Updated All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Odds Piece: Gambling.com – May 8 2024

Posted on May 8, 2024 by admin

GAA Betting: The All-Ireland Football Championship: Dublin Remain Favourites

Daire Walsh

Following a weekend when two of the four provincial championships were completed, the best betting sites are once again examining who the main contenders are for the All-Ireland senior football crown.

Although the group stages for the Sam Maguire Cup were already determined before last weekend’s action, there was silverware up for grabs in both Munster and Connacht on Sunday afternoon.

In the south, Kerry held off a stubborn resistance from Clare to record a 0-23 to 1-13 victory at Cusack Park in Ennis.

While in the west, there was an enthralling contest between Galway and Mayo at Pearse Stadium, Salthill which went right down to the wire.

Two points behind late on to their closest rivals on home soil, the Galwegians ultimately came out on top with unanswered frees courtesy of Rob Finnerty, Shane Walsh and match-winning goalkeeper Connor Gleeson earning them a 0-16 to 0-15 win.

It remains to be seen if there will be the same element of drama this weekend, but the 4pm meeting of Donegal and Armagh at St Tiernach’s Park, Clones in the Ulster final on Sunday is another game that could well be decided by the tightest of margins.

Earlier in the same day, Dublin will take on Louth in the Leinster senior football championship showpiece at Croke Park for the second year in succession.

Dublin Remain Favourites For All-Ireland Glory

Thanks to goals from Sean Bugler, Paul Mannion, James McCarthy, Colm Basquel and Paddy Small, the Sky Blues recorded a 5-21 to 0-15 triumph against the Wee County in their 2023 final meeting.

A similar result is expected on this occasion, and while there is still a long road ahead of them, Dublin remain the favourites to retain their All-Ireland title in 2024.

Dessie Farrell’s men are 6/4 on new betting sites to maintain their grip on the Sam Maguire trophy.

Kerry Still Behind Dublin In Sam Maguire Betting

Even though 0-23 is an impressive score to clock up, many commentators came away from Kerry’s Munster final date against Clare with fresh doubts in their heads about The Kingdom.

Chiefly, the amount of space that their defence afforded the Banner side’s attack and the fact that – for the third competitive game on the bounce – Jack O’Connor’s charges failed to register a goal.

They lost their All-Ireland crown to Dublin in last July’s tension-filled final at GAA HQ, and the bookies currently have them behind their Leinster counterparts in the race for glory this summer.

Yet with the likes of David Clifford, Paudie Clifford and Sean O’Shea within their ranks, Kerry remain a significant threat.

The Munster giants are rated as a 5/2 possibility for a 39th All-Ireland senior championship win with several bookmakers.

Derry Still In The Mix Despite Donegal Set-Back

It is just under three weeks since Derry surrendered the Ulster championship trophy with a 4-11 to 0-17 quarter-final defeat to Donegal at Celtic Park.

Mickey Harte’s side will watch on as Donegal and Armagh lock horns in Monaghan on Sunday for the Ulster title.

The latter two teams previously met in a NFL Division Two decider at Croke Park on March 31, the same day that Derry secured the NFL Division One crown in the same venue with a penalty shootout victory over Dublin.

That success, coupled with their impressive rise over the previous two years, has kept the Oaf Leaf county in the thoughts of Irish bookmakers, despite that aforementioned loss to Donegal.

Derry can be backed at 6/1 on betting apps to win their second All-Ireland football title.

Galway Odds Reduced After Connacht Final Triumph

Derry will return to competitive fare with an All-Ireland group stage encounter against Galway in Salthill on May 18.

Having previously struggled for form in 2024, the Tribesmen will have a pep in their step ahead of that game as a result of their Connacht final success.

The westerners were without several key players for the majority of the National Football League, but looked like a transformed team with a number of them back in the mix against Mayo.

The fit-again Damien Comer was a popular choice as man of the match, while Shane Walsh, John Maher and Matthew Tierney all made strong contributions from the bench.

Galway are now valued at 12/1 to earn their first All-Ireland title in 23 years.

Mayo, Donegal And Armagh Also In Contention

As for the team they overcame on Sunday, Mayo are 16/1 for Sam Maguire glory this year.

Whereas Galway and Mayo are currently fourth and sixth favourites for the All-Ireland respectively, Donegal and Armagh are presently fifth and seventh on many betting sites.

Now back under the management of Jim McGuinness after an almost decade-long absence, Donegal are available at 14/1 to win a second All-Ireland with the Glenties man at the helm.

The best odds on Armagh winning just a second Sam Maguire Cup crown in their history is20/1 with Ladbrokes, but if they were to accrue Ulster honours on Sunday, this could change very quickly.

Tyrone Viewed As Outsiders For All-Ireland Triumph

Tyrone are the only county outside of Dublin and Kerry to have won an All-Ireland title in the past 12 years, courtesy of their 2021 triumph over Mayo.

The Red Hand county are seen as an outside bet for a Sam Maguire success in 2024 with odds of 33/1.

Yet the Tyrone team has shown plenty of quality in their recent Ulster clashes against Cavan and Donegal, and could well have a say in the destination of the All-Ireland championship crown.

Outside of the eight teams mentioned above, the likes of Monaghan, Roscommon, Cavan, Meath and Louth are viewed as rank outsiders for what would be highly surprising All-Ireland victories.

 

Posted in Gaelic Football | Comments Off on Updated All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Odds Piece: Gambling.com – May 8 2024

Leinster Build-Up To Ospreys Home In United Rugby Championship: Jacques Nienaber – The42.ie – May 7 2024

Posted on May 7, 2024 by admin

‘I never thought it would be easy’ – Nienaber on Leinster Croke Park display

Leinster were forced to dig deep before their qualification for a third consecutive Champions Cup final was assured.

IT ENDED UP being a much tighter affair than the opening 43 minutes might have suggested it would be, but Jacques Nienaber has insisted he isn’t overly concerned with how Leinster closed out their European Champions Cup semi-final win over Northampton Saints at a sold-out Croke Park on Saturday.

When James Lowe completed a hat-trick of tries in the early stages of the second half at GAA HQ last weekend, the Irish province led their English counterparts by 17 points (20-3) and appeared on course for a convincing passage to the competition’s showpiece decider at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Yet converted scores from George Hendy and Tom Seabrook brought Premiership Rugby pace-setters Northampton roaring back into contention and Leinster were forced to dig deep before their qualification for a third consecutive Champions Cup final was assured.

However, while he readily acknowledges there are elements of their game that could have been better, Nienaber was keen to state that semi-finals are all about getting over the line.

“My thought during the whole game was, listen, we need to win this game. That’s the thing about semis and that’s what makes semi-finals such a difficult game. Just we need to get a win and I never thought it would be easy. Even at 50 minutes I didn’t think it was easy.

“I mean, nobody buried them, has any team buried them? They are not a team that gets put away quickly and that’s the thing, we knew that’s them,” the Leinster senior head coach remarked.

“They’re a quality outfit and they’re not top of the Premiership for nothing. They’re a classy outfit. There were maybe opportunities that we had that we could have done better in the game and we looked at that and we have to fix that. There’s a lot to fix from our side.

“Was there things that we could have done better? Yes. Was there things that we did well? Yes. I think the way we closed out the game in the last four minutes was good.”

Speaking at a media briefing in UCD yesterday, Nienaber also elaborated a little further on what Leinster will need to fine tune ahead of their Champions Cup final duel with Toulouse – as well as for the business end of the United Rugby Championship.

“In my mind, honestly, I don’t know where we are statistically, but we scored three tries [against Northampton]. They only got two and I think they’re probably one of the better attacking sides out there. Is there stuff that we can work on? Yes, definitely. We showed the guys this morning, there is definitely stuff that we can improve on in attack.

“There is definitely some stuff that we can improve on in our kicking game. There is a lot of stuff we can improve on in our defence. There is a lot of stuff that we can improve on in our set-piece. I think we’re not the finished product at all. In fairness, when we reviewed the game with the players, they said ‘there is a lot that we can get better at’.

“As a coaching group, we know that and as a playing group, we know that. We’ve got seven weeks until the end of the season and we’ve got seven weeks to make sure we get better at those things, but we’re not the finished product at all.”

While he was keeping one eye on Toulouse’s own semi-final triumph over Harlequins at the weekend, Nienaber primarily dedicated his Sunday afternoon to both reviewing the Northampton game and identifying the threats that Ospreys will present in round 16 of the United Rugby Championship at the RDS this coming Saturday.

Leinster will also face interprovincial rivals Ulster in Belfast seven days later as they aim to regain momentum in the URC following their recent reversals to the Lions and the Stormers in South Africa. Although there might be a temptation for players to become distracted by the spectre of a crunch European clash against Toulouse rather than those upcoming league games, Nienaber believes this won’t be the case for this Leinster group.

“I said it to the lads. You can lift your head and look there at the horizon, and you will fall over the stone right in front of your face, and fall on your nose. You’re only as good as your last game. For us, we spoke about it in the changing room. Let’s enjoy the win, let’s enjoy each other’s company, but it can’t be a big party night. You can’t go out,” Nienaber added.

“We enjoyed each other’s company within the environment, within the changing room, but when we go out there on Sunday, do your recovery. We’re going to play Ospreys next. It’s always a challenge, but they’re professional rugby players and that is what they’ll need to do.”

Daire Walsh

Posted in European Rugby | Comments Off on Leinster Build-Up To Ospreys Home In United Rugby Championship: Jacques Nienaber – The42.ie – May 7 2024

The Big Interview: Lauren Garland (Monaghan/Donaghmoyne) – Media West Ireland – May 4 2024

Posted on May 4, 2024 by admin

Lauren Garland out to help Monaghan back to the top table

Lauren Garland has been no stranger to life in the fast lane and hopes to help Monaghan in the hunt for silverware. Daire Walsh writes…

AFTER recently retaining their Lidl National Football League Division 2 status, Lauren Garland and the Monaghan footballers now have a couple of more targets in their sights for 2024.

Thanks to a 3-18 to 0-6 victory at the expense of Laois in Smithborough on March 24 — a game in which Garland scored two points from right corner-forward — Monaghan safely secured sixth spot in the NFL’s second-tier table.

Three of the five teams that finished ahead of them in the spring will be kick-starting their TG4 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship campaigns in the coming weeks and it is in this grade that the Farney outfit are hoping to compete in 2025.

Relegated from the Brendan Martin Cup after a 30-year stay in 2022, Monaghan will begin their second attempt at claiming promotion back to the big time when the TG4 All-Ireland Intermediate Football Championship gets underway in early June.

Having watched several of her Donaghmoyne Fontenoys team-mates featuring for the county in the All-Ireland SFC deciders of 2011 and 2013 in Croke Park (both of them ending in narrow defeats to Cork), Garland has aspirations for both a top-flight return and a day out in GAA HQ with Monaghan.

“I would have gone to a couple of those games, but I also would have had conversations with those girls of how it all felt back then. All they can say is it was a great experience. Getting to Croke Park and All-Ireland finals, getting to experience that. They all talk about how they wish they could do it all over again,” Garland said.

“It’s great to hear what they have to say about it. That’s all I want for Monaghan ladies, is to get back there. That is the goal, that is the top goal for us. To be able to say we reached an All-Ireland final.”

Before then, however, there is another potential shot at silverware for Monaghan in the form of the TG4 Ulster Intermediate Football Championship. Lidl NFL Division 2 finalists Tyrone provide the opposition to Monaghan in a provincial semi-final encounter at Smithborough on Sunday (2pm) and while the Red Hands recorded a 3-12 to 2-8 league victory against the Farney women back on February 4, Garland is looking forward to a return to competitive action.

“The last game we had was Laois and that was probably about four or five weeks ago. Everyone wants to win their provincial title. I don’t think I have at senior level won an Ulster. Even for a couple of girls that are new to the panel, getting one provincial title under your belt is a good way to start the All-Ireland series and that is what we’re planning to do.”

Yet Garland has enjoyed considerable provincial success at club level, winning an Ulster senior title with Donaghmoyne on no fewer than five occasions. In fact, she experienced a whirlwind introduction to senior football at the tender age of 15 with the South Monaghan side in 2016.

In addition to winning maiden county and provincial honours, she also appeared as a second half substitute when Donaghmoyne claimed their fifth All-Ireland Senior Club Championship crown with a 2-9 to 0-8 showpiece win against Dublin’s Foxrock/Cabinteely at Parnell Park.

“That year seems like so many years ago. It was definitely a whirlwind. I wish I had taken it in a lot more back then. I was very young. I was very new coming into a very experienced panel. Linda Martin and all were in there,” Garland recalled.

“They had retired out of the county before I got to play with them at the county level, but I’m hugely grateful to be able to play with a couple of those players. The All-Ireland, that is where everyone wants to be and I’m absolutely privileged to be able to say that I was on that panel in that year.”

Since that triumph over Fox/Cab, Garland has gone on to feature for Donaghmoyne in another All-Ireland senior club decider — their defeat to Kilkerrin-Clonberne of Galway at Croke Park in December 2022.

Joining her on that team was her twin sister Amy, who has also established herself as a regular with Monaghan since they were both called up to the senior panel in 2020. Although they are in different campuses — Lauren is in Derry, while Amy is in Belfast — the gifted siblings are currently students at Ulster University.

Whereas Lauren is in the second year of a course in adult nursing, Amy is studying sport science. The latter was the captain of the college’s ladies team this season and with an appearance in a Division 2 league showpiece against UCD last December being followed up by a march to the HEC O’Connor Cup semi-finals, it was an eventful third-level campaign for Garland and her sister.

“This was just meeting players from all other counties and getting to play with them. We knitted well as a group this year and it’s the first time we’ve gotten back to a semi-final in the O’Connor Cup in a couple of years. We were well proud of ourselves that we were able to do that.”

Given her current base for college, Garland — whose brother David plays for the Monaghan men’s footballers — does have a significant commute to and from inter-county training on a weekly basis. However, thanks to a clear line of communication with Monaghan manager Darren Greenan and the Ulster University faculty, she is making it work at the moment.

“There is a good bit of travelling, but at the start of the year, whenever Donaghmoyne finished up, I was obviously having a couple of conversations with the new county manager. We just laid everything that I knew on the table. I was ‘look, I am nursing and I’ll be having a placement’.

“Obviously he was well accepting of it, that I either had to miss a training session or not be able to make it on time. He was like ‘look, if you work with us’ and we kept that going. It has worked really well for me anyway.

“Then on the other side of it, my lecturers, they know what’s going on. When I have to make training and they’re well supportive of me too,” Garland added.

Posted in Ladies GAA | Comments Off on The Big Interview: Lauren Garland (Monaghan/Donaghmoyne) – Media West Ireland – May 4 2024

SSE Airtricity Men’s Premier Division: Bohemians V Shamrock Rovers – The Irish Times – May 4 2024

Posted on May 4, 2024 by admin

Shamrock Rovers and Bohs play out entertaining draw in Dublin derby

Shelbourne hold onto top spot after draw with Dundalk

Daire Walsh

SSE Airtricity Men’s Premier Division: Bohemians 1 Shamrock Rovers 1

Reigning champions Shamrock Rovers remain two points adrift of Shelbourne at the summit of the SSE Airtricity Men’s Premier Division table after they played out an entertaining draw with arch rivals Bohemians in front of 4,429 spectators at Dalymount Park last night.

Following a superb opener from Filip Piszczek in the 23rd minute, the Hoops subsequently responded with an equaliser from Johnny Kenny to ensure that the sides were inseparable at the end of the contest.

In the form of Roberto Lopes, Dylan Watts and Aaron Greene, Rovers boss Stephen Bradley was able to call upon three former Bohs players for this latest Dublin derby duel. Greene was presented with a glorious chance to break the deadlock when he was put through on goal by Darragh Nugent in the seventh minute of the action, but opposition netminder Kacper Chorazka was out like a flash to deny the Hoops attacker.

However, Adam McDonnell also forced a save out of Rovers custodian Leon Pohls at the end of an encouraging attack and the hosts eventually pounced for a breakthrough goal on the first-quarter mark.

After Bohs midfielder Jordan Flores got his head to a tame clearance by the Hoops, impressive approach work by James Akintunde helped to release Piszczek inside the penalty area. An off-season arrival to Dalymount Park, the Polish native controlled the ball with consummate ease before hammering powerfully to the roof of the net in clinical style.

This substantially raised the decibel levels around the Phibsboro venue and the Gypsies faithful were almost celebrating a second moments later, but Dayle Rooney’s deft chip ultimately floated narrowly past the target.

Rovers breathed a significant sigh of relief in the wake of this missed opportunity and while it was somewhat against the run of play, the visitors were back on level terms in time for the interval. There was just under 42 minutes gone on the clock when the ball fell invitingly at the feet of Kenny and he made no mistake with a superb drive that Chorazka was powerless to stop.

There was perhaps an expectation that Rovers might start to crank things up on the resumption and the Hoops certainly enjoyed the lion’s share of the possession in the early moments of the second half.

Yet the diligent Bohs defence – marshalled by the central pairing of Jevon Mills and Aboubacar Keita – ensured that clear-cut scoring chances were largely at a premium for Rovers. Hoops defender Joshua Honohan did head towards goal on 65 minutes, but Chorazka convincingly gathered his effort in the end.

Moving into the final-quarter, the ever-lively Trevor Clarke raided down the left-wing for Rovers and his crisp shot had to be turned away at his near post by the reliable Chorazka.

Whereas Gypsies boss Alan Reynolds introduced Declan McDaid, James McManus and Dylan Connolly off the bench to join first half substitute James Clarke on the pitch, his Hoops counterpart Bradley added Jack Byrne, Neil Farrugia and Sean Kavanagh to the mix in a typically frantic finale.

Markus Poom had earlier taken over from former Gypsies midfielder Watts in the closing stage of the opening period, but despite referee Damien McGrath adding almost seven minutes of stoppage-time, the spoils were shared in a game that ended with heated exchanges between both sets of players.

Thanks to their 0-0 draw away to Dundalk, Damien Duff’s Shelbourne hold on to top spot in the Premier Division table for the time being. There was also a scoreless affair between Galway United and Derry City at Eamonn Deacy Park, while St Patrick’s Athletic and Waterford enjoyed 1-0 wins over Drogheda United and Sligo Rovers respectively.

BOHEMIANS: Chorazka; Matheson, Mills, Keita, Kirk; Flores (McDaid, 76 mins), B McManus (Clarke, 10 mins); Rooney, McDonnell, Akintunde (J McManus, 76 mins); Piszczek (Connolly, 70 mins).

SHAMROCK ROVERS: Pohls; Lopes, Cleary, Honohan; Burns (Kavanagh, 85 mins), Watts (Poom, 35 mins), Noonan (Byrne, 79 mins), Clarke (Farrugia, 79 mins); Nugent; Greene, Kenny.

Referee: D McGrath (Mayo).

Posted in League Of Ireland | Comments Off on SSE Airtricity Men’s Premier Division: Bohemians V Shamrock Rovers – The Irish Times – May 4 2024

Updated All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Odds Piece: Gambling.com – May 2 2024

Posted on May 4, 2024 by admin

GAA Betting: What Are The All-Ireland Hurling 2024 Championship Odds?

Daire Walsh

With two rounds of the Leinster and Munster championships now played, betting sites are once again taking a look at which county is the most likely to come away with an All-Ireland senior hurling title in 2024.

While it is a number of weeks until the provincial finals in the east and the south are due to take place – the Leinster decider will be held on June 8 followed by the Munster equivalent a day later – the action thus far has given us some indication of where each county is currently at in their individual pursuits for glory.

In addition to being All-Ireland senior champions for the past four years, Limerick also went into 2024 as Munster title holders for five seasons running.

The Treaty County did lose out to Clare in the round robin phase of last year’s provincial championship, before ultimately getting their revenge on the Banner in a subsequent Munster showpiece meeting at the Gaelic Grounds.

There was great anticipation in advance of the latest clash between the two sides at Cusack Park in Ennis, particularly in light of Clare’s National Hurling League Division One final win over Kilkenny.

Brian Lohan’s men looked set to build on that success when they led by nine points midway through the second half of the game, but Limerick simply refused to give in.

Goals from Diarmaid Byrnes, Aaron Gillane and Donnacha O Dalaigh helped John Kiely’s charges to flip the game on its head and they eventually came away with a 3-15 to 1-18 victory.

This reinforced the fact that Limerick are once again the team to beat in 2024 and a comfortable 2-27 to 0-18 triumph over Tipperary last weekend further cemented this status.

Five In-A-Row Chasing Limerick Remain All-Ireland Favourites

It might seem like an obvious thing to say that the Treaty are the most likely team to come away with the Liam McCarthy Cup at the end of the summer, but all the evidence is pointing towards Limerick claiming an historic fifth All-Ireland senior hurling title on the bounce.

Most betting apps are currently offering the astonishingly short odds of 4/6 on Kiely’s troops once again climbing the steps of the Hogan Stand in Croke Park this year.

Because of this, perhaps a more interesting question to pose is: who are the most likely to knock Limerick off their perch?

Clare A Team To Watch Out For

Across the past two years of championship hurling, Clare have been the one team to consistently push their Munster rivals right to the wire.

Aside from last year’s round robin victory and the recent three-point defeat, the Banner have drawn with Limerick, lost to them after extra-time in the 2022 Munster final and fallen short to them by the bare minimum at the same stage 12 months later.

With the likes of Tony Kelly (who is still working his way back to fitness), Shane O’Donnell, Mark Rodgers, David Fitzgerald and Aidan McCarthy in their ranks, Clare are seen as genuine contenders for a first All-Ireland crown since 2013.

While the majority of bookmakers are rating their chances at 11/2, some firms have them at 6/1.

There are some questions about Clare from a psychological perspective, however, as the last two years has seen them losing to Kilkenny in All-Ireland semi-finals – denying the Banner a shot at a reunion with Limerick in the All-Ireland series in the process.

Kilkenny And Galway Also In Contention

This of course says an awful lot about Kilkenny’s enduring qualities – even if it is now nine years since they last got their hands on the Liam McCarthy Cup.

Yet The Cats have reached four All-Ireland SHC showpieces in the years that have followed and it is anticipated Derek Lyng’s side will be operating at the business end of the championship in 2024.

Despite the absence of key players such as Eoin Murphy, Eoin Cody and Adrian Mullen, it took a stoppage-time point from Conor Whelan to prevent them coming away from Salthill with a winagainst Galway last Sunday. Henry Shefflin’s Tribesmen did get out of jail in the end, but the performances of Whelan, Gavin Lee and Cathal Mannion did offer encouragement for the hosts.

Although there are still three games each left for the pair, Galway and Kilkenny are expected to make the Leinster final for a third year running.

Given they have made the last two All-Ireland deciders – under Lyng and his legendary predecessor Brian Cody – Kilkenny are slightly ahead of Galway in the betting for the All-Ireland title and are breathing down the neck of Clare.

New betting sites are offering 6/1 on The Cats securing their 37th All-Ireland title on July 21.

Though there is pressure on Shefflin to deliver a Leinster title for Galway in what is his third season at the helm of the Tribesmen, there is unlikely to be the same demand amongst the county’s supporters when it comes to the All-Ireland championship. That said, the men from the west are rated at enticing odds that range from 7/1 to 9/1 for the latter.

Because the above-mentioned quartet of Limerick, Clare, Kilkenny and Galway have made the last-four of the Liam McCarthy Cup in the past two years, it makes sense that they are out in front as the main challengers for 2024.

Waterford A Potential Outside Bet; Cork And Tipperary Struggling For Form

Of those remaining in the championship, Waterford appear to have shaken off an underwhelming National Hurling League campaign to make themselves a potential outside bet for summer glory.

There was a massive pressure on their manager Davy Fitzgerald to deliver the goods in their Munster opener against Cork last Sunday week and his side came up trumps for him by registering a 2-25 to 1-25 home win.

Following a rest period last weekend, Waterford will be hoping to bolster their Munster prospects when they welcome Tipperary to Walsh Park this Saturday. As far as the All-Ireland series is concerned, the biggest odds you can get on the Deise is 20/1 with BoyleSports.

The aforementioned Tipperary are under the cosh for their clash with Waterford as a result of their heavy reversal to Limerick.

The last team outside of the latter to win an All-Ireland title – at the expense of Kilkenny in 2019 – Liam Cahill’s men are viewed as unlikely Liam McCarthy winners at odds that vary from 16/1 to 20/1.

Yet due to the fact that they have already lost out to both Waterford and Clare in this year’s Munster championship, there are even longer odds on Cork winning an All-Ireland crown in the coming months.

Bookies offer 66/1 on the Leesiders, so it looks like their barren spell in the competition will stretch into 20 years at least.

Whilst one of them are likely to take third spot in the Leinster championship – which will offer them a place in an All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final – Wexford and Dublin are viewed as rank outsiders for the Liam McCarthy.

This comes as little surprise for the former in the wake of their defeat to Antrim last weekend, but the latter join them in being a 250/1 prospect at best with notable GAA betting sites.

Posted in Hurling | Comments Off on Updated All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Odds Piece: Gambling.com – May 2 2024

Women’s Six Nations Championship: Ireland V Scotland – The Irish Examiner (Online) – April 27 2024

Posted on May 1, 2024 by admin

‘It means so much’ – Ireland secure World Cup qualification after grinding out win over Scotland

Following Wales’ dramatic victory earlier today against Italy in Cardiff, it suddenly became a two-horse race between the two sides in the Ravenhill.
DAIRE WALSH, KINGSPAN STADIUM

Guinness Women’s Six Nations: Ireland 15 Scotland 12

Dannah O’Brien struck a crucial 74th-minute penalty at Kingspan Stadium in Belfast as Ireland qualified for next year’s World Cup finals with a big win over Scotland in the final round of the Women’s Six Nations Championship.

Following Wales’ dramatic victory earlier today against Italy in Cardiff, it suddenly became a two-horse race between the two sides in the Ravenhill venue to see who would claim third spot in the Championship table and – by extension – a spot at the 2025 RWC showcase in England.

Speaking at full-time, number eight Brittany Hogan summed up the magnitude of the result.

“It means so much,” said Hogan.

“We came out for a performance today. We didn’t know what was going to happen after the end of it if we qualified or not but we just wanted to do it together.

“I’m just so proud. I literally heard before I came over here that we’ve qualified and I’m just so happy.

“We’ve come through so much as a group and every single one of us – management, players, people who aren’t here today and all our supporters – everyone means everything.”

A late addition to the starting line-up that had originally been announced on Thursday, Leicester Tigers hooker Elis Martin appeared at the back of a line-out maul and dotted down to give Scotland a breakthrough try in the eighth-minute.

Helen Nelson was narrowly off-target from the tricky conversion that followed this score, but the play was subsequently held up for several minutes due to a serious injury sustained by her half-back partner Caity Mattinson.

Ireland initially gained a foothold inside the Scottish half when the action finally resumed but, in spite of their best endeavours, there was a lack of cutting edge in attack from the hosts during the opening half-hour.

Yet Ireland started to ramp things up as the interval approached and it took superb Scottish defence to prevent Neve Jones (one of just two Ulster natives in the Irish starting line-up) from crossing the whitewash for her third try of the Championship on 33 minutes.

Although Martin’s early five-pointer remained the sole difference between the sides, this all changed within 60 seconds of the restart. Ireland had displayed their intent straight from the kick-off at the beginning of the second half and teenage winger Katie Corrigan was picked out in space on the right-flank to touch down for an unconverted try – her third in as many international home games in 2024.

Momentum appeared to be with Ireland at this point, but Scotland impressively regained the initiative when a Lisa Thomson try on the stroke of 50 minutes was supplemented by a bonus strike from Helen Nelson.

However, just shy of the hour mark, O’Brien found touch from an attacking penalty to leave Ireland within striking distance of the Scottish whitewash.

In almost identical fashion to Martin in the opening period, replacement hooker Cliodhna Moloney latched onto the resulting set-piece maul from Ireland and confidently burst over for her first international try since April 2021.

Thanks to O’Brien nailing her latest conversion attempt in the wake of this five-pointer, Ireland were back on level terms (12-12) heading into the final-quarter of an engrossing encounter and when she wisely opted for the posts for the posts with six minute remaining, the Carlow native gave the home team the lead for the first time in the game.

There were some tense moments in the dying embers of the game – Beibhinn Parsons was yellow carded in the 79th minute for a deliberate knock-on – but a resolute Ireland held firm to claim the victory they so badly craved.

Scorers for Ireland: Tries – K Corrigan, C Moloney. Pens – D O’Brien. Cons – D O’Brien.

Scorers for Scotland: Tries – E Martin, L Thomson. Cons – H Nelson.

IRELAND: M Deely; K Corrigan, E Higgins, E Breen, B Parsons; D O’Brien, A Reilly; L Djougang, N Jones, C Haney; D Wall, S Monaghan; A Wafer, E McMahon, B Hogan.

Replacements: N O’Dowd for Haney (h-t), C Moloney for Jones (46), S Ikahihifo for McMahon (72).

SCOTLAND: M Smith; C Grant, E Orr, L Thomson, F McGhie; H Nelson, C Mattinson; L Bartlett, E Martin, C Belisle; E Wassell, L McMillan; R Malcolm, A Stewart, E Gallagher.

Replacements: M McDonald for Mattinson (12), E Clarke for Belisle (48), E Donaldson for McMillan, R McLachlan for Stewart (both 59), M Wright for Martin, L Cockburn for Bartlett (both 63).

Referee: N Ganley (New Zealand).

Posted in International Rugby, Women's Rugby | Comments Off on Women’s Six Nations Championship: Ireland V Scotland – The Irish Examiner (Online) – April 27 2024

Updated All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Odds Piece: Gambling.com – May 1 2024

Posted on May 1, 2024 by admin

GAA Betting: What Are The All-Ireland Football Championship Odds?

Daire Walsh

This year’s competition is almost a month old and with just 16 teams remaining in contention, the best betting sites are taking a closer look at who the main contenders are for All-Ireland Senior Football Championship glory.

Over the next two weekends, the big ball game’s four provincial deciders will take place – starting this Sunday with the showpiece affairs in Connacht and Munster.

Now that the final meetings in the east, south, west and north have been determined, 17 of the 33 teams that began 2024 in the senior grade have transferred into the third edition of the Tailteann Cup.

The draws for both the latter competition and the Sam Maguire Cup were made on Tuesday, which has helped whet the appetite for what might be delivered by the football championship in the coming months.

Although winners and losers are yet to be produced in the four provinces, the eight sides involved will know immediately what lies ahead of them once the final whistle is blown in their respective games.

Dublin Still Favourites For All-Ireland Glory

Considering they have been unbeaten in the east since losing a semi-final encounter to Meath way back in 2010, it is anticipated that Dublin will take the slot that has been allocated for the Leinster champions in Group 2 of the All-Ireland series.

Barring a shock defeat in their provincial showdown with Louth at Croke Park on May 12, the Sky Blues will take on the runners-up from this weekend’s Connacht final between Mayo and Galway in addition to Roscommon and Cavan.

Already favourites going into the championship with new betting sites – despite losing the National Football League Division One final to Derry on penalties – the Metropolitans remain the team to beat following comfortable wins over Meath and Offaly.

With the retired Dean Rock and defender David Byrne (who has taken a year out to go travelling) the only major players who are not back from last year’s panel, another big year is anticipated from Dublin.

Many bookmakers are offering odds of 6/4 on the men from the capital claiming their 32nd All-Ireland senior football title, but Ladbrokes are a best priced 13/8.

Though their run of nine Sam Maguire successes from 2011 to 2023 has closed the gap significantly, Dublin are still behind 38-time champions Kerry in the All-Ireland SFC roll of honour.

Kerry Seen As Dublin’s Biggest Challengers

It was The Kingdom that fell short to the Blues in last July’s decider and having been the previous winners of the championship in 2022, there will be a desire amongst this current Kerry group to reclaim the title in the coming months.

There is considerable firepower within their ranks, with two-time Footballer of the Year David Clifford the main man in attack, but his brother Paudie and Sean O’Shea are more than capable of easing the scoring burden on the Fossa ace.

They were pushed by Cork for the majority of their recent Munster semi-final clash, but are expected to get the better of Clare comfortably in the province’s showpiece.

Once they do, the losers of the Leinster final between Dublin and Louth, as well as Monaghan and Meath, await them in the All-Ireland group stages.

It is hard not to see them enjoying a straightforward route from here to the All-Ireland quarter-finals and like any good Kerry team of the past, this is when their challenge should really come alive.

Dublin may be the favourites for now, but with 888sport one of a handful of bookies rating their chances at 11/4, they are seen as the most likely side to topple Dublin.

Derry Viewed As Contenders Despite Recent Setback

Back-to-back Ulster senior champions in 2022 and 2023, Derry added an NFL Division One title to their list of recent accolades at the end of March.

Yet the Oak Leaf’s reign as the best team in the north was brought to an abrupt halt by Donegal on April 20 – the O’Donnell County getting the better of them on a final score of 4-11 to 0-17.

This is a major setback and even though they will have had several weeks to build towards the All-Ireland series, being in a group with the winners of this Sunday’s Connacht final and the runners-up in the Ulster showpiece could make life difficult for Mickey Harte’s men.

However, provided they get the better of Westmeath, Derry more than likely would have a preliminary quarter-final to look forward to at the very least – and there is no reason why they can’t claim the scalps of the other sides in the group as well.

With the likes of Shane McGuigan and Conor Glass remaining potent figures, Derry are still seen as the third favourites for a second All-Ireland triumph in their history with BoyleSports offering 6/1 on the Oak Leaf.

Donegal, Mayo And Galway Also In The Mix

Should they come up short against Armagh in Sunday week’s Ulster final, Donegal will have a quick renewal of acquaintances with Derry.

If they were to prevail at St Tiernach’s Park, Clones, the two-time All-Ireland champions would meet Tyrone in Group 3 of the All-Ireland series – the side they beat after extra-time in the previous weekend.

There have certainly been many encouraging signs for manager Jim McGuinness since he returned to the Donegal fold after an absence of almost 10 years as those impressive victories against Derry and Tyrone were preceded by an unbeaten march to an NFL Division 2 title.

The general consensus is that they will ultimately be a little bit short when it comes to the business end of the All-Ireland series, but betting apps are still offering odds of 14/1 on the O’Donnell men getting their hands on the Sam Maguire Cup in August.

Just ahead of them at odds of 12/1 are Mayo, who reached the Connacht final this year for just the third time in nine seasons with consecutive wins against New York and Roscommon.

At the time of writing, Mayo’s forthcoming Connacht final opponents Galway were available at odds of 14/1, the same price as Donegal.

They needed a stoppage-time goal from Rob Finnerty to beat Sligo by just two points in a provincial semi-final game last Saturday week, but with QuinnBet offering odds of 12/1 on the Tribesmen, they are still amongst the chasing pack for an All-Ireland title.

Armagh And Tyrone Seen As Outside Bets

Meanwhile, ahead of their second successive Ulster final appearance, Armagh are rated 20/1for All-Ireland glory with Ladbrokes.

Sam Maguire winners in 2021, Tyrone are 33/1 with GAA betting sites in the wake of their agonising defeat to Donegal last Sunday.

It seems unlikely that an All-Ireland champion for 2024 will emerge from outside the eight counties that are named above.

This is reflected in the fact that some bookmakers are offering long odds on Cork (100/1), Monaghan (125/1) and Roscommon (150/1) achieving All-Ireland success.

The chances of Armagh winning the Sam Maguire Cup for the first time since 2002 are generally the same, which comes as little surprise when you consider just a single point separated them at GAA HQ last weekend.

All-Ireland champions as recently as 2021, Tyrone have struggled to build on that particular success in the past couple of years. Whilst they retained their Division One league status with a round to spare, they did suffer a heavy defeat to Dublin at the very end of the competition’s group stages.

Yet any county that has the likes of Darragh Canavan in their ranks shouldn’t be dismissed lightly and with odds also ranging from 20/1 to 28/1, the Red Hand could have a big say in the destination of this year’s Sam Maguire.

Posted in Gaelic Football | Comments Off on Updated All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Odds Piece: Gambling.com – May 1 2024

FAI Intermediate Cup Final: Glebe North V Ringmahon Rangers – The Evening Echo – April 29 2024

Posted on April 28, 2024 by admin

Ringmahon Rangers denied FAI Cup glory in extra-time by Glebe North

A clash between first-time finalists in this competition, Ringmahon enjoyed a sensational start to this showpiece affair as Evan Galvin headed home from close-range with just 50 seconds gone on the clock.

DAIRE WALSH

Glebe North 3

Ringmahon Rangers 2

THERE was heartbreak for Ringmahon Rangers at Weavers Park in Drogheda on Sunday as the Cork city side fell to a one-goal defeat after extra-time in a gripping FAI Intermediate Cup decider with Glebe North.

A clash between first-time finalists, Ringmahon had enjoyed a sensational start to this showpiece affair as Evan Galvin headed home from close-range with just 50 seconds gone on the clock – after midfielder Jamie O’Sullivan had hooked the ball invitingly into the opposition penalty area.

This sent the Leeside faithful into a state of delirium and while there was a still long way to go in the action, they were already dreaming of glory for their side.

Although Ringmahon netminder Eric Grimes turned away a goal-bound effort from Glebe winger Reece Weldon as the first-quarter developed, the Munster Senior League outfit were agonisingly close to doubling their lead as Issa Kargbo clipped the outside of the post on the stroke of 20 minutes.

Despite having Drogheda native and former League of Ireland stalwart Killian Brennan within their line-up – manager Darius Kierans is also a native of the town – Glebe were struggling to impose themselves in the Louth venue and Ringmahon ultimately held onto their 1-0 cushion at the interval.

Yet, having led for almost the entirety of the first half, Rangers were immediately reined in upon the resumption.

After being caught out from the word go at the beginning of the proceedings, Glebe restored parity when Oisin Coleman fired beyond the reach of Grimes from a Ciaran McCann pull-back just 53 seconds after the restart.

The pressure had been ramped up on Ringmahon as a result of this equaliser and Aidan Foley’s charges went on to suffer an additional blow when Glebe attacker Ryan O’Shea superbly drilled a left-footed drive into the bottom corner of the Ringmahon net.

This now left Rangers in a position where they had to chase the game and Foley elected to introduce Aaron Ahern and Adam O’Callaghan on 75 minutes in an attempt to wrestle their way back into contention.

This eventually paid dividends for Ringmahon as – in the second of six added minutes at the end of normal time – Ahern hammered home from just a few yards out after his fellow replacement Cameron Harlson had headed on an Adam Delurey free-kick.

Moving into extra-time, Kiernan once again showcased his agility to prevent Alan Greaney edging Ringmahon back into the ascendancy.

Grimes also denied O’Shea at the opposite end, but after the latter was subsequently fouled inside the area, Weldon powerfully fired the resulting spot-kick to the net on 105 minutes.

A Leinster Senior League side, Glebe were once again on the brink of getting their hands on a maiden FAI Intermediate title.

A direct approach from Ringmahon (who lost O’Sullivan to a red card late on) kept the north Dubliners on the back-foot as the final whistle beckoned, but after McAlavey had a penalty shout turned down in the fourth-minute of stoppage-time at the very end of the action, their gallant and resolute challenge just fell short.

RINGMAHON RANGERS: Eric Grimes; Philip Keane (Roy Long 105+2), Christopher McCarthy, Anthony Whitehead, Adam Delurey; Roy Kenny (Aaron Ahern 75);, Jamie O’Sullivan; Issa Kargbo (Adam O’Callaghan 75), Anthony McAlavey, Evan Galvin (Cameron Harlson 83); Jack Cairns (Alan Greaney 97).

GLEBE NORTH: Aaron Kiernan; Ciaran McCann, Ciaran Cluskey-Kelly, Killian Brennan (Ryan Connor 72), Roy Kierans; Gavin Smith, Noel Barrett; Ryan O’Shea, Oisin Coleman (Olayinka Hamzat 85), Reece Weldon; Ahu Obhakhan (Goran Simic 111).

Referee: Vincent Coonan.

Posted in Junior Soccer, League Of Ireland | Comments Off on FAI Intermediate Cup Final: Glebe North V Ringmahon Rangers – The Evening Echo – April 29 2024

Women’s Six Nations Championship: Ireland V Scotland – The Irish Examiner – April 29 2024

Posted on April 28, 2024 by admin

Ireland back at rugby’s top table

In front of a record crowd of 7,468 for a standalone Women’s Six Nations game on these shores, Brittany Hogan produced a player of the match performance as the hosts came from behind to defeat the Scots in dramatic fashion.
DAIRE WALSH

Six Nations: Ireland 15 Scotland 12

Ireland women’s head coach Scott Bemand reserved special praise for Brittany Hogan after she played a major part in his side’s crucial victory against Scotland in the final round of the Six Nations at Kingspan Stadium in Belfast on Saturday.

In front of a record crowd of 7,468 for a standalone Women’s Six Nations game on these shores, Down’s Hogan produced a player of the match performance as the hosts came from behind to defeat the Scots in dramatic fashion.

As well as securing third place in the Championship table for 2024, this result also offers Ireland qualification for next year’s World Cup finals – in addition to a spot at the latest edition of the WXV 1 tournament, which gets underway in late September.

“Britt has actually been a really important player for us since Dubai [where they secured the inaugural WXV 3 title last October]. She’s probably queen of the force backs! She was getting so many dominant tackles and putting nations under a lot of pressure,” Bemand explained.

“What she has done today, it’s never as easy against better organised teams, she has fought and battled. Her offload just after half-time creates a moment and she has had to work really hard at that. I think it’s fantastic for her that she has been given that nod. It’s not an accident today, she has been backing that up in training for weeks now.”

Scotland had come into this game with their own aspirations of qualifying for the World Cup – having previously ended Ireland’s hopes of doing so for the delayed finals in 2022 – and they drew first blood with an eighth-minute try from hooker Elis Martin.

In the aftermath of this score, the play was held-up for several minutes as Caity Mattinson was treated on the pitch for what looked to be a serious injury. When the play resumed, Ireland began to get a stranglehold in the Scottish half, but were still trying to find their feet from an attacking perspective.

Ballymena woman Neve Jones was agonisingly close to crossing the whitewash on 33 minutes, but Scotland held onto their 5-0 cushion in time for the interval.

Yet Ireland finally got up and running within 60 seconds of the restart as teenage winger Katie Corrigan sprinted over for her third try in as many home games following superb approach work from Hogan. Although Scotland reinforced their authority with a converted Lisa Thomson try on 50 minutes, Ireland restored parity just shy of the hour mark.

Back into the fold this year after a much-discussed two year absence from the international scene, replacement hooker Cliodhna Moloney popped up at the back of a line-out maul and dotted down in clinical style.

Dannah O’Brien supplied the extras to this effort in confident style and when Ireland were awarded a kickable penalty in the 74th-minute, the Carlow fly-half’s dependable left boot ensured Ireland came out on top of an engrossing final round affair.

While the aforementioned WXV 1 tournament and the 2025 Six Nations will be on the agenda before this Irish group embark on a World Cup campaign in just under 16 months’ time, Bemand and his charges can now look towards the future with renewed optimism.

Last weekend’s heavy defeat to his former side England shows that there is a long way to go for Ireland to become consistently competitive with the top-ranked nations in women’s rugby, but the ex-Bath scrum-half has a clear idea of how he’d like his troops to progress.

“It’s a continuing evolution really of who and what we need to be. We’ve got to keep going after some key fundamentals in the game. Set-piece is massive with northern hemisphere teams. We need to be able to handle the ball and stretch teams. We need to be able to kick the ball,” Bemand added.

“Obviously we’ve got some good kickers. We need to just develop that side of the game a little bit in terms of variety and where and how we get material advantage from it. We’ve really had barely any time. We’re only just getting started into it. We’ve got plenty to go and it’s a great opportunity for us.”

IRELAND: M Deely; K Corrigan, E Higgins, E Breen, B Parsons; D O’Brien, A Reilly; L Djougang, N Jones, C Haney; D Wall, S Monaghan; A Wafer, E McMahon, B Hogan.

Replacements: N O’Dowd for Haney (h-t), C Moloney for Jones (46), S Ikahihifo for McMahon (72).

SCOTLAND: M Smith; C Grant, E Orr, L Thomson, F McGhie; H Nelson, C Mattinson; L Bartlett, E Martin, C Belisle; E Wassell, L McMillan; R Malcolm, A Stewart, E Gallagher.

Replacements: M McDonald for Mattinson (12), E Clarke for Belisle (48), E Donaldson for McMillan, R McLachlan for Stewart (both 59), M Wright for Martin, L Cockburn for Bartlett (both 63).

Referee: N Ganley (New Zealand).

Posted in International Rugby, Women's Rugby | Comments Off on Women’s Six Nations Championship: Ireland V Scotland – The Irish Examiner – April 29 2024

United Rugby Championship: Stormers V Leinster – The Irish Times – April 29 2024

Posted on April 28, 2024 by admin

Leinster fall again in South Africa as Stormers run rampant

Leo Cullen’s side loses top spot in the URC as Glasgow Warriors leapfrog them thanks to their win over Zebre

URC: Stormers 42 Leinster 12

For the second game in succession, an experimental Leinster side suffered a comprehensive United Rugby Championship defeat to South African opposition in Cape Town Stadium this evening.

Following hot on the heels of their almost identical 44-12 reversal to the Lions in Johannesburg seven days earlier, the eastern province fell short to the Stormers by a total of 30 points. Coupled with Glasgow Warriors’ comprehensive success away to Zebre Parma earlier in the day, this result means Leinster find themselves second in the URC standings at the end of the weekend’s action.

While their focus for now will be on next weekend’s European Champions Cup semi-final showdown with Northampton Saints in Croke Park, the Blues may now be faced with a trickier path towards achieving success in this competition for the first time since it was rebranded as the URC.

Despite the inclusion of Charlie Ngatai, Michael Ala’alatoa, Jason Jenkins, Rhys Ruddock and Max Deegan in the Leinster line-up – all of whom have been capped at international level – the presence of some notable Springbok stars ensured the Stormers were favourites to come out on top in this contest.

World Cup winner Manie Libbok was named at outhalf for this fixture and he kept the scoreboard ticking over for the hosts with three successful penalties in the 18th, 30th and 38th minutes of the opening period.

He also supplied the extras to a sixth minute try from Ben Loader – the English native finding a gap to run under the Leinster posts – and this meant the South African outfit were 16-0 to the good as the interval approached.

The Springboks continued to pile on the pressure with the clock in the red at the end of the first half and their persistence paid off when team captain Salmaan Moerat crashed over for another converted try.

22-0 adrift at the interval of their meeting with the Lions a week earlier, Leinster were a further point behind on this occasion. The Stormers were in no mood to drop off their performance levels on the resumption and the home team created further daylight when Herschel Jantjies grabbed a five-pointer during the early moments of the second half.

In the 27th minute of the opening period – with their deficit still at a manageable 10 points – Leinster winger Liam Turner had a try ruled out owing to a tackle off the ball on a Stormers player in the lead-up to him crossing the whitewash.

Yet the visitors finally got up and running when the ever-industrious Deegan stretched over the opposing line with 51 minutes gone on the clock. In the immediate aftermath of Sam Prendergast supplying the extras to this score, Rob Russell also touched down in the left-corner for his seventh try of the season.

Whilst this potentially had Leinster in sight of a losing bonus point, the Stormers eventually reinforced their authority. Complimenting an early effort from Willie Engelbrecht, Warrick Gelant also claimed a try in the closing minutes to round off a deserved bonus point victory for The Stormers.

Scorers – Stormers: B Loader, S Moerat, H Jantjies, W Engelbrecht, W Gelant try each, M Libbok 3 pens, 4 cons. Leinster: M Deegan, R Russell try, S Prendergast con.

STORMERS: W Gelant; S Hartzenberg, D du Plessis, D Willemse, B Loader; M Libbok, H Jantjies; B Harris, J Dweba, N Fouche; S Moerat, R van Heerden; M Theunissen, B-J Dixon, E Roos.

Replacements: A-H Venter for Dweba (56 mins), K Blose for Harris, F Malherbe for Fouche (both 58), W Simelane for du Plessis (60), H Dayimani for Theunissen (66), W Engelbrecht for Dixon (68), S Ungerer for Jantjies, C Evans for van Heerden (both 71).

LEINSTER: H McErlean; L Turner, B Brownlee, C Ngatai, R Russell; S Prendergast, C Foley; M Milne, J McKee, M Ala’alatoa; B Deeny, J Jenkins; R Ruddock, S Penny, M Deegan.

Replacements: M Moloney for Ruddock, T Clarkson for Ala’alatoa, E Byrne for Milne (all 43 mins), Milne for Byrne (48-51), C O’Tighearnaigh for Jenkins, G McCarthy for McKee (both 55), C Tector for Ngatai (66), F Gunne for Foley (71), D Mangan for Penny (74).

Referee: A Piardi (FIR).

Posted in European Rugby | Comments Off on United Rugby Championship: Stormers V Leinster – The Irish Times – April 29 2024