With the possibility of Tuesday evening’s game being his last on Portuguese soil, there was always a danger that Cristiano Ronaldo would put on a show against his former comrade John O’Shea’s Republic of Ireland side. And that he did. “Count the records as they pile high,” writes Gavin Cummiskey after seeing yer man take his tally to 130 goals in 207 caps, his double helping Portugal to a 3-0 win. “The flow of this contest came with a constant threat of humiliation…. Ireland were being pulverised,” says Gavin, who has the sounds of a man relieved it was only three. The game brought to an end O’Shea’s interim tenure, unless he has another one.
Gavin can only envy Ian O’Riordan who has had one good news story after another to report on from Rome, the latest the Irish women’s 4x400m relay team qualifying for tonight’s final with the fastest time of all the competing nations. And once again, Sharlene Mawdsley, running in her fourth 400m race in five days, “produced another stunning anchor leg”.
In Gaelic games, Darragh Ó Sé gives his thoughts on the Football Review Committee’s efforts to make the game more enjoyable to play and watch, and with Jim Gavin at the helm he’d make “a fair bet” that “by the time all the trial games are over and it has boiled down to actual proposals to be put before congress, they’ll be voted through in a landslide”. Ahead of their meeting with Armagh on Sunday, Gordon Manning takes a look at Galway and their miserly defence, the only one yet to concede a goal in this year’s championship. Gordon also brings news that GAA president Jarlath Burns fears that time is running out for Casement Park to be ready for Euro 2028, while Seán Moran uses his column to compare and contrast the achievements of Dublin’s five-in-a-row footballers with those of the Limerick hurlers who are seeking to accomplish the same feat this summer.
In rugby, Gordon D’Arcy looks ahead to Saturday’s URC semi-finals, Johnny Watterson hearing from Munster coach Graham Rowntree ahead of their meeting with Glasgow Warriors and Daire Walsh talking to Leinster assistant coach Robin McBryde about their trip to South Africa to take on the Bulls.
And on the eve of the 124th US Open, Philip Reid shares Rory McIlroy’s thoughts on his 16th appearance in the tournament, and he also talks to Séamus Power ahead of just his third outing in the event.
TV Watch: There’s plenty of Irish interest on the final day of the European Athletics Championships (RTÉ 2, 8pm-10.05pm), starting with the women’s 4x400m relay final (8.06pm), followed by the men’s 10,000m final (8:44pm), which will feature five Irish competitors, and finishing up with Andrew Coscoran in the 1,500m final (9.26pm).
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