McIlroy leads Ireland challenge at St Andrews; Sexton and Ireland embrace chance to make history

For the seven Irish players in the field at The Open, there was more good than bad on the opening day of play on Thursday. Rory McIlroy leads the way from a parochial point of view, his 66 putting him firmly in the hunt just two shots back of early leader Cameron Young. Pádraig Harrington dug deep to work through an old knee injury and finish with a round of 69 after a birdie on the last. On a day where the pace of play was incredibly slow - some groups taking six hours to finish their rounds on the Old Course - Shane Lowry had a horror show of a start but the 2019 champion recovered to finish with a level par 72. McIlroy is off just before 3pm today with Lowry starting his second round ten minutes later.

We are roughly 24 hours out from Ireland’s crunch series decider against the All Blacks, and the messaging from the Ireland camp reflects an awareness of the history that awaits them should victory be obtained. Johnny Sexton, just days after his 37th birthday, seems to be embracing the fact that he won’t get another opportunity for this level of success on southern hemisphere soil: “When you get to my age, you know there are not too many weeks like this left.” Only South Africa, Australia, France and the Lions have won a series away to the All Blacks. Gerry Thornley in his preview this morning looks at Ireland’s chances of becoming the fifth name on that list. You can also find all you need to know in terms of team news, odds and television coverage here.

Between that All Blacks clash and the All-Ireland hurling final on Sunday it really is a weekend of sport for the ages. Joe Canning talks through his memories of one of the biggest days on the GAA calendar, noting in particular that no matter how much you try and shut out the outside noise, some of it inevitably seeps in. One year the Galway great had 70 tickets to organise for the showpiece for friends and family - 70! “It can be draining. You have small things in your head. How are my family getting from the game to the hotel afterwards? Have they the right ticket? What about the wives and partners, are they sorted? If you start minding too many other people’s business, you can drift away from making sure of your own.” Away from the big day, Liam Cahill has emerged as the frontrunner to replace Colm Bonnar as Tipperary boss.

It was a mixed night for League of Ireland clubs in European action last night but what an occasion it was over in the Showgrounds. Sligo Rovers lost 1-0 to Bala Town, erasing their first leg advantage in a tie that went all the way to penalties. ‘Keeper Ed McGinty ended up being the hero, first of all pulling off a series of stunning saves before the shootout before keeping out a further two spot-kicks to send the hosts through to the next round of the Conference League. Derry City, always up against it in trying to overturn a 2-0 deficit from the first leg away to Riga in Latvia, conceded a further two goals to be knocked out 4-0 on aggregate. “In many respects, the tournament will be another game-changer. The joyous privilege afforded to men who grew up inspired by the Maradona’s and Pele’s, regardless of whether or not Ireland had qualified for the tournament, is now being afforded to girls. It’s another equality achieved. Girls will still be inspired by the Messi’s and Ronaldo’s of modern times but how much better is it that they can be inspired by the Lauren Hemps and Vivianne Miedemas too?” Like many of us, Lisa Fallon has been enthralled by the start of Euro 2022. In her column today, she looks at the potential effect that such a positive tournament can have on women’s football.