ireland.com - The Irish Times

Leinster set fair to take title in style
RUGBY/Leinster v NG Dragons: PRIVATELY, Leinster won't be too disappointed Connacht didn't shove them over the Magners League finishing line last night by beating Cardiff, whose bonus-point win keeps the title mathematically alive and ensures this evening's expected coronation will not be an anti-climax. It is now perfectly primed for the boys in blue. p

IRFU hopeful about Kidney
RUGBY: THE IRFU remain confident Declan Kidney will agree to become the next Ireland head coach and it will be possible to confirm the appointment early next week. It is believed Kidney has been offered the post and the unexpected delay is because he has yet to sign on the dotted line. p

United dismiss 'mind games'
SOCCER/Manchester Utd V West Ham Utd: ALEX FERGUSON has suggested the Chelsea manager, Avram Grant, is resorting to desperate measures in an effort to influence the outcome of the Premier League title race following his criticisms of the West Ham manager, Alan Curbishley. p

Maverick between Cross and hard place
GAELIC GAMES/PROFILE OF MAYO'S CIARAN McDONALD: If the Crossmolina man's days in the red and green prove to be really over, the game itself will be the biggest loser, writes Keith Duggan p

Soccer

Sunderland fans want Keane to see smaller picture
A YEAR ON THE WEAR: Defeat to their arch-rivals Newcastle two weeks ago is a cause of a lot of introspection for Sunderland supporters, writes Michael Walker p
Derby date with an added twist gives bitter Milan rivalry that extra bite
ITALIAN SERIE A: Tomorrow is "Judgment Day" in Serie A as Milan rivals look to scupper each other's celebrations at a crucial stage of the season, writes Paddy Agnew p
Unpredictable right to the finish
ENGLISH CHAMPIONSHIP: NO ONE can accuse the English Football League of being boring. This weekend brings the final round of fixtures, with a remarkable 22 of the 72 clubs unsure which division they will be in next season. Thirteen Championship clubs and nine League One sides are either chasing promotion or fighting relegation. p
Strachan salutes Rangers
SCOTTISH PREMIER LEAGUE: CELTIC MANAGER Gordon Strachan has saluted his Old Firm counterpart Walter Smith for guiding Rangers to the Uefa Cup final. Ranger reached their first European final in 36 years with a dramatic penalty shoot-out win over Fiorentina in Florence on Thursday night, and will face Dick Advocaat's Zenit St Petersburg at the City of Manchester Stadium on May 14th. p
Satelle confident
UEFA UNDER-17 CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS: DARRAGH SATELLE will hope to lead Ireland's attack as Seán McCaffrey's side begin their challenge against France in Antalya tomorrow (2pm, live on Eurosport 2) - the first time since 2000 that an Irish side will kick a ball at these finals. p
Liverpool make a move for Barry
ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE: MARTIN O'NEILL faces a major test of his powers of persuasion after he confirmed Liverpool have made an offer for Gareth Barry, the England international he has sought to build a team around. p
Grant happy to be still in chase
AVRAM GRANT, who saw Liverpool finally wilt under pressure as Chelsea battled to the European Cup final in midweek, hopes his other great rivals will do the same over the next two games. p
Deja Vu for Gold as relegation looms
IT HAS not escaped David Gold's attention that Birmingham City could be relegated at Craven Cottage this afternoon, two days before he is due to give a speech at the club's end-of-season dinner. p
Thaksin's Eastlands panto has an all too familiar script
AS A former prime minister of Thailand and a billionaire businessman to boot, Thaksin Shinawatra, the owner of Manchester City, can be assumed to be a man of the world. p
Brennan rescues point for Bohemians
UCD 1 Bohemians 1: A Killian Brennan penalty with 12 minutes to go rescued a share of the spoils for Bohemians but it was a disappointing night for Pat Fenlon's men as they failed to close the gap on leaders St Patrick's Athletic. p
Kenna earns first point
Derry City 0 Galway United 0: JEFF KENNA earned his first league point with a deserved draw at the Brandywell last night. p
Rowe stretches Bray's run
Bray Wanderers 1 Cobh Ramblers 0: GERARD ROWE'S superb headed goal stretched Bray's unbeaten run to five games, and a points haul of 13, to move Eddie Gormley's side up to fifth place in the table. p
Champions edge past Finn Harps
Drogheda Utd 1 Finn Harps 0: THREE POINTS for Drogheda,but they'll be disappointed they didn't find the net on a few more occasions against a struggling Finn Harps side.
p

Rugby

Laughing cavalier with real gravitas
Gerry Thornley talks to the ebullient Leinster prop on his life in rugby, his time in Ireland and his plans as he prepares to go home to South Africa p
Kidney in balancing act
MAGNERS LEAGUE PREVIEWS/Llanelli V Munster : MUNSTER ARE not about to cough up another Magners League match in the way they did on Wednesday at Ravenhill. Whatever about resting front-line players, Declan Kidney does not want to approach his Heineken Cup final duel with Toulouse in just over three weeks with a string of defeats behind him, albeit with the shadow side. p
Ulster out to complete mission
Ulster V Glasgow: WELL AFTER Ulster's winning match against Munster in Belfast in midweek, coach Matt Williams expressed significant frustration with his players. His side did not run the ball as they had planned; the lineout did not function and through Ryan Caldwell the team drew another yellow card against a Munster side that, according to Williams, "did not turn up on the night". p
Connacht outclassed as season peters out
MAGNERS LEAGUE/Connacht 11 Cardiff Blues 39: ANOTHER SEASON over for Connacht and another disappointing end. Their faint prospects of making the long-awaited Heineken Cup breakthrough died an ignominious death at the Galway Sporstground last night. p
Strong bonds built on adversity
EUROPEAN CUP/FOCUS ON TOULOUSE: Gerry Thornley hears from coach Guy Noves, who is setting his side up as vengeful carriers of the French Tricolore p
Lyons signs up with Llanelli
LLANELLI SCARLETS have announced the signing of Australian star David Lyons on a four-year contract. New South Wales Waratahs number eight Lyons has won 43 caps for Australia and played in two World Cup campaigns. Confirmation of his move to Stradey Park comes just two days after the Scarlets sacked their rugby director, Phil Davies. p

Gaelic Games

From 'copying soccer' to helping to set the agenda
FOCUS ON RTÉ'S THE SUNDAY GAME: Seán Moran talks to Jim Carney, the show's first presenter, about the origin of what is now the station's flagship Gaelic games programme p
Kerry should get it right
UNDER 21 FC FINAL: THE COUNTIES that won the first two titles at this grade come together in this evening's Cadbury under-21 All-Ireland football final but history has been divergent since. Kerry are seeking their 10th whereas Kildare haven't added to their success of 43 years ago. p

Golf

Everything falls nicely into place for Garrido
SPANISH OPEN: NOT MANY golfers hug their caddie halfway through an event, but for former Ryder Cup star Ignacio Garrido it was perfectly understandable. p
Kim takes the early lead
USPGA : Anthony Kim continued his emergence as a potential American Ryder Cup player when he took the clubhouse lead during the second round of the Wachovia Championship. p

Racing

New Approach set to go
ENGLISH 2,000 AND 1,000 GUINEAS PREVIEWS: JIM BOLGER reports no worries for New Approach as the red-hot favourite attempts to provide his trainer with a first victory in the stanjames.com 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket today. p
O'Brien happy with duo
AIDAN O'BRIEN, successful with Virginia Waters in 2005, saddles Kitty Matcham and Savethisdanceforme in tomorrow's stanjamesuk.com 1,000 Guineas at Newmarket. p
Cork treble for Murtagh
JOHNNY MURTAGH limbered up for the two-day Guineas meeting at Newmarket with a fine 370 to 1 treble at Cork, highlighted by the Listed success of Contest. p

Sport Other

Pouring cold water on the ice-bath theory
Players who have spent years purging themselves with these painful ice baths may well feel aggrieved at the news they don't help injuries after all, writes Keith Duggan p
Gearing up for a run is no longer such a simple process
ATHLETICS: In the olden days everyone was happy wearing small split-leg shorts, but no runner would be caught dead in those now . . . and so it is not so simple anymore to 'just do it', writes Ian O'Riordan p
Ireland look to Rampaul
CRICKET/INTERNATIONAL NEWS: THE LAST time Ireland took on Leicestershire at Grace Road, a tall, graceful opening batsman from Trinidad was making his debut for the county. On that occasion 14 years ago, Phil Simmons walked away with the man-of-the-match honours after hitting 64 as his side eased to a nine-wicket victory in the BH Cup tie. p
Sports digest
Today's other strories in brief p

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