A round-up of today's other stories in brief
Murphy wins Munster rally
MOTOR SPORT:Local hero Colm Murphy and his Cork co-driver, Don Montgomery yesterday took a start-to-finish win in the Circuit of Munster Rally, the fifth round of the Dunlop National Rally Championship that was based in Adare.
In very wet conditions, Murphy, on board his Group N Subaru, was 34 seconds in front after the sixth stage and was able to fend off the opposition and record his first outright win in the national series. Donegal’s Donagh Kelly (Subaru WRC) stalled twice and had a number of spins before finishing 11 seconds behind in second. Roy White (MG S2000) found that his times improved after his service crew removed the anti-roll bar, he was third – a further 49 seconds behind.
Longford’s, Tommy Doyle in a Mitsubishi was fourth. Having led the modified category for most of the day, Ed O’Callaghan (Escort) had to yield to the Escort of Declan Boyle, who the category by five seconds. They were fifth and sixth respectively.
Northern Irish crews win at British Schools event
ROWING:Crews from Northern Ireland were in winning form at the weekend.
Bann pair Joel Cassells and Chris Black, who will represent Ireland at the World Junior Championships in August, won at the British National Schools Championships in Nottingham yesterday.
Bridget Jacques and Lucy Litvack of Belfast Boat Club had won the girls’ championship double on Saturday and Katie Cromie of Portora was third in the championship Single.
Queen’s University’s Colin Williamson won the senior single scull at the Metropolitan Regatta on Saturday on the Olympic course at Dorney Lake.
– LIAM GORMAN
Irish women's relay team fall short of target time in Poland
ATHLETICS:Olympic qualification is still within reach of the Irish women's 4x400 metres relay team even if they fell narrowly short of their target time at yesterday's Bydgoszcz international meeting in Poland. Claire Bergin, Joanne Cuddihy, Marian Heffernan and Michelle Carey clocked 3:30.61 to finish second to Poland's 3:29.33 – and although hoping to break 3:30, they stay the 12th-best ranked team in the world, with the top 16 invited to London.
Elsewhere, Paralympic star Jason Smyth was denied London qualification by the strong wind readings at Clermont in Florida at the weekend – his 10.17 seconds for the 100m inside the 10.18 A-standard, but the wind reading of 3.6 metres per second was above the limit of 2.0. Smyth is set to try again at Saturday’s Diamond League meeting in New York, where he may well become the first man in history to qualify for both the Olympics and Paralympics in the same year.
Steven Colvert lowered his 200m best to 20.69 in Geneva and is also closing in on Olympic qualification, while Derval O’Rourke opened her outdoor hurdles campaign in Chaux De Fonds, with 13.47 for fifth place.
Finally, Eamonn Coghlan is no longer the only man over the age of 40 to run a sub-four minute mile: Britain’s Anthony Whiteman clocked 3:58.79 in Nashville, to become the first over 40-athlete to run the sub-four outdoors, although Coghlan is still the world record holder with his 3:58.15, set indoors in Boston in 1993.
– IAN O’RIORDAN
Scannell to lead Ireland in opener against South Africa
JUNIOR RUGBY WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS:THE IRELAND Under-20 team has been named for the opening game of the 2012 Junior World Championship in Danie Craven Stadium, Stellenbosch, South Africa. Hooker Niall Scannell will captain the side against South Africa. Outhalf JJ Hanrahan is one of five players in the match-day squad who featured in the 2011 tournament. His halfback partner Kieran Marmion also played last year as did prop Tadgh Furlong and secondrow Iain Henderson while replacement Aaron Conneely also featured.
The games will be shown live on Sky Sports and TG4.
IRELAND UNDER-20: P Nelson (Ulster); B Daly (Leinster), F Horan (Leinster), Chris Farrell (Ulster), S Coghlan Murray (Leinster); JJ Hanrahan (Munster), Kieran Marmion (Connacht); D Merrey (Leinster), Niall Scannell (Munster, capt), T Furlong (Leinster), T Beirne (Leinster), I Henderson (Ulster), J Coghlan (Leinster), J Conan (Leinster), C Gilsenan (Leinster). Replacements: J Rael (Munster), P Reilly (Leinster), J Cawley (Leinster), A O’Connor (Leinster), A Conneely (Connacht), L McGrath (Leinster), J Carty (Connacht) M Sherlock (Leinster).
Bangladesh set for Stormont ties
CRICKET:Ireland have secured three valuable warm-up matches for this September's World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka after it was confirmed that Bangladesh will play three games at Stormont in the middle of July.
Although their tour here was also due to involve a four-day game and some 50-over matches, the issue of funding meant that three Twenty20 clashes and a warm-up game against an Ireland XI on July 16th will complete Bangladesh’s itinerary.
The opening T20 international is on Wednesday, July 18th at 5pm, with games also taking place on Friday, 20th (5pm) and Saturday, 21st (4pm).
Ireland are presently ranked number eight in the ICC T20 rankings, with Bangladesh yet to achieve a spot on the list as they have not played the minimum amount of games.
Meanwhile, yesterday’s opening Inter-Regional clash between the South and North was cancelled after The Mardyke ground in Cork was waterlogged.
– EMMET RIORDAN
