A round-up of today's other stories in brief
Irish rugby exodus on the increase
NEW ZEALAND and Australia are market leaders when it comes to inadvertently supplying significant playing numbers globally to the sport of rugby union. The domestic professional franchises can not satisfy the demands of those looking to pursue rugby as a career. This particular cadre is separate from the Super 14 and Test players who travel to Europe and the Far East for an appreciable financial reward alongside lifestyle issues.
Ireland does not export rugby playing in anything remotely close to the Antipodean numbers but the figure is growing on the evidence of recent years. There are roughly 45 Irish players at clubs in England, based on the numbers plying their trade in the Premiership (18) and English Championship (27).
It is a figure likely to grow in the coming years, simply on the basis of supply and demand that pertains to the professional wing of rugby in Ireland. There are approximately 53 players in total in the provincial academies of Leinster, Munster and Ulster.
Ignoring the sub-academies and those who don’t make it through the three-year course for the moment, there aren’t enough professional contracts available in Leinster, Munster, Ulster and Connacht during that three-year cycle to satisfy academy graduates. Those young players who are determined to play the sport professionally may have to look outside the country for a livelihood.
It should also be noted there is a significant number of players who don’t make the academy cut that are eminently capable of playing the sport at a high level. Geordan Murphy was handed a two-week trial at the Leicester Tigers and is now rightly regarded as a legend at Welford Road.
He also arranged for Johne Murphy to undergo a similar process and he too acquitted himself very capably at Leicester before signing with Munster during the summer.
Others have travelled across the Irish Sea following provincial and occasionally international recognition. Bob Casey (London Irish), Roger Wilson (Northampton), James Downey (Northampton) and Jeremy Staunton (Leicester) fall into that category.
The Irish sextet at the newly-promoted Exeter Chiefs, spearheaded by club captain Tom Hayes and points-scoring phenomenon and outhalf Gareth Steenson, demonstrate the conventional route is not the only way of making an impact in the upper echelons.
Ambition and resolution will be important mental characteristics for young Irish players who want to play professional rugby.
Missing out on life in an Ireland-based academy or a failure to win a provincial development or senior contract does not preclude someone from a career in the sport: operating in the comfort zone does though.
Academies should be starting points not milestones.
For those who have been hothoused in a provincial system from their schooldays, it can be difficult to cut the apron strings, leaving family and friends behind and travelling to an environment where a playing CV gets a player in the door but no further. It can also be difficult for a young man bestowed with a privileged status in the eyes of others to remain grounded.
As the Magners League has already shown this season some academy players require a maturing process that has everything to do with rugby and nothing with age. They’ll get their chance in this World Cup year and that’s all that’ll be guaranteed.
The IRFU shouldn’t be unduly concerned about the increase in numbers travelling abroad to fulfil their desire to play rugby. Irish players operating at an elite level in the professional game shouldn’t be constrained by a national boundary. To do so would be blinkered in the extreme.
Punter relieved Ronnie put away the black
THE MORAL issue of Ronnie O’Sullivan’s quasi-protest in initially refusing to pot a final black – referee Jan Verhaas persuaded him to complete the frame – and therefore make a maximum break of 147 in a match with Mark King during the week may be debated at length on a theoretical level but there was a practical side-effect.
O’Sullivan asked Verhaas how much the top break in the World Open was worth after reaching 140, with the black left on the table. He was told £4,000 (€4,675). He then went to shake King’s hand before the referee prevailed upon him to complete the break. O’Sullivan complied and later explained his gesture was a reaction to the paltry nature of the reward for a maximum break.
Watching on television from his Bolton home was an apoplectic Ashley Whiting, who had put £250 (€292) on O’Sullivan at odds of 20 to 1 to rack up a 147 at the World Open. The 28-year-old punter stood to win £5,000 (€5,845), ironically more than the player would receive.
Ladbrokes confirmed the bet while a relieved Whiting admitted: “I have never been so tense in my life.” Aside from the gambling docudrama it perhaps highlights the greater proficiency of this generation of players over past cuemen. At one point a maximum in snooker was worth £147,000 (€171,855) but as World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn pointed out they can not afford the insurance premium against such an eventuality any more as it has become too commonplace. “You can’t insure against it anymore because these guys are too good.”
It’s not just the sport of snooker but another, darts, that has slashed remuneration for perfection in a leg. In 2002 Phil Taylor received £100,000 (€117,000) for the first televised nine-dart finish on British television. Next month at the CityWest Hotel in Dublin during the World Grand Prix anybody who repeats that feat will be rewarded with £5,000 (€5,845).
It appears insurance companies are in no doubt the current generation of snooker players and their darts brethren are more accomplished than previous generations.
Monty piles pressure on Padraig
AT THIS point Pádraig Harrington must wish he could fast forward to the start of the Ryder Cup next Friday due to the conjecture and comment surrounding his selection as one of the wild cards for the European team.
Given that most people in the media and sundry golfers have offered an opinion on the merit of his selection he could probably do without any further comment however well meaning. However, European captain Colin Montgomerie’s words this week see Harrington return to the print limelight.
The Scot enthused: “This time I think that we will see Pádraig step forward.
“He has been given this wild-card choice and one of the reasons we did this was to make sure he did step up to the plate and to give him that vote of confidence to say: ‘Right, this is your time, mate. You come forward and lead this team on the course.’
“I am looking to him and Lee Westwood to do this. Westwood has played in six Ryder Cups and Pádraig has played in five, so I think it’s time they both stepped up to the plate.”
Although he doesn’t read newspapers, his life may be more clearly defined when theorising is replaced simply by how well he hits the little white ball for three days.
Thirty seconds that sum up Taylor
KATIE TAYLOR’S enduring brilliance in boxing saw her claim a third world title, the most significant moment of which was her victory against Queen Underwood in the semi-final. She had twice beaten her American opponent in 2009, convincingly on points and on the other occasion stopping Underwood.
When Taylor raced into a 10-1 lead the script looked like following a familiar plot but the American produced a staggering rally and at one stage in the final round led by a point, 16-15. The Irish girl was struggling to fend off a fierce onslaught and had lost her rhythm.
Previous achievements count for very little in those circumstances. Taylor showed character and courage to haul herself back from the precipice of defeat and those final 30 seconds defined her talent and qualities as much as any technical excellence that has seen her win 100 amateur bouts and dominate the lightweight division.
The great sportsmen and women occasionally endure a bad day at the office without a scintilla of blame being attached.
Taylor would have been similarly excused on that particular night but instead found the resolve and wherewithal to manufacture one of her greatest victories.
It's not always what's said but how it's said
IN THE week Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh effectively retired from broadcasting following this year’s All-Ireland football final – he will take the microphone for the upcoming International Rules matches between Ireland and Australia – it raises the question about what distinguishes great commentary from the mundane.
Many commentators make the mistake of trying to ape a peer in terms of style but discover, like Icarus, the perils of flying too close to the sun and perishing in comparison. Style over substance can not suffice as single entities. They prosper in marriage.
A genuine interest in people and love of the sport immediately resonates through a commentary. But a commentator has one other priceless asset: a vocabulary.
The ability to avoid clichés and refrain from sharing stock phrases to describe set-pieces is priceless.
Most broadcasters prepare factual minutiae for every match but unlike those who use statistics much like a lamppost, to lean on rather than illuminate, a great commentator manages to employ them in a less jarring fashion and sparingly. It’s not about displaying aurally a lavishly filled homework copy to the listenership.
Great commentators have the gift of timing but sometimes it can come down to sheer luck in terms of circumstance. They key is to grasp the opportunity. One from childhood memory involved the late Bill McLaren, who enthused during an international between Wales and New Zealand in 1980: “It’s a try by Hika the hooker from Ngongotaha,” an onomatopoeic homily to a try from All Black hooker Hika Reid. The New Zealander later went on to coach London Irish, famously instigating a punishment for the worst trainer at a practice having to don a pink tutu.
Below is an example of a commentator calling it wrong but in the end getting it right while the other is simply genuinely clever for those old enough to remember the gravy advertisement.
“Suddenly Ali looks very tired indeed, in fact, Ali, at times now, looks as though he can barely lift his arms up . . . Oh he’s got him with a right hand. He’s got him. Oh, you can’t believe it. And I don’t think Foreman’s going to get up. He’s trying to beat the count. And he’s out. Oh my God, he’s won the title back at 32. Muhammad Ali.”
– Harry Carpenter describing Ali’s win over George Foreman in Oct 1974.
“Bristow reasons, Bristow quickens. Ah, Bristow.”
– The bard of the oche, Sid Waddell.
