It was a golden Sunday over in Poland, Ellen Walshe rounding off “an unprecedented week of success for Irish swimming” by taking Ireland’s medal tally at the European Short-Course Championships to seven. The young Dubliner, Ian O’Riordan reports, produced a sensational performance to win the 200 metres butterfly final, herself, Daniel Wiffen, John Shortt and Evan Bailey combining to produce that seven-medal haul.
It’s a bit early yet for medals in rugby’s Champions Cup, seeing as the competition only started at the weekend. Mixed results too for our Irish representatives – a win for Leinster, a loss for Munster. Gerry Thornley brings the reaction of coaches Leo Cullen and Clayton McMillan to those results.
Leinster got there in the end with a 45-28 win over Harlequins, but, Caelan Doris conceded, it was “a little bit sloppy”. As was Munster’s nightmarish start against Bath in their 40-14 defeat, John O’Sullivan hearing captain Tadhg Beirne shoulder some of the responsibility after he was sinbinned early on.
Mixed fortunes too in the Challenge Cup, Ulster delivering “a thumping nine-try victory” over Racing, Connacht giving up a 21-5 half-time lead against the Ospreys to lose by three points in the end.
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In Gaelic games, Seán Moran saw Wexford’s St Martin’s produce the biggest shock of the club weekend when they beat Kilkenny’s Ballyhale Shamrocks in the Leinster hurling final. There was no little drama either at Semple Stadium where Denis Walsh was on hand to see Dingle win the Munster football crown with a late, late point against St Finbarr’s. It was plainer sailing for Ballyboden St Enda’s in the Leinster football decider, Gordon Manning seeing them overwhelm Athy with a third-quarter blitz.
And also in Gaelic games, Denis looks at how volunteerism, the GAA’s “most bountiful source of energy”, is becoming an increasingly harder sell.
In soccer, after watching the World Cup draw on Friday, Ken Early could only conclude that Fifa president “Johnny” Infantino is, well, a maniac. And he’s ever eager to let Europe know that it no longer calls the shots in football.
Meanwhile, Conor McEvoy’s ‘Irish player tracker’ brings news of Troy Parrott getting on the scoresheet yet again, but back in England Mo Salah continues to have a less happy of it. What now after he accused the club of throwing him under the bus? Will Arne Slot leave him out of his squad for tomorrow’s Champions League trip to Milan?
In Formula One, Lando Norris held off Max Verstappen’s late challenge to win his first world title, and in racing four of Gordon Elliott’s horses proved to be quite speedy too in Cork on Sunday, their triumphs seeing him “sweep past the 100-winner mark for the season in Ireland”.
TV Watch: TG4 has highlights from the GAA club weekend at 8pm, and at the same time bottom-of-the-table Wolves (who had to scrap their November goal of the month competition because, well, they didn’t score any) host Manchester United in the Premier League (Sky Sports).
