Armagh were already a force to be reckoned with, but the return of Rian O’Neill makes them “even stronger now,” writes Darragh Ó Sé. But what about the fellas whose feathers might have been ruffled by his reappearance? “Cry me a river, boys,” says Darragh. When this side has the chance to become the first from Armagh to retain Sam Maguire, “do you want to sing a sad song or do you want to go after back-to-back All-Irelands?” That’s them told.
There might have been a tear or two shed in the Waterford hurling camp after their defeat by Cork last weekend ended their championship season even before summer arrived. Seán Moran reckons manager Peter Queally’s suggestion that hurling follow football’s example by having an All-Ireland series after the provincial championships might be worth a look.
Gordon Manning, meanwhile, talks to Kerry captain Cáit Lynch about her second coming for the All Ireland football champions, following a spell living in the Netherlands, and Ciarán Kirk hears from Meath captain Aoibhín Cleary who’s hoping to lead her county to their third All Ireland in five years before she sets off for Australia to play for Richmond in the AFLW.
In rugby, Gordon D’Arcy looks at Leinster’s desperate need to finish their season on a high, “having morphed into the ‘nearly men’”, by winning the URC. “There’s one caveat. How badly do they want it,” he asks.
Munster’s last URC trip to South Africa wasn’t the most fruitful, ending in defeats by the Stormers and Sharks. They are, then, hoping for a happier outcome when they return to Durban to take on the Sharks again in Saturday’s quarter-finals. Gerry Thornley talks to interim coach Ian Costello ahead of the game.
And just to get you in the mood for this summer’s Lions’ tour, Luke McLaughlin reminisces about his trip to Australia in 2001 when the hosts recovered from losing the first test to take the series 2-1 against Graham Henry’s side. Luke has a warning for Andy Farrell’s current crew: “Be warned: the Aussies still hate losing, and are sure to indulge in a spot of Lions-baiting, too.”
In football, Gavin Cummiskey looks back on an English season that had a fair few more lows than highs for Irish players, to the point where there might be as few as seven of them playing in the Premier League next season. Caoimhín Kelleher will, more than likely, leave Liverpool in search of regular game-time, while Evan Ferguson’s career is in need of a serous reboot.
And in racing, the career of “arguably the best stayer seen in Europe for decades” came to an end on Tuesday when Kyprios was retired after aggravating an old injury, Brian O’Connor hearing from his trainer Aidan O’Brien. “He’s been the most incredible horse, he had an incredible mind to go with his incredible ability,” he said of the two-time Ascot Gold Cup winner.
TV Watch: TNT Sports continues its coverage of the French tennis Open (from 10am) and cycling’s Giro d’Italia (from 11.30am) today, and at 7.30 this evening, TG4 has the under-20 All Ireland football final between Louth and Tyrone. Half an hour later, Chelsea and Real Betis kick off in the Conference League Final (TNT Sports 1).
