In recent months two Irish athletes were handed very different bans, one in rugby and one in swimming. While the sanctions handed down to Munster's James Cronin for a failed drugs test may be considered lenient, those handed down to Irish swimmer Robert Powell for a similar offence could be considered heavy-handed. In his column this morning, Johnny Watterson writes that the contrast is striking and could serve as an erosion of confidence in anti-doping policy.
On to soccer and Manchester United last night made it 16 games unbeaten with another very impressive performance away to Aston Villa. Ole Gunnar Solskjær's side have been on a golden run either side of the Premier League suspension and last night goals from Bruno Fernandes, Mason Greenwood and Paul Pogba sealed the points. Teenage striker Greenwood has been somewhat of a sensation since the league restarted and last night Solskjær said he can go as far as he wants to if he lives his life the right way. Elsewhere, Tottenham turned in another poor performance away to Bournemouth in a drab 0-0 draw while, in the Championship, Leeds took further strides at the summit with a 5-0 win over Stoke.
In golf, Shane Lowry found some form in the opening round at the Workday Chairty Open at Muirfield Village as he carded a round of 69 to sit four shots behind leader Collin Morikawa while Graeme McDowell is one short better off after a 68. With the rescheduled – and shortened – Major season set to kick off at the US PGA Championship early next month, all eyes are turning towards golf's biggest prizes but, with coronavirus cases surging in Georgia, the decision to host the US Masters there in November is looking somewhat questionable.
In our Game Changers series this morning Ian O'Riordan charts the life of Colm O'Connell – the Irish brother who became the godfather of Kenyan running. "His real skill, he always said, is not as a technical coach, but in spotting and polishing the right people. His mission, however, has long since been accomplished," he writes.
Finally to GAA and Seán Moran writes this morning that the GAA are yet to receive any complaints from clubs about county teams breaching training bans. Speaking on Thursday, Feargal McGill the GAA head of games administration, said that as far as he was aware there had been no complaints.
