Another win for the Lions on Australian soil, but a “patchy” one. Their 36-24 defeat of the Brumbies was not “the kind of emphatic statement win they would have wanted,” writes Gerry Thornley. But as “the phoney war” nears an end, with the first test against Australia just a week and a bit away, he reckons that after Andy Farrell assesses his squad’s form, as many as 10 Irish players could feature in his starting line-up in Brisbane.
In his ‘five things we learnt’ from the Canberra game, Johnny Watterson believes as many as 12 of Farrell’s Irish crew are in contention for a test start, among them Garry Ringrose who, along with Ollie Chessum, earns the highest marks in his player ratings.
Closer to home, John O’Sullivan talks to “serial winner” Gus McCarthy ahead of Ireland’s game against Portugal on Saturday, the 21-year-old hooker having never been on the losing side in a Test match or a Champions Cup game. Our under-20 side were, alas, very much on the losing side at the world championships, Nathan Johns reporting on their 69-22 battering by New Zealand.
In Gaelic games, Ciarán Murphy looks forward to the weekend’s football semi-finals, and he’s struggling to see anything but Kerry and Donegal triumphs. Michael Meehan isn’t dismissing Tyrone and Meath’s chances, though, the former Galway forward telling Gordon Manning that their “freshness of youth and swagger” could see one - or both - causing an upset.
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Donegal old boy Kevin Cassidy isn’t ruling out Meath either, Ciarán Kirk hearing him pinpoint the battle between Meath full back Seán Rafferty and Donegal full forward Michael Murphy as being potentially pivotal on Sunday.
In soccer, Gavin Cummiskey reports on Shelbourne’s 1-0 win over Linfield in Wednesday’s Champions League qualifier. They should, though, have “killed off the tie”, instead they take the slenderest of leads to Windsor Park for next week’s second leg.
Johnny, meanwhile, wonders about the fate of Bray Boxing Club which has been closed since a fatal attack by a gunman there in 2018. Wicklow County Council is inviting expressions of interest from any sports clubs who wish to lease the facility, but depending on that outcome, “it is possible that the gym that once housed Katie Taylor may no longer be a boxing club”.
And in his America at Large column, Dave Hannigan tells the grim story of former WBC champion Julio César Chávez Jr who was detained in Los Angeles last week by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. He is facing deportation to his native Mexico where he’ll be up on weapons and drug trafficking charges.
TV Watch: Sky’s coverage of golf’s Scottish Open got under way at 8am and and continues until 7pm, and they also have the Evian Championship, the fourth of five Majors on the LPGA Tour, from 11am. It’s women’s semi-final day at Wimbledon (BBC 1 and Premier Sports), Aryna Sabalenka v Amanda Anisimova up first at 1.30pm, followed by Belinda Bencic v Iga Swiatek.
And in Euro 2025, it’s Finland v Switzerland (RTÉ 2 and BBC 1) and Norway v Iceland today, both kicking off at 8pm. England, meanwhile, are in dream-land after their 4-0 win over the Netherlands kept their tournament alive, having lost their opening game to France. “From shambolic to sublime.”
