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They have been replaced by guys who are hungry to keep up the tradition and even surpass what Mc Caw and Carter achieved in the New Zealand shirt both men are double World Cup winners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

 

 

 

 

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