The Football Association of Ireland, it would be accurate to say, already has enough to be dealing with, so, Mark Tighe reports, they could really do without their director of football, John Martin, having questions to answer over a deal struck with the agent of 17-year-old striker Michael Noonan when Martin was Shamrock Rovers’ chief executive. That arrangement is now being investigated by Fifa following a complaint from Noonan’s family.
Gordon D’Arcy, need it be said, had no complaints at all about Ireland’s display against England last Saturday. “It was,” he says, “one of Irish rugby’s great Twickenham days”, Andy Farrell trusting his team to play more on instinct against an England side “drilled to within an inch of their lives”.
Nathan Johns analyses Ireland’s performance, which, he says, provided “a window into how their new game plan can work when everything falls into place”.
In Gaelic games, Seán Moran reports on the proposal to extend the GAA season into August looking doomed when it comes up for discussion at next weekend’s annual congress. One man in favour of the move, though, is Offaly footballer Cormac Egan. “I don’t like the All-Irelands in July, I just think it feels a bit weird,” he tells Gordon Manning.
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And Gordon also talks to Keith Higgins, manager of the Mayo under-20s, about 18-year-old Kobe McDonald’s senior debut for his county last weekend. “Of course he had to announce himself in a special way,” he said.
In golf, Philip Reid heard Pádraig Harrington give his thoughts on a range of matters on Tuesday, among them whether LIV’s Jon Rahm should play for Europe at the Ryder Cup at Adare Manor in just over 18 months time.
Ian O’Riordan, meanwhile, reflects on the Winter Olympics and its outstanding moments, and he looks back on how the Irish team fared.
Ian also talks to UCD athlete Bori Akinola who became Ireland’s fastest man indoors earlier this month when he smashed the 60m record set by Israel Olatunde in 2023.
In the Joining The Team series, Muireann Duffy has a chat with former Australian hockey international Morgan Gallagher, who is loving life since moving to Limerick with her partner, Garryowen rugby player Lachlan Stewart. Gallagher now plays her hockey with Catholic Institute.
And in racing, Brian O’Connor is looking at the longish-range weather forecast to figure out what the ground at Cheltenham will be like in a fortnight. Need it be said, with the relentless rain of late, it’s currently on the soft side. Will that ground suit Constitution Hill in the Champion Hurdle? Hold yer, eh, horses – trainer Nicky Henderson says it’s “50-50” that he’ll even run in the race, a final decision likely to be made this weekend.
TV Watch: There are some decidedly tasty looking Champions League ties on this evening, none likely to be more impassioned than the second leg of the Real Madrid (1) v Benfica (0) play-off after events in Lisbon (RTÉ 2, TNT Sports 1 and Premier Sports 1). Juventus have a few mountains to climb if they’re going to overturn Galatasaray’s 5-2 first leg win (TNT Sports 3), while PSG take a 3-2 lead into their second leg against French buddies Monaco (Virgin Media Two and TNT Sports 2). All three games kick off at 8pm.
