ireland.com - The Irish Times

Munster just refuse to let go
RUGBY: Munster being the drama kings they are, it was almost ordained to come down to a death-or-glory, win-or-bust climax against the reigning champions from England, Lawrence Dallaglio et al, in a Saturday tea-time clash under floodlights at the coliseum, otherwise known as Thomond Park. Munster don't do damp squibs. p

Richardson gives Keane some hope
SOCCER/Sunderland 2 Portsmouth 0: Perhaps this was an omen. Harry Redknapp ventured within 15 miles of Tyneside, and his team fell apart. Keep away, Harry, keep well away. p

Soccer

Jaded Arsenal pay a dear price
Arsenal 1 Birmingham City 1: Arsenal took their eye off the ball here and it cost them the leadership of the Premier League. The failure of Arsene Wenger's attack to break down a solid, disciplined Birmingham City defence was punished by Gary O'Connor's header just after half-time, which answered Emmanuel Adebayor's penalty midway through the first half, and was subsequently compounded by Manchester United's six-goal demolition of Newcastle. p
Newcastle raise the white flag
Manchester Utd 6 Newcastle Utd 0: As humiliations go, Alex Ferguson's men have dealt out worse beatings in their time but perhaps never one with such brutal, methodical ruthlessness and a more callous sense of timing. p
Resilient Chelsea sticking to their task
Chelsea 2 Tottenham 0: Tottenham are not unfamiliar with slinking away from Stamford Bridge beaten and bowed and the search for positives has often taken in straws and clutching. Yet in the aftermath of Saturday's reverse there was a silver lining in Ledley King's continued progress towards form and fitness. p
Liverpool lose ground as Torres rescues fortunate point
Middlesbrough 1 Liverpool 1: Rafael Benitez has, temporarily at least, given up looking at the table, and on this evidence Gareth Southgate must have convinced his players to do the same. Middlesbrough continue to punch above their weight against the Premier League elite but at present Liverpool - haemorrhaging further points - barely merit that description. p
Everton take cultural stance and go retro
Everton 1 Manchester City 0: Everton took their cue from the city's celebrations. With Ringo Starr presented as the cutting edge of Liverpool's launch as Culture Capital of Europe they turned in a retro performance in keeping. Manchester City obliged with no cutting edge at all. p
Roberts frustrates Megson
Bolton Wanderers 1 Blackburn Rovers 2: There was a clenched fist when Jason Roberts scored a 90th-minute winner followed by a wave to the travelling supporters moments later, but Mark Hughes had no intention of spelling out his long-term commitment to Blackburn Rovers yesterday. p
A fickle lot those demanding supporters
On The Premier League: Funny thing, reinvention. When pop singers or film stars display a chameleonic streak, it is hailed as proof of their creative genius. p
Italian Serie A
Inter Milan maintained their seven-point lead at the top of Serie A after Zlatan Ibrahimovic's double helped the champions to a 3-2 win at Siena yesterday. p
Spanish La Liga
Leaders Real Madrid needed two late goals from Ruud van Nistelrooy to beat basement club Levante 2-0 away in the Primera Liga last night. p
Scottish FA Cup
The Old Firm derby has been postponed for a second time, after Rangers' fourth round clash against East Stirling fell victim to the weather yesterday. p
Planet Football
A roundup of today's others stories in brief p

Rugby

Win puts slip-ups in context
Pool six/Leinster 20 Toulouse 13: Leinster's victory at the RDS inspired a little post-match introspection on the part of the hosts, inclined briefly to dwell on the losses at Murrayfield and on an earlier visit to France in the present Heineken European Cup campaign. Winning on Saturday did not exorcise those ghosts; rather it conjured them up again. p
Cheika left with mixed emotions
Michael Cheika bore the rueful expression of a man struggling with his emotions in the aftermath of a fine Leinster victory at the RDS. The Leinster coach confessed his immediate reaction to the win was one of confusion. He knew he should have been happy after a reasonably accomplished Leinster performance, one he would go on to describe as their best of the season. p
Munster defy odds to snaffle bonus
Clermont Auvergne 26 Munster 19: As defeats go, not the worst. Munster not only got out of jail yesterday but somehow emerged from the furnace that was the Parc des Sports Michelin with a bonus point. They spent large tranches of this game on the back foot, seeking to repel a potent, fired-up Clermont side intent on inflicting the utmost damage, and many a side would have buckled, but Munster dug into their bottomless well of spirit to earn a point that leaves them just about with their heads highest above water in the shark-infested Pool Five. p
Kidney bemoans 'first 32 minutes'
Pool Five/Clermont Auvergne v Munster: A point here or a point there, denying opponents a point here or there; every little point had the potential to have massive repercussions in this earth-shuddering group. p
Connacht cruise to bonus-point victory
European Challenge Cup/Cetransa El Salvador 0 Connacht 60: Connacht cruised to the necessary bonus-point victory over Cetransa El Salvador yesterday, taking no risks of a slip-up in their challenge for European qualification. p
Wasps get in scoring practice
European Cup/Wasps 40 Llanelli Scarlets 7: Wasps got their cup campaign back on track yesterday but if they are to maintain their defence of the trophy they will have to beat Munster next Saturday. Yesterday's routine victory over a depleted Scarlets was no sort of rehearsal for the frenzied atmosphere Limerick will serve up but there is no better side at confronting the demands of a threatening occasion than Wasps. p
O'Connell to miss early Six Nations matches
As expected, the Munster and Ireland secondrow Paul O'Connell has been ruled out of the initial stages of the Six Nations Championship and will not be included in the Irish squad to be announced tomorrow. p
De Villiers' appointment criticised by Krige
Former South Africa captain Corne Krige has predicted "seven lean years" ahead for the Springboks after the appointment of Peter de Villiers as national team coach. p
Edinburgh and Robinson rebuild reputation
Edinburgh 17 Leicester 12: Andy Robinson moved to Edinburgh in the autumn to rebuild his reputation. Marcelo Loffreda, in contrast, arrived in England two months ago after eight years in charge of Argentina, during which time he had lifted the Pumas to third in the IRB rankings and the World Cup semi-finals. A 39-0 defeat of Edinburgh in his first real Heineken European Cup match in charge represented a promising start for the shrewd Argentinian. p
Shannon on course for treble after defeating Constitution
All-Ireland League Round-up: Shannon returned to the top of the AIB All-Ireland League on Saturday by beating their main rivals, Cork Constitution, 3-0 at Annacotty in a match heavily influenced by ferocious wind and rain. p
Planet Rugby
Today's other stories in brief p

Gaelic Games

UCC no match for Tipperary
Tipperary 1-17 UCC 1-5: Tipperary's first competitive outing under new manager Liam Sheedy proved successful as they dismissed a tame UCC challenge in a one-sided Waterford Crystal Cup clash at Nenagh yesterday. p
Longford again take little step forward
O'Byrne Cup SF/Longford 0-14 Meath 1-6: Even within the strict limitations of the O'Byrne Cup, two wins on the trot - over Kildare in Newbridge and now Meath in Navan - can't be entirely dismissed, and the future of Longford football surely appears a little brighter, at least compared to a fortnight ago. p
Offaly taught a lesson by lively students
DCU 0-15 Offaly 1-7: Offaly made an undignified exit from the O'Byrne Cup in front of their own supporters, who were few in numbers, when losing their quarter-final against Dublin City University at O'Connor Park, Tullamore, yesterday. p
Monaghan back in business
Monaghan 1-12 Antrim 0-7: Monaghan recorded their first victory of 2008 when they proved too strong for Antrim in this entertaining Dr McKenna Cup game in Ballybay yesterday. p
Dublin have an easy passage
Dublin 1-16 Westmeath 1-6: Dublin had only to play for 35 minutes to dismantle an inexperienced Westmeath team and put this O'Byrne Cup quarter-final tie to bed at a rain-drenched Parnell Park on Saturday night. p
Donegal do just enough
Dr McKenna Cup SF/Donegal 0-12 Tyrone 0-11: A good second-half performance from Donegal saw them overcome Tyrone at Fr Tierney Park, Ballyshannon yesterday. p
Roscommon unable to build on good start
NUIG 0-16 Roscommon 1-7: Roscommon fell to their second defeat in the FBD Connacht League when they went down to an impressive NUI Galway side at Dangan yesterday. p
Duignan disputes sending off
Connacht League SF/Galway 0-13 Leitrim 1-9: Leitrim midfielder Michael Duignan has formally requested Leitrim County Board to investigate the circumstances surrounding his dismissal by referee Declan Corcoran in the eighth minute of the second half of this controversial Connacht FBD League game which Galway won at Páirc Seán Mhic Diarmada Carrick-on-Shannon. p
Derry show their superiority
Derry 0-13 Fermanagh 0-8: Derry booked a place in the semi-finals of the Dr McKenna Cup with a comfortable win over Fermanagh at Watty Graham Park, Maghera, yesterday afternoon. p
Armagh manage to avoid loss
Armagh 2-7 St Mary's 1-10: Armagh have completed their Dr McKenna Cup campaign without chalking up a victory after they drew with St Mary's College in Lurgan yesterday. p
Canning in clinical form
Munster Cup SH/Limerick IT 3-12 Clare 0-11: A Davy Fitzgerald-trained Limerick Institute of Technology easily dismissed the goalkeeper's home county Clare in the quarter-final of the Munster Waterford Crystal Cup at Meelick yesterday with a slick hurling display that was spearheaded by Galway man Joe Canning, who scored 1-7 of his side's tally over the hour. p

Golf

Domestic players are coming up just short
Philip Reid wonders why there are not more Irish players featuring in the world's top 100 p
Sterne best in play-off
European Tour: Richard Sterne came through a three-man play-off with Garth Mulroy and Magnus Carlsson to win the co-sanctioned Europen/Sunshine Tour Johannesburg Open at the second extra hole yesterday. p
Choi on target for seventh title
US Tour: South Korea's KJ Choi, urged on by his fans, closed in on a seventh PGA Tour victory by forging four shots clear in the third round at the Sony Open in Honolulu on Saturday. p

Racing

McCoy may befit for festival
Tony McCoy is hoping to be fit for the Cheltenham Festival despite suffering a back injury in a fall at Warwick on Saturday. p
Barrett hits the jackpot with Barker
Leopardstown report: A chance meeting at the 2006 Easter festival at Fairyhouse was the initial spark that powered Barker and Timmy Murphy to a resounding Pierse Hurdle victory at Leopardstown yesterday. p

Other

Focus falls on Fingal
HOCKEY: Fingal's win over Corinthians, which puts them into fourth place on the Leinster League table, could be the main theatre of interest as the league unfolds this season. p
Ireland have work to do
HOCKEY: Ireland lost the first two games of their South African tour over the weekend, going down 4-0 to their hosts on Saturday before suffering a 3-1 defeat at the hands of the Netherlands' under-21 side yesterday. p
Tigers have a late bite
BASKETBALL/Superleague Cup, Semi-finals: Defending Superleague Cup champions, the Tralee Tigers, looked spent. Their prized, home-grown assets Kieran Donaghy and Michael Quirke only returned last week from a trip to Hawaii and California with the Kerry footballers and despite Quirke's natural rebounding ability, the duo's impact was minimum as UCD Marian raced into a 40-32 interval lead. p
No let-up since rounding the Cape
SAILING: Damian Foxall is co-skipper with Jean-Pierre Dick on Paprec-Virbac in the two-handed, non-stop Barcelona World Race. As they start thinking of home they find their lead cut to 850 miles. p
Smith lauds Pollock after victory
CRICKET/Test match Scoreboard: Captain Graeme Smith paid tribute to retiring all-rounder Shaun Pollock after South Africa wrapped a 2-1 Test series victory against West Indies in Durban on Saturday. p
Do The Trick supporters should have followed fella at Red Cow roundabout
TV View: Naturally enough - and we don't mean to sound glib about this - we have many contacts in the sporting world and, consequently, are privy to utterly reliable inside information, so reliable that we have, at various stages, bet substantial one-figure sums on . . . Paul Jewell, Terry Venables, Graeme Souness, Gerard Houllier, Liam Brady, John Giles, Roy Hodgson, Philippe Troussier, Howard Kendall, Arie Haan, David O'Leary, Kenny Dalglish, John Aldridge, Billy Davies, Martin Jol, Jose Mourinho, Fabio Capello, Marcello Lippi, Slaven Bilic, Brian Kerr, Kevin Keegan and Mick McCarthy . . . getting the Irish job. Which, we're beginning to sense, means Sam Allardyce is a racing certainty. p
Marion the ultimate five-ring trickster
Locker Room: In America in the summer of 2000 Marion Jones was everywhere. Selling things to us, things like milk and sneakers and Mom's apple pie. Selling herself and her looks and her impish charm. Selling the Drive for Five. Saving athletics. Selling athletics. Asking us to reconsider the boundaries of athletic possibility. She had a smile that threatened to make defibrillators redundant and a style that was all Hollywood. p
Proper lands national indoor long jump record
ATHLETICS : Kelly Proper's national indoor long jump record was the highlight of yesterday's AAI Indoor Games in Nenagh. The Waterford athlete cleared 6.25 metres, improving her mark of 6.21, having also jumped 6.20 in an earlier efforts, writes Ian O'Riordan . p

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