Rugby: At last night's IRFU a.g.m., Terenure College's Eddie Coleman was confirmed as the new president of the union, succeeding Billy Lavery, writes John O'Sullivan. The senior vice-president is Roy Loughead with Connacht's Don Crowley elected junior vice-president.
The IRFU showed an operating profit in excess of £7 million from an income of £17,722,930. Almost half of this can be attributed to the £3.5 million they received from their share of the 1999 World Cup. The cost of the running the national team in terms of players' contracts and management increased by £1 million to £7.1 million.
The IRFU received £379,151 in television fees and their relationship with the Football Association of Ireland netted £432,000. The union's net assets are now £28,742,086. They spent over £3.5 million on the development of players during the season.
Sailing: At Wicklow Sailing Club yesterday, the 26-boat fleet competing in the biennial Round Ireland Race crossed the finishing line after six days at sea. First home to take line honours was British Swan 60-footer Fenix. However, the true winner on IRC Handicap was George Radley's Imp from Kinsale ahead of George McConnell's Galliver.
Gaelic Football: Derry make three changes in personnel for tomorrow's replay with Antrim at Casement Park. David O'Neill, who is unwell, is replaced by Eamonn Burns in an indirect switch which sees Niall MacOscair drop back to corner back. Seamus Downey returns at the expense of Ronan Rocks and Eoin McCloskey returns after a two-month suspension for comments made to referee Michael Curley after the drawn League final in May.
Derry (SF v Antrim): E McCloskey; K McKeever, SM Lockhart, N MacOscair; G Coleman, H Downey, P McFlynn; A Tohill, D Heaney; E Burns, D Dougan, S Downey; P Bradley, E Muldoon, J McBride.
Equestrian Sport: Heike Holstein will, after all, be making the trip to the Sydney Olympics following news yesterday that a vacancy has occurred in the dressage discipline, just 48 hours after Ireland's two show jumpers, Peter Charles and Jessica Kurten were officially withdrawn from the Games.
"I was on tenterhooks," the 28-year-old Kildare rider (28), said yesterday, "because I knew I had to wait for one person to pull out and now they have." Holstein, who finished 26th individually in Atlanta and 23rd in last year's European championships, will be riding ride the 10-year-old Danish-bred mare Ballaseyr Royale, which qualified for the Games on her Grand Prix debut on the Spanish Sunshine Tour in the spring.
