Irish Sporting Weekend

The Irish sporting weekend saw Ireland find out who they will face in next summer’s European Championships, with Martin O Neill’s men drawing Sweden, Belgium and Italy. Not an easy group by any stretch of the imagination but one main difference between Trappatoni’s men in 2012 and O Neill’s crew of 2016 is that while the squad may have many faces from 2012 but the self-belief levels are now at an all-time high. Having beaten Germany 1-0 in Dublin to secure a third place finish where we faced down a well drilled Bosnia side led by Edin Dzeko. Goals from Robbie Brady in the away leg and a brace from Jon Walters in Dublin help send Ireland to France next summer. So now that O Neill and Keane know what they have to face they can plan accordingly.

Moving to UFC and the big fight between Conor Mc Gregor and Jose Aldo the undefeated Featherweight Champion. As I have stated before I am not a massive fan of UFC but you cannot but be impressed with what Conor Mc Gregor has achieved in UFC and also with his charisma is so infectious it is hard not to get carried away by all the hype but one major difference between his trash talk and some of the rest is that he backs everything he says up with action.

 It took him 13 seconds to dispose of Aldo and the MGM Grand in Las Vegas went wild. Another major attraction that helps Mc Gregor is that he came from a simple back ground in Dublin and that to me would be a big help in drawing in fans. He has also got this ability to say the correct thing and the most opportune moment. His skills and fitness levels are incredible. To be able to master one discipline is something special but to combine three in one sport in truly remarkable. He has a coach in which he trusts and this particular link cannot be underestimated. Joe Kavanagh is a key cog in the Mc Gregor camp.

The support that Conor Mc Gregor has managed to garner in a short space of time in also a remarkable achievement. He has supporters that have shown they will travel anywhere in support of there “Hero”. He is now the man with the Belt so we wait with baited breath to see where the Mc Gregor roadshow will pull into next!!

The Champions Cup and Challenge Cups have moved onto the back to back fixtures that could make or break a team’s season. Ulster defeated Toulouse on Friday to reignite there challenge with a 38-0 win. They will now travel to France knowing that they will face an altogether different Toulouse side who will be stung from being niled. In the Challenge Cup, Connacht continued their recent good form with a 25-10 win over Newcastle Falcons. They are also in the middle of an injury crisis which makes any victory in Europe all the more impressive. Looking to Munster’s defeat at home to Leicester, Leicester will be pleased that they delivered another blow in Thomond Park.

 Although Munster will point to a couple to key decisions that helped Leicester to victory. Munster will also need to be honest with themselves this week if they are to stand any chance of gaining a win in Welford Road. Leinster took on Toulon yesterday and were beaten 24-9 and that defeat coupled with the round one loss at home to Wasps has seen Leinster all but knocked out of Europe for this year. Irish rugby needs to steady the ship after a quarter final loss to Argentina. The Union needs to sit down with all of the Provinces coaches and CEO’s and come to a mutual agreement that will benefit both the Provinces and that National side.

 For the last 15 years or so the model that the IRFU pioneered has worked and delivered trophies in both club and national competitions. It needs to be looked at before the club and national sides of the other nations overtake our club sides.It might be time the Union looked to outside investment to help fund the game in this country.

By

Cian Mc Gibney

14/12/2015

European Preview – Round 3 and 4

Ulster Vs Toulouse –

After the postponement of round 1 for Ulster, they then went into round 2 at home to Saracens looking to defeat the team that beat them in the 2014 quarter final Saracens, a game that saw Jared Payne red carded for taking a player out in the air.

From an Ulster point of view the game never really went to plan and it saw Saracens dominate and they went on to win the game comfortably.

Heading into the Christmas double header with Toulouse that will see Toulouse travel to Belfast first and then Ulster go out to France, it is crucial that Ulster win at least one of the next two fixtures given the fact that they have to play Oyonnax in a back game in early January. Ulster will still feel they have the squad to compete in Pool 1.

 Looking to the next two games, Ulster who won this weekend in the Pro 12 will want to bring the feel good factor back to the Kingspan Stadium after a few years in the European wilderness, they made the 2012 Final and with a positive result against Toulouse they might well be on the road to redemption. I think Ulster will have enough to get past Toulouse and give themselves a fighting chance in Pool 1.

Connacht Vs Newcastle Falcons –

Connacht will go into round 3 of the Challenge Cup in a rich vein of form, defeating Munster in Limerick for the 1^st time since 1986 and coming up just short against Cardiff this week.

 Connacht will have the edge on Newcastle in terms of form and although Connacht have picked up a number of injuries in recent times, it doesn’t seem to have slowed their progress down and with a game plan that suits Connacht, there recent good run in both the Pro 12 and Europe could be set to continue and I see Connacht beating Newcastle in Galway and in Newcastle and setting themselves up for a home Challenge Cup quarter final.

Leinster Vs Toulon –

Leinster go into their double header with Toulon in desperate need of points having being beaten in the opening two games by Wasps and Bath. Leinster are only holding on in there Pool by their fingertips and mathematically still have a slim chance of making progress into the quarter finals. Toulon have welcomed back a number of World Cup stars like Bryan Habana , Drew Mitchell and of course double World Cup winner Ma’a Nonu has come into the squad to add yet another experienced head.

 Paul O Connell would also have been part of the squad only for injury to intervene and delay his debut for a few more months. Leinster will want to set down a marker and get their season back on track and a win over Toulon would be the ideal way to start that process. Toulon have had a mixed start to the Top 14 season and also they were well beaten by Wasps in Coventry. They have picked things up since that defeat and this weekend they beat Agen 53-19 in Toulon and that may also be a signal to Europe that they are ready to fire again.

 Leinster would dearly love a win over Toulon to kick start a stuttering season but you have to think they may have to wait until the Pro 12 resumes for that boost in confidence. Toulon will win both legs at both home and away.

Munster Vs Leicester Tigers –

Munster go into round three with an unconvincing 32-7 win over Treviso as the starting point for their time in Europe this season. Leicester on the other hand will take huge confidence from two big wins over Stade Francais and Treviso. They of course came to Thomond Park in 2007 and delivered Munster’s first defeat at home in Europe. Since then both Clermont Auvergne and Harlequins have breached Fortress Thomond in European action.

With that 07 defeat to Leicester in mind I am sure Munster will do everything to redress the balance. Leicester have had two wins since they last played in Europe whereas Munster suffered defeats to Connacht and Newport Gwent Dragons.

 The old cliché of Munster being really strong in Europe is old news but they are now is desperate need of a big result to keep any hope of European action beyond January alive. Munster will need more than just the crowd and a hell, fire and brimstone approach to get passed Leicester Tigers. Munster might just have enough to find a way past Leicester in Limerick but realistically they don’t seem to have the game plan that will see them get the required result in Welford Road. So over the next two rounds, I see Munster winning one and losing one.

By

Cian Mc Gibney

07/12/2015

RUGBY – Broken Traditions

Rugby is a game build on old style traditions and honour both on and off the field, listen hard enough and you will hear supporters and players telling you as much. Since the start of last season when the Television Match Official was given new powers to help the referee with decisions with regard to foul play and try scoring.

Ever since this has come in, I have seen an increasing number of players appealing to the referee to go upstairs for nearly every decision. Not just captains, you have scrum halves telling referees how to do their job and looking for penalties at every break in play. A number of officials have nipped it in the bud and that has done the trick. Now with the increased TMO interventions, it has seen more instances where players will look to the referee to “Go Upstairs “.

As I said Rugby is a game build on strong traditions like silence for a goal kicker, clapping the opposition off at full time. In recent times those particular traditions seem to be a distant memory as increased numbers of players are crying foul and also the odd player is looking to have an opponent sin binned. It has happened and it needs to be stamped out at the top level as well as at club level.

As we see a number of ex professionals also singing the praises of players day in day out. Nobody has made mention that these guys need to stop looking for penalties at every turn.  For a sport that prides itself on honesty and integrity, it hasn’t shown much of either in recent weeks. During the World Cup, a number of players looked to the referee to refer a number of calls to the TMO.

If you introduced a referral system like the one used in tennis where a player has three chances per set to challenge the officials call, this would limit the number of stoppages during a game. I realise it is difficult for players to keep themselves under control  as critical moments during games but they need to realise that with all the old traditions attached to the game , they need to uphold those traditions throughout the season and not just for one game.

The referee’s seem to have good control of each game they take charge of along with the support of the assistants , not many acts of foul play escapes there notice during a game. If they see fit they will call on the TMO to assist them. They do not need players or supporters baying for blood each time.

This game is very special and the traditions that it is built on are special, they need to be respected and honoured each and every time the players cross the white line. For Rugby’s sake I hope things change and people begin to remember why Rugby gained its reputation for a sport where the referee’s decision is final…

By

Cian Mc Gibney

30/11/2015

Is the English Premier League as good as it is made out to be!! Some of the results in The Champions League have left a lot to be desired , although all the clubs involved still have a chance of making the knock out phase in February , it will take something special for Arsenal and Man Utd to qualify. Arsenal put Dinamo Zagreb to the sword on Tuesday night by winning 3-0 but will wonder how they were beaten on match day 1 by the same opposition.

 Man Utd struggled in Old Trafford last night and were held to a scoreless draw. Both Arsenal and Man Utd will have to get the three points, from Arsenal‘s point of view they will need the points to stand any chance of progressing.

These results have again questioned the strength of the Premier League, The four Premier League teams have had mixed results in the group phase and although all four can still make it through , two of the sides may not progress beyond the group stage if results don’t go there way on match day 6.

Man Utd have probably been the weakest of the four sides , they have spent big and brought in a number of players that just haven’t been up to scratch and the question marks will remain until Louis Van Gaal delivers a trophy and gets Utd playing the way we know they can.

 Personal may have changed but the Fans still want Utd playing the same way, this cannot happen while Van Gaal is in charge. He also doesn’t have the same type of player in his squad that Ferguson had in his. He won the Champions League with Ajax in the 90s but football has moved on.

This Utd team under Van Gaal plays a slow paced build up game that is laboured at times and does not seem to suit the players he has at his disposal. The lack of a Striker in form hasn’t helped his cause, now that Wayne Rooney is employed in a deeper role means that other players like Anthony Martial and James Wilson need to step up and be counted when it matters most.

 The way Van Gaal plays the game needs two wingers that will get the ball into the Box and this in turn will need at least one striker to find the net more regularly than has been the norm this season. The Premier League is hyped up and regularly touted as the “toughest league in the world “This tag is worn as a badge of honour by the teams in the league and while performances at home have been strong, performances in Europe have left a lot to be desired and while this remains the case the questions about the quality of the League will remain.

By

Cian Mc Gibney

26/11/2015

International Rules

The International Rules game between Australia and Ireland was played on Saturday evening in Croke Park with Ireland winning 56-52. This particular concept has gone through a number of changes since it became an annual event. In more recent years, the series has seen a number of players involved in fights during each of the games that were played.

2006 saw the International Rules series reach a crucial point after a number of incidents one of which saw Graham Geraghty end up with a broken jaw and also there were a number of unsavoury incidents with both sides contributing to a very poor spectacle that saw many call for the Series to be ended.

The concept of the International Rules is an interesting one that see’s the marrying of two codes into one , with different aspects and rules from each code brought together to give you a hybrid game. The game is broken into 4 quarters 18 minutes in duration. The mark is used along with the “45” and also a goal keeper is employed like in GAA, where in AFL there is no goal keeper.

On the last three occasions that Ireland have taken on Australia in 2013 , 2014 and 2015 , the series has only had one game where it had been a two game series and let’s be honest it was far more competitive as a two game series. The reason for dropping it back to one game is a valid one to see was there an appetite for the concept from both the Australian and Irish sides.

In 2013 the Series seemed doomed when Australia sent a team over of just indigenous players and they were hammered as Ireland scored over 100 points. Discussions then took place to see whether or not this concept was worth pursuing. It was given one match in 2014 and after a really competitive that saw Ireland lose by 10 points out in Perth.

2015 saw Ireland face Australia on a very significant date in Irish history, November 21^st 1920, 14 people were shot dead while watching a Football match between Dublin and Tipperary, one of those shot was Tipperary captain Michael Hogan after whom the Hogan Stand is named. Back to the International Rules, ask many of the players that have played in any of the Series and they will tell you that they love playing against each other.

One major problem that the series does have from an Irish perspective is that it clashes with a number of club games where certain Irish players have to make a choice between club or country. Not an easy choice to make, the Australians are now facing into an off season whereas certain Irish players are going to playing with their clubs until Christmas time.  The GAA already has a clogged calendar that see’s both club teams and inter county teams going long periods without games and that in turn mean’s players go long periods without games.

If the GAA want this Series to stay then they need to find a solution to the fixture congestion and also figure out what they want from the Series, Two games would be competitive and give the Series meaning, one game is a straight shoot out and that would mean that if one team has a strong start the game could be over by half time.

In this author’s humble opinion, it would be in the best interests of both the GAA and AFL to find an amicable solution that will see this wonderful concept continue long into the future…

By

Cian Mc Gibney

23/11/2015