Irish head to Paris on mission of redemption

Paris in February; surely romance is in the air? Not a chance.

It may be Valentine’s week, but there will be no love lost when Ireland and France meet in the RBS Six Nations this Saturday evening (K.O 8pm).

After last week’s deeply disappointing 21-23 loss to Wales at the Aviva, Ireland are in need of a performance which displays the hallmarks of their Grand Slam winning season of 2009; strategy, aggression, control in attack and discipline in defence.

Last week’s match seemed to highlight an alarming lack of confidence in the side’s ability to play cohesive, attacking rugby on a sustained level. At times Ireland strung together some great attacking phases, as with the lead-up to Rory Best’s try, however, this was an all too infrequent occurence for the Irish management team and the supporters.

France are on the back of a comfortable 30-12 win over Italy, a game they played in 2nd gear for the most-part. They look dangerous in attack and sound defensively so this could be a difficult evening for the Irish if France start brightly.

Declan Kidney has made just one change to his team; Keith Earls is a direct replacement for Fergus McFadden in the centre; this was the original team Kidney named for the Wales clash before Earls had to withdraw due to personal reasons.

Temperatures in Paris are currently at -4 degrees, and it looks like it could plummet even further come Saturday evening. The Stade de France has no under pitch heating system, and so it could make for an extremely difficult and slippery surface to play on.

France are gunning to win back the championship they last held in 2010, and with Ireland winning only once in Paris since 1972, anything but a home win would be considered a big surprise.

Verdict: France

Corbett calls time on Inter-county career

Shock waves are reverberating through Tipperary tonight with the news that Lar Corbett has decided to retire from Inter-county hurling.

The Thurles Sarsfields star, 30, has cited work commitments as the reason for his decision. He runs a pub, Coppingers, on the outskirts of Thurles town.

The news will come as a massive blow to the Tipperary team and manager Declan Ryan, who has left the door open for Corbett to return if he so wishes. Corbett informed Ryan of his decision earlier today and also sent text messages to his team-mates with the news. Corbett will continue to hurl for his club.

The lightning quick forward has enjoyed some outstanding days in Tipperary colours. His hat-trick of goals against Kilkenny in the 2010 All-Ireland final inspired Tipp to deny The Cats their “Drive for five”. He also bagged 4-4 from play against Waterford in the 2011 Munster final to cap a superb individual performance.

Corbett leaves with a glittering career to his name. In his time with the Tipperary Senior team, he won 2 All-Ireland medals, 4 Munster championships and 2 league titles. His personal accolades include 3 All-Star awards and was also named Hurler of the year in 2010.

Flight of the Earls ready to soar high

Four months after their World Cup quarter final showdown, Ireland and Wales meet once more in Round 1 of the RBS Six Nations this Sunday at The Aviva Stadium (K.O 3.00).

 

Ireland will be hellbent on avenging that painful 22-10 loss in Wellington last October, and with just two changes in personnel to the side that played that day, motivation on the pitch wont be lacking.

One man who wont be playing is Brian O’Driscoll. The Leinster man is still out after undergoing shoulder surgery in December. The man tasked with filling his No. 13 Jersey is Munster’s Keith Earls, who incidentally scored Ireland’s only try in that loss to Wales whilst playing wing.

Earls suffered a medial ligament injury in November when Munster met Leinster in the RaboDirect 12 League at the Aviva. This setback put Earls out of action for 6 weeks, but, upon his return at the start of January, one would hardly know he was out at all.

His performances against Castres and, in particular, Northamption, in the Heineken Cup showed how sharp his form is just now. However, filling the great man’s boots will be not be easy for the 24-year-old.

His partner gave birth to his first child this week, a girl. It is hoped that may spur Earls on and show his undoubted talent at Outside Centre for the national team.

Ireland are odds on favourites to win this game and, with Wales having something of a mini-injury crisis, the general consensus is that Ireland will prevail after a tough 80 minutes of action. With a trip to Paris to follow Saturday week, nothing other than victory is imaginable come Sunday afternoon.

 

Verdict: Ireland

Munster 26 – 10 Castres

Munster 26 – 10 Castres; Heineken Cup Round 5

Munster produced a dogged but uninspiring performance to defeat Castres at Thomond Park this afternoon in Round 5 of the Heineken Cup. Tries from Johnne Murphy and BJ Botha mean Munster become the first team to qualify for the quarter finals of the competition, which will help erase memories of their group exit last season.

Ronan O’Gara contributed 16 points from the boot, four penalties and two conversions, to help Munster overcome a stubborn and under-strength Castres side who were out of the competition prior to kick-off.

Munster now head east to face Northampton next week in the final round of the group stages, with a win guaranteeing a home quarter final berth. Northampton had a morale-boosting away victory over the Llanelli Scarlets today, but with three defeats already to their name, they are virtually, if not mathematically, out of the competition.

Quick Thank you

Premiergunner wishes to thank his loyal followers for continuing to visit his blog page on a regular basis. I have not blogged since last April but am hopeful of blogging on a regular basis once the exciting sports action from Ireland and abroad gets into full swing.
I will not be confining my sports writing to just Tipperary G.A.A and Arsenal F.C as I have done in the past, but will cover much more sports stories which I hope will have something for everyone.
Once again thank you so much for your dedication in following my sports stories and I assure you you wont be disappointed once I get back blogging on a regular basis.

Premiergunner

Tipp destroy Galway in Salthill

Tipperary 4-23 Galway 1-14

Tipperary produced a scintillating performance to crush Galway on their home patch in Salthill this afternoon in Round 6 of the Alllianz National Hurling League. There were strong performances throughout the side with Michael Cahill and Paraic Maher outstanding in the backs. Gearoid Ryan in the first half and Shane McGrath in the second were excellent at midfield in their hard work and ball delivery. It was really in the forwards where Tipp tore Galway apart with Shane Bourke of J.K Brackens scoring 3-4 from play in a devestating display.

It was a desperately disappointing performance from Galway, who knew coming into the game a win would seal their place in the final.

Tipp played quite well in the first half against the breeze and led 1-10 to 1-08 at half time. Galway started decently with the in-form Eoin Forde scoring a scrappy goal after Darren Gleeson had fumbled a routine shot. Tipp responded very well with all six forwards scoring from play in the first half. Lar Corbett scored two nice points with Benny Dunne and John O’Brien also doing well. It was O’Brien who scored the goal after 20 minutes after sharply collecting a Pa Bourke sideline ball and placing it low into the left-hand corner of Colm Callinan’s net. Galway replied positively and Forde and Ger Farragher had the deficit down to two by the interval.

Into the second half Tipp started in lightning quick fashion with Bourke and Patrick Maher (0-4) scoring early points. Bourke then rifled an angled shot past Callinan to see Tipp 8 clear at 2-13 to 1-8 on forty minutes. Galway only scored 5 points in the entire second half to cap a miserable afternoon for John McIntyre and his backroon team.

Bourke continued his rampage with a lovely flicked goal and another acute point to sent Tipp 13 clear. Substitute Brian O’Meara, Ryan and McGrath also pointed to see their chances of making the final becoming a serious reality.

Bourke scored his third to seal a great day for him personally, and he duly picked up the man of the match award afterwards. Tipp can make the final should results go their way next week. They play Wexford in Thurles next Sunday, although the Slaney men scored a shock victory over Cork this afternoon, so it wont be a straightforward task but a win will be strongly fancied.

Tipp head to Salthill needing win

Tipperary travel to Salthill knowing only a win will keep their League aspirations on track for 2011. Galway have been in fine form of late, scoring an important win against Dublin last week in Parnell Park.

The Tipperary team shows three changes to the one that earned a credible draw against Cork last Sunday. Darren Gleeson replace Brendan Cummins in goals, John Coughlan takes the place of the the injured Paddy Stapleton and John O’Brien, sent off last week, comes in for Noel McGrath.

Tipp’s hopes of reaching the final are still theoretically possible, although results elsewhere must go their way to have a chance of advancing. Galway, the defending champions, will secure their passage to the final with a win, and will start as favourites tomorrow. The Tribesmen have been showing real signs of steely resolve this season, something that has been lacking in recent seasons in the vital close games. Tony Og Regan, Ger Farragher and Iarla Tannion in particular have been playing very well so far, and Tipp native John McIntyre will fancy his side’s chances of a victory on home soil tomorrow.

Declan Ryan’s team travel northwest with a reasonably strong side picked. Paraic Maher and Gearoid Ryan played well last week but up front, Tipp will need to produce the scores more consistently. Lar Corbett has not shown his dash of ’10 yet, although the current hurler of the year is just back from a foot injury.

John O’Brien did well when coming on as a substitute last week before being sent off for a second yellow card in an altercation with Eoin Cadogan. The Douglas man is developing a notorious reputation for himself as he consistently antagonizes his opponents into reacting to his rough-house antics. This is true in football also, as his last two opponents in both codes have been sent off whilst marking him in his full back position.

Tipp need a win, but Galway may well do enough to see them to their third League Final in four years.

Verdict: Galway

Galway vs Tipperary is live on TG4 @ 2.30, Sun. 3rd April. Ref: James Owens (Wexford)

Gunners win vital this evening

Arsenal head into this evening’s Barclays Premier League encounter vs Blackburn knowing a victory is absolutely crucial to their title aspirations. The Rovers visit The Emirates for a 5.30 kick-off.

The Gunners are 5 points behind Mancherster United, albeit with a game in hand, although, United have a lunchtime kick-off against West Ham at Upton Park and could theoretically be 8 ahead  come 3pm.

The International break was a welcome distraction for Arsene Wenger, having seen his team endure their poorest run of the season up to that point. They tumbled out of three separate competitions in the space of two weeks; firstly losing the Carling Cup Final to Birmingham City, then bowing out of the Champions League in Barcelona. Finally, Man United ended their FA Cup dreams with a Quarter-Final win at Old Trafford. Following this Arsenal came from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 at West Brom, but still dropped vital points in the race for the title.

Nothing other than a win will do if Arsenal are to keep their charge for the League on track, and anything other than 3 points could end their interest in the the last competition they remain in the hunt for.

Theo Walcott remains sidelined with an ankle injury, although Cesc Fabregas could feature after a series of hamstring problems. Robin van Persie has been in scintillating form of late for both club and country, scoring for the Netharlands in their thrilling 5-3 win over Hungary in mid-week.

Blackburn will likely travel to North London with a siege mentality, as they have done in recent years since The Gunners moved to The Emirates in 2007.

An early goal could lead to a big win for Arsenal, although, as has long been their problem at home in particular, they threaten to run riot without scoring, then panicking to scrape any kind of victory as the clock ticks towards 90.

Arsenal need to win, and Arsenal should win.

Verdict: Arsenal

Tipp team to face Offaly named

Tipperary take on Offaly in McDonagh Park, Nenagh this Sunday, Mar. 13th @ 2.30pm in Round 4 of the Allianz National Hurling League. The team shows three changes from the one which defeated Waterford last weekend

Eddie Connolly of Loughmore/Castleiney makes his League debut at corner-back in place of Paddy Stapleton. Benny Dunne starts at Wing-Forward in place of Shane McGrath, with Gearoid Ryan moving to midfield, and Eoin Kelly comes into the side for his first start of this League campaign with Brian O’Meara dropping to the bench.

It’s another strong side Declan Ryan has fielded. Tipp will be fully expected to win convincingly against an Offaly team very low on moral at the moment. Their 13-point defeat at home to Dublin last week was a serious blow to their ambitions of staying in this years league, with 3 losses from 3 a poor return indeed.

Shane Dooley had to go off in last weeks game after a bad challenge from Peter Kelly. The Tullamore man required surgery to have his ear reattached after it was “hanging off”, according to his father and manager Joe.

Tipp will be keen to build on last week’s win ,and nothing other than a convincing victory will satisfy the large home crowd expected to attend.

 

To Patrons: There will be no parking on the grounds of McDonagh Park on Sunday, so it is advisable to come to the game early to see the action from the start. Car parks around the town will be free of charge on the day.

Manchester United vs Arsenal; Preview

Manchester United’s stormy rivalry with Arsenal sees its latest installment take place at Old Trafford this evening. This FA Cup Quarter-Final tie promises to be another pulsating affair as both teams look to bounce back from defeats in the past week.

Uniter suffered a moral damaging 3-1 loss at Anfield last week. Alex Ferguson did a “media blackout” on it afterwards and none of his players spoke to the press either. They still lead the league by 3 points ahead of The Gunners, who have a game in hand on United. Although precious league points are not on offer this evening, a win over their fierce London rivals would be an excellent fillip for the coming weeks. Home advantage will play a key role and it will be interesting to see what team Fergie fields.

Arsene Wenger was in hot water this week over alleged comments he made to the referee after their Champions League exit to Barcelona on Tuesday. Arsenal put in a massive defensive effort in their attempts to shut out Barca and it may take its toll today. Cesc Fabregas isn’t fully fit but may start this evening. Robin Van Persie will be available after his harsh sending off mid-week.

Wenger would love to get one over his old rival in their bid to win the FA Cup for the first time since 2005, when they beat United on penalties in Cardiff. Certainly were they to come away from Manchester with a victory this evening, they would be considered favourites  for the title. With important league games coming up for Arsenal also, Wenger may play a slightly understrength side. A draw and a replay back at The Emirates would be a positive result, although their recent hectic schedule would mean another game would be a nuisance.

Arsenal wont want to tumble out of three separate competitions in the space of two weeks, however, that is an eminent possibility come 7pm this evening. United have had the week off and should be fresher. They have a good pedigree in this competition, and can win this one should they play as well as they can.

Verdict: Manchester United

Manchester United vs Arsenal is live on Setanta Ireland, K.O 5.15 pm