trophy-laden eight season spell at the Sky Blues helm to a close last November.

Although this might seem like a difficult challenge on paper for McHale’s young guns, Whyte – whose last championship appearance was in an All-Ireland semi-final defeat to Kerry in July 2022 – is excited to see how Mayo shape up against high-calibre opposition.

“No better way than going back straight into playing Dublin the first match. Honestly, really looking forward to it. Obviously I went back just this year and I was a bit tentative going back because obviously it’s a new environment,” Whyte added.

“It’s actually nice to have quite a new amount of faces there just to push us on a bit and realise there is a new generation coming up. You can’t just be complacent. That is exactly what we needed coming into the Dublin game. Preparation is going well, feeling good. It’s coming together nicely.”

Posted in Ladies GAA | Comments Off on The Big Interview: Ciara Whyte (Mayo/Kilmoremoy) – Media West Ireland – January 11 2025