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

The Olympics – The Agony and Ecstasy

Today has been a strange day at the Olympics for Ireland, Michael Conlon saw his dreams of Olympic Gold go up in smoke after a unanimous points win for Russian Boxer Vladimir Nikitin. This decision has been with a barrage of criticism from those inside the Boxing world and also a number of people not involved in the boxing game.

The three judges from Brazil, Poland and Sri Lanka awarded the first round in favour of the Russian then awarded the second round to Conlon before awarding the third round in favour of the Russian. This particular call has caused widespread consternation with many people calling into question the officiating at these Games with a number of bouts being decided by split decision.

In the immediate aftermath of the decision, Michael Conlon was interviewed and you could see he was in total shock and really angry with the decision saying “That’s it he was done with amateur boxing “and that “Amateur Boxing is rotten from the top to the core.” Strong words but this guy has worked his backside off for the past 10 years to win Olympic Gold, he won Bronze 4 years ago in London and stated then he would be back in Rio to win Gold….

Unfortunately for Michael Conlon, he didn’t get the decision in his favour even though he and most of the crowd felt he won the bout. The three judges didn’t see it the same way. This particular talking point along with another questionable decision from a heavyweight bout last night, that involved another Russian boxer where he was awarded victory although many people have again questioned the scoring of the bout.

The defeat , controversial as it was will not take away from the fact that Ireland travelled to Rio with 8 Boxers with at least 6 in with chances of medals alas none of boxers will return from Rio with a medal. This notwithstanding should not take away from the pleasure and great joy that each of these boxers have given us in the last 8 years or so. Conlon has stated it’s the Professional ranks for him with or without another Olympic medal. He will do great things as a Pro and I have no doubt he be a World Champ in 3 years.

Moving to the Laser Radial Medal race where Annalise Murphy was hoping to right the wrongs of four years ago where  she finished 4^th in the Medal race after leading the competition from the start. She finished 5^th in today’s race thus securing a first Olympic sailing medal for Ireland since 1980. David Wilkins and James Wilkinson won Silver in the Flying Dutchman Class in Moscow

Annalise Murphy realised a childhood dream today by winning an Olympic medal , Her Mam competed in Seoul in 1988 so today’s achievement will be all the sweeter in the Murphy household.

These two moments show how fickle sport can be, one moment your down and out then you’re on top of the world again. Huge commiserations to Michael Conlon, I have no doubt you’ll win a World title inside the next three years. To Annalise Murphy, well done on realising a childhood dream and delivering Ireland’s second medal of the 2016 Rio Olympics.

By

Cian McGibney

16/08/2016

Rugby – The Season Ahead

The rugby season is about to kick start of the four provinces in the next two weeks with teams in the middle of pre-season training and heading away to play matches against teams from the Pro 12 and Premiership. Connacht are in France for a short camp and will play Montpellier in a game that will see most of the squad get a run out and then they will come back to Galway to complete their preparations for their defence of The Pro 12 they won back in May.

Connacht have added some quality to their squad brining in guys like Cian Kelleher and Lewis Stevenson  alongside Moritz Boshoff  from South Africa. Connacht will now have a different challenge this season as they are the team that are going to be chased down by all other sides in the Pro 12.

Looking to what they can do this year, they will want to try and kick on in Europe having conquered the domestic league last season. Pat Lam will know that they way Connacht played last season won’t be as much of a surprise to the opposition this year and they may need to tighten up a little bit and kick the ball more than they did last year.

Connacht will feel they can defend the crown they worked so hard to wrestle away from Glasgow Warriors. In Europe they will fancy their chances  of a least getting to a quarter final in the Champions Cup. My predictions for Connacht is a 3^rd place finish in the Pro 12 and a Quarter Final in Europe.

For Leinster , it’s a season where they really need to kick start things under Leo Cullen and after a few weeks being tutored by Graham Henry he may just have a few new tricks up his sleeve. New signings like Jamison Gibson Park and Robbie Henshaw should help the Leinster backline start firing again.

 Imagine this backline Gibson Park , Sexton , Mc Fadden , Reid , Henshaw , Isa Nacewa and Rob Kearney , That’s a decent backline and with some of the talent in the forwards like Ross Molony , Mick Kearney and Tadgh Furlong I just feel it’s time that Leinster re-established themselves as a top side in the Pro 12 and Europe and this year could be the year they will do just that. My prediction for Leinster is 1^ST place in the Pro 12 and a Semi Final in Europe.

Moving up North , Ulster will know they again flattered to deceive last year in the Pro 12 and in Europe , having spent big to bring in Marcel Coetzee and Charles Piutau  , many will expect them to perform well and be pushing for major honours come the end of the season. If they don’t win anything this year , many will question the recruitment policy with the hunger that may be missing in some of the stars in the squad. Les Kiss has the players and the Stadium can he lead Ulster to a first trophy in 10 years. My Prediction for Ulster is a 4^th place finish in the Pro 12 and a Semi Final in Europe.

Lastly Munster , with Rassie Erasmus now at the helm with Jacques Nienber as his defence coach with Anthony Foley back in the role that suits him best looking after the forwards there is real optimism that with all these changes coupled with some shrewd signings like Darragh O Shea , John Andress and South African Lock Jean Kleyn. In the backs Sam Arnold has been brought in as a centre and he can also play on the wing. He has been signed on a two year deal. Munster will want to climb back to the top table. It may not happen in year 1 of Erasmus’s tenure but the good days may not be too far away for Munster. My prediction for Munster is 3^rd in the Pro 12 and a Quarter Final in Europe.

Here is my run down on only the four Provinces.

By

Cian Mc Gibney

10/08/2016

Carl Frampton – World Champion

Carl “the Jackel” Frampton has been crowned a World Boxing Champion winning the same belt his manager and Promoter Barry Mc Guigan won 30 years ago. On a very special evening for Irish boxing “The Jackal” beat Mexican Leo Santa Cruz in a majority decision in The Barclays Centre New York.

30 years on from Barry Mc Guigan’s famous night, his protégé Carl Frampton became a two weight World Champion by defeating Leo Santa Cruz. His win has been meet with very little fanfare even though in the early hours of this morning he was crowned a World Champion, a huge achievement in any sport.

The comparisons with Conor Mc Gregor have immediately been made with people saying is he now the most popular name in fighting circles , both men are hugely popular  in their chosen disciplines , one in MMA and the other in Boxing.

Is Frampton as popular as Steve Collins or in more recent times Bernard Dunne who won his World Crown back in 2009 on the same day as Ireland won the Grand Slam in Cardiff. A major difference between Frampton and Dunne is Frampton won his belt by going over to the States and beating Santa Cruz in his back yard.

Shane Mc Guigan has also got to take huge credit for the development of Carl Frampton as he has developed a very good training regime that has helped bring Frampton on another number pf levels that last night saw him crowned WBA Super Featherweight World Champion.

The unfortunate thing is that his win will not be met with the same level of enthusiasm as his manager Barry Mc Guigan’s win was back in 1986 and even Bernard Dunne’s win in 09.  It was a great day for all in the Frampton camp and let’s hope like Mc Guigan he gets the same amount of appreciation when he arrives back to Belfast.

It is so seldom we have World Champions in this country North or South, so let’s be thankful for what is so seldom. Well done Carl on what is a huge achievement, enjoy every minute.

By

Cian Mc Gibney

31/07/2016

Olympics 2016

So Olympics 2016 is only days away where 77 athletes from Ireland will compete in a number of different sports with hopes of medals in a few sports given some strong showings at London 2012 and also some really good performances in the years between London and Rio.

People like Annalise Murphy, Rob Heffernan and Natalya Coyle will want to improve on their performances where both Murphy and Heffernan finished just outside the medal places with Murphy leading her Laser Radial class until the final day of racing where she slipped from 1^st to 4^th.

The medal hopes are of course mostly with our boxers which has delivered most of our Olympic medals over the years. I feel that we can win at least 5 medals in Rio where I think athletes like Natalya Coyle and Ciara Mageean can deliver a medal in their respective sports. Rob Heffernan has unfinished business at Olympic level and will want to end his Olympic career on a high so I expect him to be fighting at the business end of 50km road race.

With all the controversy over the participation of Russia at this games over alleged doping offences , the Olympics has crept up unknown to people although most of the World’s best golfers have decided to skip Rio and concentrate on preparing for the Ryder Cup in September. While most of the golfers have sited the threat posed by the Zika virus has a contributing factor to them deciding against heading to Rio.

Another side show heading into these games was the fact that Professional boxers were given the chance to qualify for Rio and a number of our top amateurs were hugely disappointed by the move even though nearly every top Pro stayed away and didn’t attend the qualifying event. It would have made a mockery of the whole ethos of the Olympic Games.

Even though the continued participation of athletes that have been banned for failed drug tests is still a major blight on the second biggest sports event on the Planet after the FIFA World Cup. How a Federation can allow an athlete found guilty of failing a drugs Test the second chance to perform for their country is beyond me.

Another big issue that will hang over this Games as it has done at past Games is the eligibility row that will see a number of athletes compete for their adopted countries, a number of Kenyan and Ethiopian athletes will compete for countries like The Netherlands  and Turkey to name just two countries who will have people born outside the country compete for them in track events like the 5,000 and 10,000 metres and also in the 100 and 200 metres.

This particular row has reared its ugly head in Rugby circles in recent times where a player has to least spend three years living and playing in his chosen country before he can even be considered for the National Team.

This has alas not been the case in a number of countries who have granted citizenship to a number of athletes so they can represent certain counties at this year’s Olympics. It is wrong that you can be given a fast tracked citizenship just to compete, there surely has to be correct procedures put in place before Tokyo 2020. This issue will not be corrected in time for Rio 2016 but it does need urgent attention.

To all of our 77 competing athletes I wish you all the very best and do yourselves , your families and the Nation proud. We are all behind you and who knows we may get a couple of surprise results at Rio 2016. I hope we can at least win 5 medals. To the athletes I have had regular contact with namely Ciara Mageean , Natalya Coyle , Fiona Doyle and Shannon Mc Curley I wish you all the best in Rio……..

So sit back and enjoy the Olympics everybody because it’s going to be one hell of a rollercoaster ride.

By

Cian Mc Gibney

27/07/2016