Sports Digest

A round-up of today's other stories in brief

Celtic Cup good warm-up for Ireland

HOCKEY:The Ireland women's team build-up to the Champions Challenge in Dublin this month and August's European Championships in Germany takes them to Scotland this weekend for the Celtic Cup, writes Mary Hannigan.

Gene Muller's side play Wales tomorrow and the hosts on Sunday, before meeting Scotland again on Monday in what will be a capped international, although it will not form part of the tournament.

Scotland are one of the eight countries that form the line-up for the Champions Challenge (June 18-26), joining Japan, South Africa and the United States in Pool A. Ireland's Pool B opponents will be Spain, India and Azerbaijan.

IRISH SQUAD: C Sargent (Cork Harlequins), A Connery, E Gray, L Jacob, S McCarthy, A O'Flynn (all Hermes), L Colvin (HGC, Netherlands), E Clarke (Leicester), S McCay, P Smithwick (both Old Alexandra), M Harvey (Pegasus), A Speers (Railway Union, capt), J McDonnell, J O'Halloran, E Smyth (all Railway Union), H Bowe (Slough), M Crowley (UCC), C Watkins (UCD). Celtic Cup (at Largs, Scotland) - Today: Scotland v Wales, 7pm. Tomorrow: Ireland v Wales, 2pm. Sunday: Ireland v Scotland, 2pm.

Hill against Bahrain Grand Prix ahead of FIA decision

MOTOR SPORT: Formula One must decide today whether to satisfy Bahrain's rulers and reschedule the country's postponed grand prix or bow to the teams and human rights campaigners by keeping it off the calendar.

While many in Formula One have been reluctant to speak out about the situation, Britain's 1996 world champion Damon Hill said the sport had a chance to "show it cares about all people and their human rights.

"If Formula One agrees to race in Bahrain it will forever have the blight of association with repressive methods to achieve order," he said.

"The right thing to do, in my view, is to not race in Bahrain until these doubts have been removed."

The outcome of the FIA's world motor sport council meeting in Barcelona is far from clear-cut, however. Commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone has said he hopes the race, originally scheduled as the March 13th season-opener but postponed due to bloody unrest, will happen. Local organisers say they are ready.

Ecclestone, 80, and Bahrain's Sheikh Abdulla bin Isa al-Khalifa are both on what promises to be a difficult meeting of the 26-man motor sport council headed by president Jean Todt.

The biggest sticking point could be the calendar itself, rather than the risk of triggering outrage at the idea of racing in a country that has only just lifted emergency law after stifling pro-democracy protests.

It could also prove a useful face-saving device.

Simoncelli apologises for collision

MOTOR CYCLING: Italian MotoGP rider Marco Simoncelli apologised yesterday for a French Grand Prix collision that left Spaniard Dani Pedrosa nursing a broken collarbone and out of this weekend's Catalunya race.

The International Motorcycling Federation said in a statement the Honda Gresini rider had met officials at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya to discuss the May 15th Le Mans incident and his ride-through penalty there.

Simoncelli said after the race that any other rider would have escaped a penalty.

Simoncelli later said that he had made an error of judgment and stated that in future he would try to evaluate situations better and be a little more cautious. Simoncelli was criticised by rivals at Le Mans for his aggressive riding style.

Twomey up to third in world

EQUESTRIAN: Cork's Billy Twomey has reached a career high third in the FEI Rolex world jumping rankings, behind Canada's Olympic champion Eric Lamaze and Frenchman Kevin Staut, the European champion, writes Margie McLoone.

Denis Lynch is in fifth and yesterday afternoon won a Mercedes when landing the Grand Prix qualifier in Hamburg on Thomas Straumann's 13-year-old Lantinus, the Tipperary native over a second faster than Portugal's Luciana Diniz riding Winningmood.

Earlier in the day, Shane Breen won the first qualifier for Sunday's Derby with the Irish-bred KEC Alicante.

Ireland, leading the FEI Nations' Cup series, have been drawn fifth of the nine teams competing in today's third round in St Gallen and hopefully the senior squad can on yesterday's victory by the pony team in Wierden, the Netherlands.