If last week felt like a never-ending one for Irish football, this week could prove to be the longest yet. Gavin Cooney reports on the latest state of affairs in the Irish camp, the squad set to decide on whether to play their game against Israel in Serbia next Sunday after Thursday evening’s meeting with Austria in Dublin. Much could depend on the reaction of the crowd in the Aviva Stadium, Heimir Hallgrímsson admitting that he is worried about what kind of atmosphere his players will face.
“We are all uncomfortable,” Gavin Cummiskey heard the head coach say. ”We have different opinions and we should allow people to have different opinions. But it is tough. It is just like politics where some parties just can’t work together.”
The fallout from last Sunday’s game has hardly eased matters, the FAI reviewing footage of alleged racist chants from Israel fans towards Adam Idah. And Israel captain Manor Solomon lashed out at the Irish players. “Obviously, they hate us. We don’t like them. We have a country 10 times better than theirs.”
It wasn’t a great weekend either for Irish rugby, but purely in terms of URC results. As Gerry Thornley reminds us, it was the first time since 2009 that all four sides lost on the opening round of the season. The absence of “pretty much all of Ireland’s summer tourists” was, need it be said, a mitigating factor.
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Leinster did at least take bonus points from their narrow defeat by the Lions, Michael Scully hearing from Tyler Bleyendaal about the plan to place a greater emphasis on their attack this season. And Connacht, who lost 29-15 to the Stormers, should be boosted by the return of some of their seven-strong Irish contingent for Friday’s game away to Benetton.
In Gaelic games, Gordon Manning talks to Derek ‘Fresh’ O’Connell after he helped his club win the Laois intermediate football title last Saturday - at the age of fifty-four. His secret? “Eat cornflakes after your dinner and don’t train too hard!” Noted.
Gordon also has word on the list of nominees for the 2026 Camogie All-Stars, champions Cork with 14 of the 36 contenders, as well as two of three players on the shortlist for the player of the year award.
In his Different Strokes column, Philip Reid has the latest golf news from around the globe, including the women’s game being hit by its PIF Global Series reducing from five tournaments to just one next year.
An in racing, Aidan O’Brien is keeping a close eye on the weather forecast for Paris on Sunday, his plans for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe “up in the air”. “Original expectations for an unusually quick ground are now being tempered with conflicting forecasts for the days ahead,” Brian O’Connor reports.
TV Watch: Football’s Nations League continues apace, among your viewing options this evening Scotland v Switzerland (BBC 2) and the Czech Republic v England (Virgin Media Two and UTV), both at 7.45pm.
