He’s only gone and done it again. As Philip Reid writes, “the green jacket has proven to be a perfect fit for Rory McIlroy, so much so that it will remain in his wardrobe for another year”. His victory at Augusta National on Sunday puts him in the stellar company of Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods as the only men to retain their Masters titles, and the first to achieve the feat in 24 years. As the man himself put it, “I can’t believe I waited 17 years for one green jacket and I get two in a row”.
In rugby, Ireland’s Six Nations campaign opened with a 33-12 defeat to world champions England at Twickenham, Nathan Johns on hand to see them follow up an “error-ridden” first half with a more encouraging effort in the second. That gave head coach Scott Bemand heart ahead of next weekend’s game against Italy.
Leinster, meanwhile, set up a home semi-final against Toulon in the Champions Cup by beating Sale Sharks on Saturday. Gerry Thornley heard from Leo Cullen after the game and he picks out how a bold positional switch of Dan Sheehan paid off handsomely. And Johnny Watterson analyses Tommy O’Brien’s performance in the game, his “suite of skills” on display.
Ulster march on in the Challenge Cup thanks to their 41-24 win over La Rochelle, but Connacht’s European journey came to end with their defeat by Montpellier in the quarter-finals of the competition.
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In Gaelic games, Galway navigated both camogie’s new rules and Waterford to win Sunday’s Division 1A league final in Nowlan Park, while Cork’s women won their first Division One title in seven years by beating Galway in Limerick.
In the Ulster football championship, Gordon Manning was at the Athletic Grounds to see Armagh’s footballers edge past Tyrone in extra-time and heard from both managers after the game, while Denis Walsh was at the opposite end of the country to witness Cork see off Limerick at Páirc Uí Chaoimh, albeit with a “slack-minded and careless” second half display.
You can read all the reports on the weekend’s games here, while Paul Fitzpatrick’s Schemozzle rounds up the quirkier yarns from around the country. And Denis addresses a “cultural taboo” in the GAA: declaring your ambition to win things. “False modesty,” he says, “is still more valued.”
In football, on a weekend when Manchester City turned the heat up on Arsenal at the top of the Premier League table, the supporters of last season’s champions, Liverpool, are feeling increasingly aggrieved. And not, writes Ken Early, simply because of on-field performances. AZ have no complaints about Troy Parrott, though, after he helped himself to his 29th goal in all competitions for the club this season. Conor McEvoy rounds up all the news on the Irish abroad.
After an Aintree festival that will be remembered more for the death of Gold Dancer on Friday, the horse euthanised after breaking its back, Brian O’Connor reports on a Grand National two-in-a-row for I Am Maximus who now has a chance of emulating Red Rum’s hat-trick.
TV Watch: At 8pm this evening, TG4 have the highlights from the GAA weekend, and at the same time Manchester United play their first game in 24 days - 24! - when they host their good pals Leeds at Old Trafford (Sky Sports Premier League).
