Rowing: Good wins for the eights of Neptune in the Thames and NUIG and Queen's in the Temple Challenge Cup contributed to a generally good day for Irish crews on the first day of Henley Royal Regatta yesterday, writes Liam Gorman.
The win for Neptune was particularly impressive as it came against a selected (seeded) crew, Thames Tradesmen. The young Irish crew won by three lengths, the same margin Queen's had over London Rowing Club in the Temple, in which NUIG saw off University of Leicester.
The all-Irish clash in the Britannia for coxed fours resulted in a win for Garda B - actually their senior crew - over Neptune, but Garda's intermediates and Commercial made their exit.
Tribesmen ensured it was a good day for Galway with their win in the Wyfolds (coxless fours), but Northern schools CAI and Methody had sharply different fates in the Princess Elizabeth (schools' eights). The former moved smoothly through but the latter were well beaten.
Tennis: The Irish selectors have named a strong team for the Davis Cup relegation tie away to Monaco on July 20th to 22nd, writes Pat Roche. "We have never had such a highly-ranked team available at the one time," said non-playing captain Peter Wright.
Scott Barron, John Doran and Peter Clarke - all inside the ATP top 400 - are joined by Owen Casey. Conor Niland will also travel with the squad.
Golf: English professional Barry Lane, a former runner-up at the Smurfit European Open to Bernhard Langer, guided his amateur team-mates to victory in yesterday's Pro-Am at the K Club.
