Ireland Vs Canada

So Ireland were convincingly beaten by Canada in The UCD Bowl where Ireland made a number of changes to the XV that had faced England the previous week with Mary Healy and Nikki Caughey partnered at half back. Canada were beaten by England at the 2014 World Cup Final in Paris.

 Canada of course have been doing extremely well on the 7s circuit and with a World Cup on Irish soil in August 2017 they certainly put down a marker to each team that will play in that tournament. The Canadians had a very strong pack that carried ball right into the heart of the Irish defence and time and again made major strides forward round the fringes with skipper Kelly Russell and second rowers Kayla Mack and Laytoya Blackwood carrying hard and causing Ireland all sorts of trouble in defence.

When Ireland got the ball and were able to put a cohesive attack together they looked extremely dangerous with Alison Miller and Sene Naoupu to the fore. Canada managed to put 48 points past Ireland with a very sharp attack and a strong set piece. Full Back Julieanne Zussman contributed two tries along with the star of the 2014 World Cup Magali Harvey scoring a good try aswell.

Canada showed the new caps in the Irish team what the step up to Test match rugby will be like and for the most part, Ireland struggled to match Canada’s aggression at the breakdown and also the all-round speed with which Canada got the ball wide to a very impressive back division.

With the Black Ferns next up for Ireland, Tom Tierney will have to work extremely hard to try and get Ireland focused for a huge final Test match before the 6 Nations next year. Tierney has some big choices to make does he restore the heavy hitters to the first XV or does he stick with some of the same 23 that faced Canada and give them the chance to atone for a hugely disappointing performance against The Black Ferns who will come here after a game against England.

With a home World Cup on the horizon, Ireland will need to finish this November Test Series with a strong performance and having beaten New Zealand that last time these two sides met , they will know what is required to get the desired result.

They were only touched off by England, they were ruthlessly dispatched by Canada and now they have one final chance to register a win to end the 2016 season on a high note.

There have been terrific crowds in UCD over the past 2 weeks and I encourage everyone who can to get out and support the Women’s team this Sunday at 2pm.

By

Cian Mc Gibney

21/11/2016

Ireland – November Challenge

Ireland take on the All Blacks in Chicago this weekend and then they face Canada, New Zealand again and Australia. 4 tough weekend’s ahead for Joe Schmidt and his squad but after a win in South Africa back in June along with pushing them close in the two other Test’s will give the squad great confidence.

This November could be very special indeed with two chances to beat New Zealand and also a shot at defeating Australia. Ireland will want to start on the right foot and that is with a game in Chicago, New Zealand are back in a Stadium where they defeated the USA back in 2014 winning 74-6.

Ireland have a chance at immortality in becoming the first Irish men’s side to defeat New Zealand. This particular fixture is littered with hard luck stories from an Irish perspective. It’s time those stories changed and Joe Schmidt has proven he can prepare a team to face big challenges. Although people will point at the Argentina game at the 2015 World Cup as a major mishap in the Joe Schmidt reign.

November 2013 will be a major motivating factor over the next few weeks, Ireland can use Canada as a game to give some new talent the chance to shine. Guys like Joey Carbery and Gary Ringrose will get an early chance to show the world what they have shown in the blue of Leinster during the early weeks of the Pro 12 campaign.

Focus will be firmly on Chicago this weekend with the other Tests against Canada, New Zealand and Australia on the back burner until next Monday. Ireland beat Australia in 2014 and will feel they can do something similar in a few weeks’ time.

 Australia for their part will need to start showing some real quality to stand any hope of winning any of their Test matches during this November. Michael Cheika knows the quality he processes in his squad and I feel we will begin to see the start of a new era for Australia. That starts with a game against Wales who for their part will want to reset the clock after a 3-0 whitewash in New Zealand.

Ireland as I already stated have a shot at immortality and with Joe Schmidt on board until after the 2019 World Cup Ireland can begin the preparations toward that tournament. First up its New Zealand and time to lay the biggest ghost of Irish rugby to bed. 

Can Ireland cope with the intensity with which Steve Hansen’s men will play the game. The time is now to end this famine and beat a team that look unbeatable but as is always the case its 15vs 15. They almost did it back in 2013, I am extremely hopeful that either in 2 days’ time or on November 19^th Ireland will beat New Zealand.  Immortality awaits, go out and grasp it boys……

By

Cian Mc Gibney

03/11/2016

Schmidt Commits

Joe Schmidt has committed to Ireland until after the 2019 World Cup in Japan. His original deal runs until June 2017 and his commitment to Ireland has to be commended as I am sure they were plenty of offers for his services all over Europe and south of the equator also.

He is the most successful Irish coach of all time that has masterminded two Six Nations wins in 2014 and 2015, beating South Africa on home soil for the first time. His next big mission as Ireland coach will be to try and topple the mighty All Blacks who are currently on an 18 Test winning streak that has seen them beat all before them with consummate ease.

Joe Schmidt has been cleaver in his recruitment to replace Les Kiss bringing in Andy Farrell whose work with the Irish defence can easily be seen and was such a key element in defeating South Africa in the opening Test back in June.

The big question for the immediate future will be can his help his team come up with a gameplan cute enough to out fox The All Blacks in either Chicago or Dublin because uniquely Ireland get two shots at taking down the All Blacks and while they still await their maiden victory over New Zealand they have two chances so I am sure Schmidt and his coaching team have a game plan to expose whatever weakness New Zealand may have.

Easier said than done I realise but this hoodoo has to end at some stage and I am sure the players in the Ireland squad that faced New Zealand back in 2013 know what that sickening feeling at full time felt like and will be hell bent on securing a much needed win to end well over 100 years of hard ship.

Steve Hansen for his part since that narrow win in 2013 has masterminded another World Cup win and a few Rugby Championships to boot. He has also coached his players to reach another level of intensity and the quality of the players in New Zealand has not shown any signing of slowing down not to mind stopping, everyone asked the question who will replace Carter and Mc Caw??

They have been replaced by guys who are hungry to keep up the tradition and even surpass what Mc Caw and Carter achieved in the New Zealand shirt both men are double World Cup winners and have lead the All Blacks to even greater heights than even most people in New Zealand could have imagined.

Ireland will have two shots at immortality in Irish rugby terms by beating an New Zealand team in either Chicago or Dublin , they have the players of that there is no doubt and now they have the man to lead them for another couple of years.

The time is now to topple the mighty All Blacks and here is the team I feel could do just that…….

15 Jared Payne

14 Tommy Bowe

13 Garry Ringrose

12 Robbie Henshaw

11 Cian Kelleher

10 Jonathan Sexton

9 Conor Murray

8 CJ Stander

7 Josh Van Der Flier

6 Sean O Brien

5 Ultan Dillane

4 Ian Henderson

3 Tadgh Furlong

2 Rory Best

1 Jack Mc Grath

–

16 Sean Cronin

17 Dave Kilcoyne

18 John Ryan

19 Donnacha Ryan

20 Jamie Heaslip

21 Kieran Marmion

22 Paddy Jackson

23 Craig Gilroy

By

Cian Mc Gibney

25/10/2016

Pride

I found myself in Thomond Park on Saturday last for Munster vs Glasgow in round 2 of The Champions Cup. It was also a chance for the whole of Munster to say goodbye to Anthony Foley in the perfect way. They were comfortable 38-17 winners with a performance that “Axel” would have been proud of.

The performance was full of pride , passion , hunger and desire , it also had three key ingredients that have been missing and they were Boot , Bite and Bollock. Munster were led from the front by skipper Peter O Mahony , CJ Stander and Tyler Bleyendaal who is now beginning to show the quality that Rob Penney saw in him to sign him on a three year deal while in charge at Munster.

The day was littered with tributes to “Axel” with supporters spelling out his nickname just before kick-off while the MRSC Supporters Club Choir along with Sinead O Brien belted out There is an Isle , The Fields Of Athenry and Stand Up and Fight before kick-off arrived.

Munster started the game at a frantic pace and Glasgow couldn’t live with the pace at which Munster were doing everything. They were the first to each break down and the scrum was rock solid with John Ryan putting his hand up for national selection with such a composed performance. He had huge help from Niall Scannell and Dave Kilcoyne. Donnacha Ryan rediscovered the old spark and hard edge that saw him stand out at times alongside Paul O Connell and other second row partners.

This was a day when the new Munster under Rassie Erasmus met the old Munster that Anthony Foley helped create. The performance on Saturday both on the field and in the stands was something very special and I just hope last Saturday is the lightbulb moment for all involved with Munster and the manner of the win can galvanise Munster for the rest of the year starting next weekend against Ulster.

The crowd on Saturday can be extremely proud of the part they played and as Gregor Townsend eluded to afterward it felt like they were playing 16 men with the passion and sometimes anger with which the support got behind Munster.

Let’s hope that any team that plays Munster in the coming months gets the same reception in Thomond Park and in Irish Independent Park and Munster can rediscover the fire and passion that made them so successful throughout the noughties.

To see the players and Anthony’s two boys Tony and Dan come together for a special rendition of Stand Up and Fight in the middle of the field was very special and I think it also sealed the reconnection between pitch and stand and long may it continue into the future….. God Bless and Sleep well Axel…

By

Cian Mc Gibney

24/10/2016

Hi All ,

Just a short note of thanks to everybody from myself to say how eternally grateful I am for all the love and support in the past few weeks since my life changed forever. I know I put this message into a couple of posts but I just feel one final message of thanks in warranted.

Since the 10^th of September , myself , Dad and Fionn have had so much support  from all angles both from home and abroad and for that we are so thankful and grateful. I hope we have done my Mom proud over the past few weeks. We are doing all we can to get on with life as best we can.

I have to thank a number of people who I won’t name on this page because I would only embarrass them and I don’t want to do that. They know who they are and I can only say from the bottom of my heart thank you all so much , I’ll never be able to say thank you enough or truly be able to pay you all back for the love , care and support you have all shown me.

To my 4 Guardian Angels , who I again won’t name but they again know who they are , Thank You All so much for being there over the last few  years when I needed to be picked up from off the canvass and given a kick in the right direction.

I am beginning to return to normal , whatever normal is after a blow like that , I am back writing and recording interviews with hopefully some big names over the coming months.

To Mom , I’ll do what I can to make you proud throughout my life , knowing the way you were you’ll be looking after me no matter where I end up. That’s enough soppy talk from me , Simply Thank You everyone for everything.

Mom’s months mind is this Monday at half 7 in Tarbert.

PS , I’ll replace all the coffee I have drank in certain places in the near future I promise……

 

Cian

European Preview 2016/2017

This weekend sees the return of the European Champions Cup and also the Challenge Cup. For the first time all 4 Irish provinces will play in the Champions Cup a first in the competition’s history.

Leinster will take Castres , Montpeillier and Northampton Saints in Pool 4 of this year’s Champions Cup. Leinster will be boosted by the return to form of a host of Irish International’s including Robbie Henshaw , Jonathan Sexton and Rob Kearney. In the forwards they have added to their locking options with Ian Nagle signing for the rest of the season. He will give them another Irish option.

Looking at what they have done so far this season with new adventure in attack and a real resolve in defence that saw them squeeze the life out of a number of sides and that resolute defence will be needed in Europe.

 I feel Leinster will catch fire this season and have probably the best Irish centre partnership since O Driscoll and D’arcy with the early signs for Henshaw and Ringrose being very positive. Although they face some tough tests in Pool 4 Leinster are beginning to find that spark that saw them win 3 Heineken Cups and they could go a long way this year and a Semi Final isn’t out of the question for Leinster.

For Ulster , this year will be huge for them after investing heavily in there playing squad with the capture of both Marcel Coetzee and Charles Piutau they have very little wriggle room and will be expected to challenge Clermont Auvergne , Exeter and Bordeaux Begles  for top spot in Pool 5. Les Kiss has Ulster playing an open expansive brand of rugby and they have the artillery to fire and cause trouble in the Champions Cup. They along with Leinster I expect to be playing European Rugby next April and a Semi Final spot is not a farfetched goal for Les Kiss and his squad.

Connacht will be a marked team this year in the Champions Cup , they face Toulouse , Wasps and Zebre. No disrespect to Zebre but this Pool could see two teams coming from Pool 2 , I expect Wasps , Connacht and Toulouse to take the full quota of points from Zebre and this will make it even trickier for other sides to come out of very tough Pools. Pat Lam will want his team to express themselves in the same way that saw them light up the Pro 12 last season and win a first ever trophy in the Provinces history.

They made history last season and they are well placed again this year after two positive results in the past few weeks they will lick their lips at the prospect of taking Toulouse on this weekend. They face stiff competition from both France and England for top spot but they have the players and the game plan to cause a few shocks and could sneak into the last 8 and take their chances then.

For Munster, it’s a case of de ja vu , with Leicester Tigers coming to Limerick again along with Racing 92 and Glasgow Warriors. All quality teams in their own right. Rassie Erasmus will have his work cut out to out think and out muscle these sides paired with Munster this year.

Munster will have a tough start going to Paris to face last season’s Top 14 Champions Racing 92 who have Dan Carter in there armoury along with some other real quality. Leicester for their part will want to inflict more pain on Munster after defeating them home and away last season.

Munster have the opportunity this season to right the wrongs of the last few years in Europe and put themselves in a position to fight for top spot in Pool 1. Erasmus has seen what the Pro 12 is all about in the opening weeks of the season and will get first-hand experience of what Europe’s top club competition is all about.

Can Munster recapture the spirit of 06 and 08 , only time will tell and a good start to the Pool is vital this weekend.

 

By

Cian Mc Gibney

11/10/2016

Mam

It is amazing how quick life can change, Last week everything was normal and then a faithful moment happened at around 6.40pm last Wednesday when the lives of my family changed forever. My dear mother suffered a catastrophic brain injury which she never recovered from and peacefully passed away 3 days later surrounded by her loving family.

What the last 8 days have proved is how fragile life is,  nobody knows when there time will come and how quickly the smallest of things can be forgotten about. All mistakes and family issues are set aside and everybody rallies around in a time of crisis. This was defiantly the case as from early last Thursday people began to arrive and offer help in any way they possibly could.

My Mom was a very strong willed person with a temper but also a heart of gold, she lost the three members of her immediate family by the age of 26. These body blows shaped the way my Mam looked at life and how she approached her work life also.

She spent all of her working life in Listowel and made many friends while working in the town. She was known as Anne in Tarbert and to family but in Listowel she was known one way and one way only “Anne Marie”.

She spent 11 years in Neodata and then 17 years with O Connor’s where friendships were cemented for the future. All her friends have recounted countless stories where her liking for a good time and laughter have brought comfort at a time when we as a family don’t know which way is up.

The same woman wouldn’t want anybody crying at her passing, she would want laughter and also  for people to get on with it. Many times I was told to just “dust myself off and get on with it no messing”.

She loved a good time, Irish music and also the many friends she had. There was always a warm welcome for each person. The one big thing I will take from the past week is that Life is so short and nothing lasts forever so if there one thing I’d like to say to people is if you are squabbling with somebody in your family at school or at work, fix it because you just never know what might happen.

My Mam taught me many things and I seem to have inherited her ability to talk and keep many conversations going. It’s a good thing because I am talking and writing for a living so hopefully this skill will keep me going long into the future.

Lastly I’d like to thank each person who has helped us through the last few days and also offered to help us through the next few months. I may have lost my Mam last weekend but she can rest assured that there have been plenty of offers to look after us and me in particular because my domestic skills leave a lot to be desired…..

I’ll have to sharpen up with the Iron and also learn not to just look at the cooker but actually take that faithful step and turn it on. She always wanted me to learn these things and now she has her wish, So in the coming weeks, I’ll be doing crash course in all things cooking, washing and cleaning….

Thank you Mam for everything over the past 26 years, you fought hard for me from minute one and never stopped. I will always be eternally grateful to you for your love and guidance in that time and I promise to keep your memory alive and not to let you down. Thank You for everything Mam until we met again, Sleep Well and God Bless.

By

Cian Mc Gibney

15/09/2016

Ireland Vs Serbia

Ireland faced Serbia in their opening World Cup qualifier in Belgrade with question marks over the game until an hour before kick-off due to heavy rain throughout the day. Thankfully the game got the go ahead and Ireland had the perfect start to the post Robbie Keane era with a deflected Jeff Hendrick effort putting Ireland 1 up on 3 minutes.

Ireland started out with Robbie Brady and Jeff Hendrick teaming up in central midfield with James Mc Clean and John Walters picked in the wide positions to support Shane Long. After Ireland went a goal up they seemed to again stop playing and reverted back to the long ball game with Darren Randolph trying to find the head of Shane Long this tactic was never going to work and so it proved last night with Ireland under real pressure every time Serbia won possession they looked to get the ball wide and put balls into the box.

This caused Ireland all sorts of issues with the back four under real pressure. John O Shea and Richard Keogh were partnered together and they looked uncomfortable on occasion. The theory that a good Euros should mean you should be bang in form for the following campaign went out the window last night.

Why Ireland revert to type and play the long ball game is mind numbing and frustrating to watch , Yes Serbia are a good side and have some good players but so have Ireland , They showed at the Euros when they kept the ball which isn’t against the rules of football by the way they can create chances.

I am not calling for any major changes but we really do need to learn how to keep the ball, I don’t buy into this argument because we are Irish we have to play one way and one way only !! Time for change I think, we need to learn to use the ball when we have it and not to give it away as cheaply as happened last night in Belgrade.

Serbia showed how open this group will be becuase bar one or two moments didn’t look a million miles better than Ireland, they were incrediably fortunate to win a penalty after levelling the game at 1 all.

Typical of Ireland they started to keep the ball and bite into tackles when they went 2-1 down , it was like watching somebody flick a switch and Ireland kicked into gear and managed to rescue a point with a first goal at International level for Newcastle United front man Daryl Murphy.

This World Cup Qualifying campaign promised so much after the performances at the Euros , Here’s hoping that the hard fought point won in Belgrade can lead Ireland to a place in Russia in 2018….

By

Cian Mc Gibney

06/09/2016

Tarbert Festival 2016

Over the last week or so, there has been a Festival running in Tarbert with numerous events taking place over the duration of the week. Some old favourites made a return with the Tug Of War, Fancy Dress and Regatta making welcome returns after lengthy absences for a number of different reasons.  

Like so many community events this was not planned in a short number of weeks , it took a couple of months of planning and toing and froing with committee meetings taking place to decide what events were going to take place during the Festival.

Thankfully with all meetings out of the way the serious business of actually making each event take place started with a Kids Fairy Trail taking place in the John F Leslie Woodland Walk. It culminated  yesterday with the Regatta where Yacht racing , Dinghy racing , Kayaking and Rowing took place with a Bouncy Castle to keep the kids entertained while the bellies were catered for by a Barbeque ably manned by Niall Fitzgerald and Leo O Connor.

The Fancy Dress took place on Friday evening where our local Kerry footballer Shane Enright was guest of honour to hand out the prizes to each participate. It was great to see each person make an effort and we even had some late entries aswell that involved a tractor, trailer, a table and some slightly under the weather Bar guests…

The Tug Of War took place aswell with Tarbert beating Glin in the best of three pulls in the Final. Congrats to both teams along with their willing coaches Sean Normile and Maurice “Bear” Walsh. It was great to see such a turn at each event. Hopefully this Festival will grow legs over the coming years and just get bigger and bigger.

People always say there isn’t much done in Tarbert in terms of a Festival or something similar , but in 2016 that changed and here’s hoping the work that was done this year to pull this Festival together will be continued into the future.

It was great to see smiling faces and that community spirit is alive and well in Tarbert , So let’s congratulate the organising committee and volunteers who helped put each event on and get behind this Festival’s revival and make it bigger and better in 2017.

By

Cian Mc Gibney

29/08/2016

Robbie Keane Tribute

So next week as people file away from the Aviva Stadium in the immediate aftermath of Ireland’s Friendly with Oman , the International career of arguably Ireland’s greatest striker will come to a close with 146 caps to his name , he is of course Ireland record goal scorer with 67 goals to date.

He has had a wide variety of clubs during his career, beginning with Crumlin United then moving onto Wolves, Coventry City, Inter Milan, Leeds United, Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool, and Celtic with loan spells at West Ham and Aston Villa included while on a mid-season break from his last club on his nomadic journey LA Galaxy. He has been joined by Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard in the last couple of years while David Beckham was around when he first joined LA Galaxy in 2011.

He may have had a nomadic journey in club football but his strike rate at each club is very impressive and can’t be sneezed at.  He may not have spent long at certain clubs but he seems to have found his niche at both Spurs and more recently in LA Galaxy.

With Ireland of course , he has had his greatest success with 145 caps to date and 67 goals scoring some crucial goals against Iran enroute to Japan and South Korea for the 2002 World Cup. He scored a famous goal against Germany to draw Ireland level in a Group game.

He along with Brazil’s Ronaldo were the only two men to score against German Keeper Oliver Kahn at that World Cup. To a lesser extent he also scored a goal vs Saudi Arabia  in the 3-0 win and he scored Ireland’s second penalty in normal time vs Spain after Ian Harte has his opening effort saved.

In recent years he has captained his country at Euro 2012 and Euro 2016 in France. He hasn’t always been everybody’s cup of tea but he has always given his best for Ireland and 67 International goals says he has always taken the chances that have been presented.

It’s time now for Robbie to exit the International stage that he has graced for the past 18 years after next Wednesday’s game with Oman. It is also time now for other strikers to step up to the mark and take up the baton that Robbie will leave down next week.

Thanks for all the wonderful memories Robbie and enjoy your retirement……

 

By

Cian Mc Gibney

25/08/2016