Subscriber OnlySport

Agonisingly slim margins for Munster; Manchester City fall short of greatness

The Morning Sports Briefing: Keep ahead of the game with ‘The Irish Times’ sports team

Ben Healy of Munster is consoled by Niall Scannell. Photograph: Alex Davidson/Getty

Mon May 9 2022 - 07:21

A big weekend of European Champions Cup rugby saw Leinster progress to the semi-finals and Munster come up agonisingly short, losing in a rare penalty kick contest after they were level with Toulouse. The defending champions Toulouse will now face their third Irish opponent in a row after seeing off Ulster and Munster when they take on Leinster in the Aviva next Saturday.

Toulouse will be hoping for a less tense day than Saturday at the Aviva, when agonisingly slim margins for Munster meant they came up short. Niall Scannell says they must park those regrets for now, and focus on the URC. The Munster result had shown again, writes Mary Hannigan, that sport can be diabolically cruel.

A quick turnaround means Leinster will just have five days to fill the Aviva the best they can. Leinster showed all their experience to keep Leicester Tigers at bay, as Dan Sheehan says the Leicester win provided Leinster with "half the blueprint" for how to beat Toulouse.

In today's Subscriber Only piece, Ken Early looks at Manchester City's dramatic exit in the Champions League semi-final to Real Madrid, which will ultimately define their season, despite moving closer to a Premier League title this weekend. Early says City can't be regarded as a great team until they conquer Europe: "What separates the great sides from the very good ones is the ability to perform when the pressure is greatest." Also in Subscriber Only is Part V of the Saipan chronicles, 20 years on, this time looking at the aftermath and the World Cup that followed, as Gavin Cummiskey talks to all the key actors.

READ MORE

It was another high finish for Rory McIlroy in his return to golf after the Masters, following up his second place at Augusta with a fifth place at the Wells Fargo Championship on the PGA Tour. Again the Northern Irishman was left ruing what might have been, but he is in fine form heading into the second Major of the season, the PGA Championship, in two weeks time. Meanwhile, Max Verstappen survived a late onslaught from Charles Leclerc to win Formula One's inaugural Miami Grand Prix. The world champion started third, but raced past Carlos Sainz at the opening bend before taking Leclerc in the other Ferrari on lap nine.

In the GAA championship, there were wins for the favourites as Donegal against Cavan, Galway against Leitrim and Kerry against Cork, although the scorelines flattered both Kerry and Donegal, with Donegal's through fortuitous goals. Limerick were in trouble against Tipperary for long periods of their Munster championship match-up but the champions showed their class, finding an extra gear to end Tipp's summer hopes.

The gap between the elite and the rest was shown clearly in Salthill, but Malachy Clerkin writes that it is easy to snipe from the sidelines about players putting themselves on the line for public judgment in intercounty football. In the Tipping Point column, he writes: "Only in the GAA would it not seem odd for someone playing in the lower orders of the game to openly sneer at a team toiling in its biggest competition."

LATEST STORIES