World Cup Review

So the World Cup has ended with New Zealand beating England in the Final on Saturday night 41-32. This World Cup was of course a home World Cup for Ireland after they had won the rights to stage this tournament in 2015.

The three venues that were used were UCD, Queens University and The Kingspan Stadium which hosted the Final and a number of playoff games. This tournament promised so much from an Irish perspective but unfortunately it didn’t work out that way. Ireland with their 8^th place finish will have to qualify for the 2021 tournament.

Looking back to what happened with Ireland, It will not be a World Cup that they will look back on with great admiration. This was the World Cup where Ireland were meant to move on from winning the 2015 Six Nations. There performance in 2014 in France was a sign the tide was turning but in this campaign all those good works seem to have unravelled.

Where to now for all the players who have worked so hard over the past few years, Tom Tierney has already stepped down as head coach and a few players have already stepped away from the International game.

 Maz Reilly , Ruth O Reilly and Ailish Egan have retired from playing with a few more players expected to make their decisions known in the coming weeks. The effects of this campaign will be felt for the next few seasons because the IRFU need to step up to the plate and decide what direction they want to take women’s rugby into the future.

The expected review that will take place will have some extremely tough questions to ask and answer like who will the new head coach be? , what do they want to achieve over the next World Cup cycle ?

All these questions need to be answered and then they can reset the clock and start again. Player dept has been an issue that will also need to be addressed by the Union. The playing structure will need to be revamped like the AIL has been. 

There is a need for more teams to be brought to the table to help create a new league with more competition. The interprovincial series will need to take on a more significant role in player recruitment and development.

Time now for the IRFU to seriously look after a team they brought under their umbrella only a few short years ago. Results didn’t go according to plan but since 1987, results haven’t exactly gone to plan for the Irish men’s team either.

This World Cup did plenty to bring women’s sport to the front and back pages of newspapers and highlight all the great work being done across all 12 competing nations.  First things first, a review and then hopefully we can see the fruits of that review being put into practice.

Don’t let what has been a terrific two weeks go astray and put this to one side like has been done before , action is needed but action is needed now and not a few years down the road!!

By

Cian Mc Gibney

28/08/2017

Mom – 1 Year On

So as the 1^st anniversary of my Mom’s death approaches I have again gone down the path of writing that has served me so well in the past and will again in the future. Firstly I have no idea where the last 12 months of my life have gone. I have had a number of a rough days but as the year has progressed things have become slightly easier, only slightly though!!

It really only is when you lose someone so close you realise what is important , slowly but surely I am returning to the old Cian but there have been changes to the way I do things. Thankfully Mom has left me in a good position to be able to look after myself and not be a burden to people.

Since Mam passed away I have doubted myself on countless occasions, but thanks to counselling I have been able to get my head together and straighten myself out.  As the days grew into weeks and then months I realised I need to start looking after myself and although I have yet to really push on from what happened I can finally feel my mood shifting and I also am not losing patience as quickly as I had been and that is thankfully a good thing.

It has taken me most of the 12 months to cop on and realise people are only there to offer advice , now whether I have listened to that advice is another story entirely  !! To anyone that has lost someone dear to them since last September I offer my sincere condolences and I would like to thank so sincerely all the people that have helped us out and that have been so good to me in the last 12 months.

If I have need anything , a lift or anything like that people have stepped forward and helped me out and I again wish to thank each of you so sincerely , I really don’t have the words that would truly express how grateful I am to you all. The other thing that I have realised since Mam passed away is how missed she is by not only my family but by friends, and work colleagues alike.

Many times I have been told I remind people of Mam and finally as the 1^st anniversary approaches I can fully appreciate that particular compliment. Mam and Dad did a great job raising myself and Fionn. 

In the coming years I hope I can make her proud  , I hope to get going with a couple of opportunities that are there for me as the next few weeks unfold. Of course the Rose Of Tralee happened last Monday and Tuesday and with Ashling Walsh involved I had a real hint of regret that Mam wasn’t around because I have no doubt she would have been stuck in the middle of all the fun and games in the Dome last week, Well done Ashling !!

Lastly this year has been absolute hell at times and then on other occasions it hasn’t been too bad but I suppose that is the way life is and as Mam’s 1^st anniversary approaches I hope to try and make positive steps forward and as I have so often been told, “Dust yourself off and get on with it “So now I will do exactly that and get on with!!

Mam’s  1st anniversary mass takes place on Saturday September 16^th at 6pm in Tarbert.

By

Cian Mc Gibney

 Nirvana Fitness

Question 1.Nirvana Concept

Nirvana fitness is a unique blend of uplifting positive music beat, simple to follow Pilates, yoga toning exercises and rhythmic breathing to a soothing nirvana soundscape and theta wave sound technology to detox the body and mind. This system will teach you how to breathe correctly leading you to a slower deeper breathing pattern that will replace stressful breathing.

Nirvana fitness progressively slows down breathing rhythm going from 12 breaths per minute to only 4 breaths per minute.

This concept engages the relax centres in your nervous system and efficiently slow and calms all the body systems creating potential for regeneration through decreasing metabolic rate of all levels.

Nirvana fitness has proven great oxygenation levels. Nirvana work out improves the measurement for cell oxygenation on average by 70%. It's brilliant for longevity, breath right - live longer! Most of modern chronic conditions are arising from stress followed by insufficient cell oxygenation. "If you deprive a cell by 35% of its oxygen for 48 hours it will become cancerous". (Nobel Prize Winner Dr Otto Warburg)

2. Who is Nirvana for?

Nirvana fitness is an wonderful relaxing work out designed especially for people under stress and for those who feel they are having burned out syndrome, for students to improve focus and concentration for individuals with COPD, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, insomnia, to prevent cancer, to lose weight and tone up.

3/4 Where is it based? When does it start?

 The first event will be on the 3rd of September in Green Isle Hotel. If you like to become a Nirvana Fitness Instructor you are welcome to join me from 11am. I'm hoping Nirvana will be soon everywhere in Ireland. The cost of the class will be €10.

5. Where did this type of exercise originate?

A team of scientist from Slovenia including exercise, breathing and sound specialist have come up with a super effective, elegant solution to tackle a vast number of conditions all linked to insufficient cell oxygenation.

6. Do you hope to train other people to be able to teach it?

Yes I will hold 4 seminars a year to train them to become instructors as I am Irish national educational specialist.

7. What are your plans for the future?

To help Irish people to feel to look and mainly to feel better with less stress and to prevent conditions that are life threatening like cancer and depression which unfortunately are killing loads of people in Ireland at the moment.

This business has been set up by Nicoleta Choirean and she hopes to continue to build this business over the coming years. The hope is to get more instructors involved and bring the business to other parts of Ireland.

By

Cian Mc Gibney

25/08/2017

Mc Gregor Vs Mayweather

So the biggest box office show in history is almost upon us with Conor Mc Gregor and Floyd Mayweather Jnr set to face off at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Everyone has an opinion on this bout, fight , farce whatever you feel this is an incredible show to just sit back and watch.

Conor Mc Gregor has achieved so much in a short period of time in MMA and like him or loath him he has backed up everything he has said he was going to do , beat Jose Aldo he did that , defeat Nate Diaz he ticked all those boxes and in turn became a two weight UFC champion.

Mayweather Jnr of course is a 5 weight World Champion in boxing. He is pound for pound the best boxer around. He has of course got a chequered past that has been well documented so I will not be going into that stuff.  Like Mc Gregor he has said he would achieve certain things in the boxing world and he has done just that.

Looking to what will take place in the T-Mobile Arena on Saturday, it is shaping up to be what we all hope for and that is a competitive bout , they have done the pantomime part of selling the fight extremely well. People seem to be easily offended by what is being said and done but let’s be honest these two guys are terrific actors.

Yes in their respective disciplines they are well respected and have achieved plenty to have gained all that respect. On both sides of the divide start supporters of both men and also the commentary that has followed this fight has been very varied but also very much if you’re in the boxing camp , Mc Gregor doesn’t stand a chance and if you’re in the Mayweather camp , Mc Gregor hasn’t a hope and so on.

You don’t have to like either man , but the one thing you have to is respect what both man stands for , whether that is false pride or something else entirely. Everyone has an opinion on what will transpire on Saturday and for all that say they won’t watch the fight I am sure they will secretly try and find a place to watch the fight in the early hours of Sunday morning.

What this fight has done has put the sports of MMA and Boxing on the front pages and on the back pages of every paper, TV station and radio station, everyone wants a piece of the action and like everything else money talks.

 People will access this fight by fair means or foul, using the pay per view service or other more colourful ways to get to see what will transpire. It has to be the most talked about event of the 21^st century. Yes if social media was around in the era of Mohammed Ali we would have had the same type of reaction to the likes of the “Thriller In Manila” and so on….

Social media has had a massive impact on how we consume news sport and so on. The news of this fight first broke on social media before any big station had the news so that just shows how weird and wonderful things have gotten in recent years.

So for now, the talking can almost cease as the biggest show in box office history is nearly upon us. Whether you like it or not this will happen. I am sure at its conclusion we will have everyone out in force to offer an opinion.

Sit and enjoy the show whatever way it goes, if nothing else I can guarantee you will be entertained….

By

Cian Mc Gibney

24/08/2017

Ireland Vs France

24 hours have passed since Ireland were beaten by France 21-5. In that time I am sure there has been a lot of soul searching done by the Ireland squad. The time for reflection after this particular defeat can happen in the aftermath of this World Cup. The defeat will sting for a long time because of the manner of the defeat.

France came to play last night in the UCD Bowl and were well worth the win given that they managed to nullify the Irish threat in the scrum, line out and in the backs as well. Looking at how France dismantled the Irish challenge, they went after Ireland in the area’s where Ireland managed to get the better of them back in the Six Nations earlier in the year.

Watching France play such an open brand of off loading rugby was a pleasure and will serve them really well next Tuesday when they play England in the Semi Final in The Kingspan Stadium. Looking at the Irish performance they will know they never really got going in this group narrowly beating both Australia and Japan respectively.

While both victories showed great courage in the face of failure both wins also showed Ireland had a plenty of work to do in attack. The lack of tactical kicking throughout the first two games showed that Ireland were struggling to get to the pitch of each game in the first half of each game in particular.

Larissa Muldoon started alongside Nora Stapleton in the opening against Australia and they failed to get the back line firing although the forwards were in control led by Ciara Griffin and Paula Fitzpatrick , the lack of threat from the backs caused major problems because for all the forward dominance  , Ireland were not putting enough points on the board. Ireland managed to secure a late win through a Paula Fitzpatrick try.

The manner of this win should have set the management team thinking that they had issues to solve before game 2 against Japan. You can put up the defence that they suffered opening night nerves and once they managed to secure that win, they should have noted this trouble that Ireland were having in the backline and tried to address those problems before the second game.

Unfortunately this didn’t seem to happen; looking at that Japanese game they used some of the tactics that served the Japanese team well under Eddie Jones in the 2015 World Cup against South Africa. They were very clever in the scrum and line out, they forced South Africa to do things differently than they normally would. It was amazing to watch that Japanese side do the do things very well , they were sharp and well drilled like the Japanese team last Sunday in the Bowl.

To the French game last night, given the evidence of the previous two games, one feels that it was going to take serious effort and a lot of luck to secure that coveted win to get them to a Semi Final. Alas that win never came and they have to plan for a game against Australia next Tuesday afternoon at 2pm.

The IRFU will have a review after this tournament and it will be very interesting to see what comes out of that review and what recommendations will be acted upon once the review is complete. The IRFU will have some tough questions to ask and answer. That particular job will come after this campaign and will take time.

Time now to focus on Australia next Tuesday and see what will happen when they clash. The Irish team have had time to lick the wounds of last night. Let’s hope they can dust themselves off and really tear into Australia and take out all the frustration of last night on them. Over to you Ladies…

By

Cian Mc Gibney

18/08/2017