The Ireland team to face the All Blacks in the crucial final Test has been confirmed as Bundee Aki returns to the side as the only change to the team that beat New Zealand in the second Test. He replaces Garry Ringrose, who suffered a concussion in Dunedin. The tour of New Zealand has very much been a full-squad effort, with the midweek team beating the Maori All Blacks on Tuesday and Nick Timoney is watching the Test team with envy but can stand tall after his improvement. The Ulster flanker under no illusions how difficult it is to break into the Ireland backrow at the moment. “It motivates yourself a bit more to look at yourself harder and try and get better.” Everything you need to know about the third Test is covered by Nathan Johns, the game will be covered live on Irish Times Sport on Saturday.
The 150th Open Championship is under way at St Andrews and Shane Lowry is ready for second servings of Champion Golfer triumph, with a strong Irish contention featuring the 2019 champion, bookies favourite Rory McIlroy, Séamus Power and Pádraig Harrington. Philip Reid asks is this week time for Harrington to once again stamp his mark on The Open? As the two-time champion in as good form as he has been for some time heading to St Andrews. Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods and Paul Lawrie have become honorary members of R&A and join a select group to have been made honorary members that includes Harrington. Everything you need to know about the first day of the Open covered here.
In today’s subscriber only piece, Ciarán Murphy writes that Kilkenny boss Brian Cody is a serial winner straight from central casting and that if he’s learned anything in 20 years it’s that winning ends the argument. He’ll bank on that against Limerick this Sunday. “He sails on, not serenely, but with complete conviction,” writes Murphy as Cody heads for his 12th All-Ireland final as a manager. Newstalk present Kieran Cuddihy writes about his love for the Kilkenny hurling team. He writes: “I’ll travel on Sunday with my own kids. And they still live in a world of misconceptions, fallacies and wonderful naivety. Maybe Paddy Deegan or Richie Reid will become their Pat O’Neill, the player they imagine to be on the playground and pitches over the months ahead.” On the Limerick team, leader Declan Hannon is wearing the burden of history lightly as the Adare man can become the first player to captain All-Ireland hurling champions on four occasions.
Padraic Joyce has no issue with the Seán Hurson referee appointment for the All-Ireland football final against Kerry, saying “he’s a man of integrity”. One of the issues for Galway against Derry was the errant Hawk-Eye machine, after Shane Walsh’s ‘45 was erroneously ruled wide, but the Galway manager has said you just have to “get on with it”. The final decision has yet to be made on deployment of Hawk-Eye in All-Ireland hurling final, with full end-to-end testing to take place this week.
If talk of periods in sport freaks you out, Joanne O’Riordan encourages you to ask yourself why that is, as she writes that health shouldn’t be a taboo subject, and we shouldn’t be uncomfortable hearing that women bleed. “Many top teams in the world are using their cycle to peak when tournaments come around. Surely it’s high time we can respect these athletes and help them feel their best selves and perform to the highest level.” Meanwhile, the stage is set at historic Hayward Field for potentially the best-ever World Athletics Championships. Irish medal hopes among the properly global sporting event are slim, if at all. Rhasidat Adeleke will hope to do herself proud though and the athlete is Sportswoman of the Month for June after her stellar form.
