A round-up of today's other stories in brief
Doherty wins in Australia
SNOOKER:Former world champion Ken Doherty (41) was delighted to win a low-scoring contest with Scotland's Stephen Maguire in the last 32 of the Australian Open in Bendigo.
Doherty’s highest break of the match was just 67, but other runs of 64 and 61 were enough for him to win 5-2 as Maguire could only muster a top score of 50.
“I played pretty well and I’m delighted to have beaten such a tough opponent,” the Dubliner said. “It’s been such a long time since I’ve beaten someone of Stephen’s standard, a top-eight player.
“But this is a good start for me, not just the win but the nature of it and that’s what gives you the confidence. If you struggle to a win you don’t feel so good but I won pretty well and closed it out well.
“I’ve been staying with my wife’s family in Melbourne and it’s the first time they’ve seen me play live.”
Cheika fined €20,000 after admitting abuse charges
RUGBY:Michael Cheika, the Stade Francais director of rugby, has been fined €20,000, with half of that suspended for two years, for verbally abusing match officials and an ERC official following this year's Amlin Challenge Cup final, writes Johnny Watterson.
The former Leinster coach, who pleaded guilty to the charges, accepted that at half-time and at the conclusion of a match with Harlequins he used language that was insulting and/or offensive and/or disparaging and/or intimidating to both sets of officials.
The Australian made his comments to the match officials at half-time and the ERC official after the final whistle.
Cheika appeared at the independent disciplinary committee hearing in Dublin yesterday.
Regarding his abuse of the match officials the committee imposed a fine of €15,000, €7,500 of which was suspended. With respect to the complaint by the ERC official, a fine of €5,000 was imposed with €2,500 suspended.
The coach was also found liable for the costs of the hearing.
The suspended fine means Cheika must not commit any act of misconduct for two years, or, he will be liable for the remainder.
While Cheika’s fine is large, it is not as big as that handed down to Saracens coach Brendan Venter last year, who was fined €25,000 for misconduct with €15,000 suspended.
Both the ERC and Cheika have the right to appeal the decision.
No repechage for lightweight crew
ROWING:The first Ireland crew in action at the World Under-23 Championships in Amsterdam overcame a slow start to qualify directly for tomorrow's semi-finals, writes Liam Gorman.
The lightweight quadruple scull of Shane O’Driscoll, Niall Kenny, Peter Hanily and Justin Ryan finished second to Italy and ahead of France.
“It was a pretty lame row, really,” said Ireland performance director Martin McElroy. “They were pretty slow out of the blocks. For a quad in the (good) conditions that were there that was not the ideal opener, but nonetheless they got the job done.”
Single sculler Lisa Dilleen, who finished ninth last year, goes in a heat at 3.06 today, Irish time, when she must finish in the top two of six to move directly into the semi-finals.
Lightweight sculler Jonathan Mitchell competes at 10.36 and the lightweight double of Claire Lambe and Sarah Dolan at 11.42.
McGee survives Fitzwilliam scare
TENNIS:After cruising through the first set, James McGee got a scare in his second-round match in the Green Property Irish Men's Open yesterday.
The Davis Cup ace dominated in all aspects of his contest with France’s Emilien Firmin during the opener at the Fitzwilliam Club.
Firmin (21), ranked at 923 compared to his opponent’s 567, struggled to cope with the pressure exerted by the 24-year-old Dubliner.
But in the second set Firmin gradually got to grips with McGee’s game, and went close to taking the battle to a third set. before the number seven seed pulled through 6-0 7-6 (7/4).
McGee was joined in the quarter-finals by Barry King, who beat Greystones teenager Ciarán Fitzgerald, who had surprised Britain’s Keelan Oakley in the opening round, 6-2 6-1.
Title still up for grabs on final day
GOLF:Connacht and Leinster scored their first wins of the Senior Interprovincial Championship to set up a thrilling final day at Co Sligo tomorrow.
Connacht had trailed Munster 3-1 after the morning foursomes but staged a fightback in the afternoon singles to win 6-5, the same score Leinster beat Ulster by in a ding-dong battle.
Munster took immediate control of the foursomes against Connacht, and found themselves up in three and level in one at the turn.
But Barry Anderson and Eddie McCormack finished level with Pat Murray and Ian O’Rourke to avoid a wipeout for Connacht.
Also at Co Sligo, Leinster maintained their momentum in the Boys’ Interprovincial Championship with victory over Ulster in a close encounter.
Meanwhile, Connacht fought Munster to a draw in the other match.
Good start for Maguire sisters
GOLF:Leona and Lisa Maguire made solid starts to their challenges for the European Ladies Individual Amateur title in the Netherlands yesterday.
The 16-year-olds from Cavan both fired one-over-par 73s over the Noordwjkse course to lie just two strokes off the first round pace.
And the other Irish players all struggled in the 72-hole event.
Danielle McVeigh,the 2009 Irish Open strokeplay champion from Royal County Down, left herself with a lot to do after an 80.
Most of her problems came on the homeward half. McVeigh double-bogeyed the seventh, but got to the turn in 38. But six bogeys coming home added up to 42.
Gillian O’Leary and Stephanie Meadow took 78, while Emma O’Driscoll was on 81 and Charlene Reid on 84.
Spaniard Marta Silva, with a 71, was the only player to break par.
