After mixed fortunes in the URC at the weekend, Leinster and Ulster now have their sights firmly fixed on their European finals, Ulster up first in the Challenge Cup against Montpellier on Friday, before Leinster go in search of that elusive fifth star against Bordeaux Bègles in Saturday’s Champions Cup final. Do you rest your frontliners ahead of games of that significance, or do you keep playing them so they reman finely-tuned? As Gerry Thornley says of Leo Cullen: “Damned either way.”
What impresses Robin McBryde most about Bordeaux? “Where do I start,” John O’Sullivan heard him reply, the Leinster assistant coach singing the praises of the reigning champions. Little wonder, then, that there’s been a edge to Leinster’s training this week, with a few “solid shoulders” and “rib ticklers” thrown in.
Ulster, meanwhile, have been boosted by the potential return of Rob Baloucoune from an elbow injury in time for their final, Michael Sadlier hearing from head coach Richie Murphy as they look to end their season on a high.
No action will be taken against Lions flanker Sibabalwe Mahashe for that alleged spitting incident in their URC game against Munster at the weekend, the video footage proving inconclusive. For Owen Doyle, spitting is as bad as biting or eye gouging - “it brings the game into total disrepute, tossing the sport into the nearest available sewer”.
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Westmeath and Armagh’s footballers and Clare, Dublin and Offaly’s hurlers all feature in ‘Five things we learned from the GAA weekend’, while Seán Moran writes about how “the intermittent lure of the provincial championships broke through again”, not least with Westmeath’s Leinster triumph.
Sam McCartan, who had a stormer for Westmeath on Sunday, talks to Paul Keane about his county’s special day, and the memorable homecoming that followed.
An unforgettable Sunday it was too for Armagh, their win over Monaghan earning them their first Ulster football title since 2008. An impressed Stephen Rochford was left in no doubt: they are “genuine All-Ireland contenders”.
In golf, the chance for Rory McIlroy to become the first player to complete the Grand Slam in the same year has come and gone, Philip Reid hearing him and Shane Lowry reflect on their displays at the US PGA Championship.
Did McIlroy employ the wrong strategy at Aronimink? That’s one of the issues David Gorman looks at in his ‘What we learned from PGA Championship’ piece, while in his Different Strokes column, Philip notes that Pádraig Harrington’s top 20 finish was all the more impressive in light of him having broken his trusty old putter.
In football, Arsenal edged a step closer to the Premier League title with that nerve-jangling win over Burnley on Monday night, but the headlines were dominated by reports that Pep Guardiola will leave Manchester City at the end of the season. With six Premier League titles, three FA Cups, five League Cups and one Champions League since joining the club from Bayern Munich in 2016, he did moderately well.
And in racing, Brian O’Connor has word on a revitalised Godolphin team all set to take on Aidan O’Brien’s Ballydoyle crew at the Curragh this weekend.
TV Watch: Title-chasing and relegation-avoiding matters feature in tonight’s two Premier League games, Manchester City needing to win away to Bournemouth (Sky Sports Main Event, 7.30pm) to send the title race down to the final day, while a point for Spurs against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge would secure their Premier League place and send West Ham down (Sky Sports Premier League, 8.15pm). There will be highlights of both games on Match of the Day at 11pm (BBC 2).
