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Irish 1-2 in $216,000 NetJets Grand Prix in Florida

Andrew Bourns and Sea Topblue won the $216,000 four-star NetJets Grand Prix in Florida. Credit: Sportfot.

Irish horses and riders dominated Saturday’s $216,000 four-star NetJets Grand Prix at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Florida.

Galway’s Andrew Bourns and The Irish Sport Horse Sea Topblue claimed the top prize while Louth’s Mark McAuley finished second aboard Jasco VD Bisschop.

From the 44 starters, 14 jumped clear to make it into the second round. The early pacesetter was Belgian Olympian Nicola Philippaerts and his own Moya VD Bisschop. They were second to go in the jump-off and set the time to beat at 39.25 seconds. The combination would eventually finish third, just ahead of Hector Florentino (DOM) in fourth with The Irish Sport Horse ABC Quantum Cruise.

Mark McAuley and Jasco VD Bisschop finish second

Nine horses after Philippaerts, WEF newcomer Mark McAuley and Jasco VD Bisschop, lowered the target time to 38.94 seconds.

“I didn’t really know what to expect,” McAuley admitted. “My horse was a bit tense and spooky when he went into the ring, a little bit overwhelmed, but he manned up quite well. I was quite proud of him actually.”

McAuley has ridden Jasco vd Bisschop since the horse was seven years old, and it has become his top horse. The pair represented Ireland in the 2021 European Championships.”

“He’s been my best horse for the last few years, the Louth man admitted, “obviously I’ll be aiming him now for the five-star here in a fortnight’s time.”

Louth’s Mark McAuley and Jasco VD Bisschop were second. Credit: Sportfot.

As the final entry in the jump-off, Bourns was able to squeak by his fellow Irishman and stop the timers in 38.76 seconds for a great win.

“I had a plan made for the jump-off and went in a little bit the mindset that I have a lot I still want to do with this horse this year so if it was fast enough, great, but I had a plan and was going to stick to it,” said Bourns of his jump-off ride.

It was a special win for Bourns on this horse that means so much to his family. The 11-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding by Chacco-blue has been with the Bourns since Andrew’s mother, the late Deirdre Bourns, bought him as a foal at an auction in Cavan.

The winner said with a smile, “This is probably his biggest win to date and one of mine too, so I’m pretty happy about that.”

Viktor Hovland wins Dubai Desert Classic

Viktor Hovland wins in Dubai. Credit: Getty Images.

Viktor Hovland won his first Rolex Series title as he completed a sensational finish with a play-off victory over Richard Bland at the 2022 Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic.

The Norwegian was barely in the picture when he missed a short putt and made a bogey on the 15th but he finished birdie-eagle-birdie to sign for a 66 and post the target at 12 under.

Bland joined him in the clubhouse with a birdie-birdie finish of his own in a 68, with two-time champion Rory McIlroy finding water on the last to fall out of the play-off.

Hovland made a two-putt birdie on the first trip back up the 18th and when Bland failed to get up and down after finding a tricky lie with his second, it was the 24-year-old who was left holding the Dallah trophy at Emirates Golf Club.

Rory McIlroy cards 71 on final day

Rory McIlroy signed for a 71 to finish at 11 under, three shots clear of South African pair Justin Harding and Erik van Rooyen, English duo Tyrrell Hatton and Sam Horsfield and Pole Adrian Meronk.

Hovland becomes the first Norwegian to win a Rolex Series event. He adds this title to his maiden DP World Tour victory at the 2021 BMW International Open.

“This is pretty wild,” admitted Hovland. “I didn’t really think this was possible going in today. I knew I had to shoot a really low number but a lot of things had to go my way and thankful that it did.

“I was fuming after the three-putt on 15 and thought that was it. I knew I just had to try to finish off well and get a nice position for the week. I rolled a really long one on 16, and then on 17, and hey, we got a shot.

“I’m pumping right now. It’s a little bit surreal, and it’s hard to kind of calm yourself a little bit but you’ve just got to rely on all the shots that you hit and just go back to what you know.”

Third win in five starts for Hovland

It is his third win in five starts after back-to-back victories in November and December at the World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba and Hero World Challenge, and could move him up to third in the Official World Golf Ranking.

“I have quite a lot to prove to be able to beat those guys (Jon Rahm and Collin Morikawa in the Official World Golf Ranking) but this is a good start and we’ll see what happens.

“I try not to over emphasise the Majors and the big tournaments. Obviously, these are the ones we want to play well in, but you know, this is a really cool week, great field, good course. I try to just prepare myself the best that I can for every single week.”

Irish athletes in record breaking form

Irish athletes have been in good form during the past week, with a number of them setting new records.

This weekend, Molly Scott equalled the national 60m indoor record, before breaking it hours later, at the IUAA Track & Field Intervarsity Championships.

The Carlow athlete ran 7.27 earlier in the day to become a joint holder of the record with Amy Foster.

The St. Laurence O’Toole’s sprinter later became outright holder of the record with a stunning time of 7.23 seconds. Scott burst from the blocks in her now trademark style and powered all the way to the line to claim top spot on the Irish all-time list.

Israel Olatunde from UCD AC provided a new Irish U23 60m Record of 6.64 at TUS International Arena in Athlone, only two weeks after breaking Paul Hession’s 10 year old record.

East Cavan Eagles AC’s Casey Mulvey  set a new Irish U20 indoor record of 15.30m in the Shot Put at the Notre Dame Invite last weekend.

Rhasidat Adeleke broke her own Irish U23 400m Indoor Record last Sunday, setting a new time of 52.61 seconds. Adeleke is now a podium part of the all-time Irish senior list behind Karen Shinkins (51.58) and Phil Healy (51.94).

Energia Men’s All-Ireland League Weekend Round-Up

Cork Constitution overcame Ballynahinch to climb back into the top four of Energia All-Ireland League Division 1A.A 77th-minute try from Munster’s Seán French sealed a 26-15 bonus point victory at Temple Hill, as Con got the better of the relegation-threatened Ulster side.‘Hinch broke the deadlock in the 35th minute, their South African winger Shane Ball crossing in the corner via passes from Paddy Wright and Greg Hutley.Con, who had number 8 David Hyland stretchered off, touched down through John Forde and Max Abbott either side of half-time.A nice move off a scrum had Con’s Greg Higgins raiding over in the 66th minute. French stretched over for the bonus point score, before a late rally from ‘Hinch.

Bonus Point Wins for Top 3

The top flight’s leading three clubs also recorded bonus point victories, the largest of them coming at Lakelands Park where in-form Terenure College hammered UCD 60-8.Terenure scored six first half tries – and nine in all – with their slick skills out wide creating scores for Colm de Buitléar, captain Stephen O’Neill and Craig Adams, who ran in his ninth of the campaign.Bottom side UCC put it up to Clontarf, with an excellent intercept try from Timothy Duggan, but the league leaders prevailed 26-13 at Castle Avenue.‘Tarf hooker Dylan Donnellan’s 11th try of the season keeps him at the top of the scoring charts. Returning lock Cormac Daly, Adrian D’Arcy and Cian O’Donoghue also crossed.Out-half Peter Hastie scored 16 points in Lansdowne’s 46-5 dismissal of Garryowen, while Leinster Academy hooker Lee Barron scored two tries in Dublin University’s impressive 27-8 away defeat of Young Munster.

Division 1B
St Mary’s College were the only team to win on the road, as two tries each from captain Richie Halpin and Myles Carey guided them past Navan on a 36-28 scoreline.Winger Paul Stack weighed in with a brace in Highfield’s 19-8 victory over Banbridge, and Naas overcame Shannon 38-29, their skipper Peter Osborne contributing 13 points to take his season’s haul to a mammoth 133.Hooker Ben Burns’ 79th-minute maul try clinched a 22-7 triumph for table toppers Old Wesley against Old Belvedere.ENERGIA MEN’S ALL-IRELAND LEAGUE – ROUND 12 RESULTS:
DIVISION 1A

Clontarf 26 UCC 13
Cork Constitution 26 Ballynahinch 15
Lansdowne 46 Garryowen 5
Terenure College 60 UCD 8
Young Munster 8 Dublin University 27

Division 1B

Highfield 19 Banbridge 8
Malone v City Of Armagh (Covid-19-affected match cancelled – 0-0. Both teams are awarded two points)
Naas 38 Shannon 29
Navan 28 St. Mary’s College 36
Old Wesley 22 Old Belvedere 7

Division 2A
Cashel 22 Old Crescent 19MU Barnhall 50 Dolphin 24Nenagh Ormond 41 Ballymena 7Rainey Old Boys 3 Buccaneers 60UL Bohemians 5 Queen’s University 58Division 2B
Ballina 19 Dungannon 28Belfast Harlequins 32 Sligo 22Blackrock College 31 Wanderers 26Galway Corinthians 17 Malahide 37Greystones 59 Galwegians 7Division 2C

City of Derry 19 Midleton 20Enniscorthy 29 Bangor 25Omagh Academicals 6 Clonmel 8Sunday’s Well 14 Skerries 9Tullamore 28 Bruff 7

Watch Ireland Sevens Rugby – Men’s bronze match and Women’s gold match

Ireland men’s sevens team will play bronze medal match with kick-off 6:26pm and women’s gold medal is kick-off time of 6:56pm.

Just click play below to watch the matches live

Patrick Ward & Co renew sponsorship of Irish Arkle at Dublin Racing Festival

Leopardstown Racecourse has announced that solicitors Patrick Ward & Company have renewed their support of the Grade 1 Irish Arkle Novice Chase. The race will be run on day 1 of the Dublin Racing Festival, Saturday 5 February 2022.

Patrick Ward & Company Solicitors have a long association with Leopardstown and the Irish Arkle. The Ward family name graced the Irish Arkle for the first time in 2010.

That season victory went to the Henry de Bromhead-trained An Cathaoir Mor, and subsequent years have seen winners such as Flemenstar,  Un De Sceaux, Douvan and Energumene.

One of the feature events on the opening day of the Dublin Racing Festival, the Patrick Ward & Company Solicitors Irish Arkle Novice Chase was first run as a Grade 1 event in 2002. Subsequent Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Kicking King was successful on that occasion for trainer Tom Taaffe and Barry Geraghty. He went on to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup two years later.

Tim Husbands CEO of Leopardstown welcomed the announcement, stating:

“We are delighted that Patrick is to continue this partnership with Leopardstown, the Ward family have sponsored the Irish Arkle for a number of years and have been part of and supported Dublin Racing Festival since its inception. The Patrick Ward & Company Irish Arkle Novice Chase has attracted a superb entry, from all the leading yards and if the recent performance of last year’s winner of the race; Energumene, are anything to go by, this will be another exciting renewal!”

Cathal Forde starts at fly-half for Connacht rugby against Glasgow

Cathal Forde follows in the footsteps of Eric Elwood by starting at fly-half for Connacht, both players attended Galway City school Colaiste Iognaid (The Jes).

Forde who only recently signed a pro contract with the western province will make his first start for Connacht against Glasgow on Saturday. He will hope to have a career like Elwood who played for Connacht 168 times and Ireland on 35 occasions and is still working with the province.

Below you can listen to Cathal chat about his rugby career, this was filmed last  May.

Tiernan O’Halloran will become the fourth Connacht player to reach 200 caps the Clifden native made his Connacht debut in October 2009 at the age of just 18 and has been a mainstay in the squad ever since. He joins John Muldoon, Michael Swift and Denis Buckley as the only players to reach the historic milestone.

Buckley meanwhile will make a welcome return from a serious knee injury, with the prop among the replacements for what is due to be his first appearance of the season.

Jordan Duggan and Greg McGrath retain their places as starting props, with hooker Dave Heffernan alongside them in the front row. There’s a new look second row of Ultan Dillane and Leva Fifita, while Eoghan Masterson and Paul Boyle also come into the side in the back row. Jarrad Butler captains the team from openside flanker.

The centre partnership is unchanged with Sammy Arnold alongside Tom Farrell, and there’s a start on the wing for another Academy graduate Diarmuid Kilgallen. Alex Wootton completes the side from the opposite wing.

Commenting on the team selection, Head Coach Andy Friend says:

“Tiernan’s 200th cap is a huge achievement for him. To play 200 times for one club is a testament to his loyalty to Connacht, his dedication to the game, and his ability as a footballer. The fact that he’s reached the milestone for his home province, having come through the ranks at Connemara RFC and Garbally College, only adds to the achievement.

Tomorrow’s game is a really important one in the context of the URC standings. We don’t have many home games left so it’s crucial we pick up as many points as possible in these fixtures. The results of the last two weeks were disappointing so it’s up to all of us to ensure we do enough for 80 minutes to get the win.”

CONNACHT RUGBY MATCHDAY 23 VS GLASGOW WARRIORS
Saturday 29th January, 14:55 @ The Sportsground

Number/Name/Caps ( * denotes uncapped)
15. Tiernan O’Halloran (199)
14. Alex Wootton (27)
13. Tom Farrell (69)
12. Sammy Arnold (28)
11. Diarmuid Kilgallen (6)
10. Cathal Forde *
9. Kieran Marmion (197)
1. Jordan Duggan (21)
2. Dave Heffernan (155)
3. Greg McGrath (2)
4. Ultan Dillane (124)
5. Leva Fifita (5)
6. Eoghan Masterson (116)
7. Jarrad Butler (85) (C)
8. Paul Boyle (65)

Replacements
16. Shane Delahunt (112)
17. Denis Buckley (200)
18. Tietie Tuimauga (3)
19. Oisin Dowling (16)
20. Sean Masterson (15)
21. Colm Reilly (7)
22. Shayne Bolton (2)
23. Oran McNulty (5)

 

The omens are good for Ireland coming into the Six Nations but can they deliver?

The autumn internationals have a habit of setting the mood for any upcoming Six Nations campaign. Indeed, the November tests either increase expectation for a particular country if they enjoy a string of positive results or on the contrary and as I’m sure you’ve guessed, if the end-of-year campaign turns into a nightmare, everyone watches the Six Nations season opener from behind the couch.

In Ireland’s case, you would have to say that the autumn internationals couldn’t have gone any better after the men in green recorded a one hundred per cent win ratio. Notably, one of the three tests they played was against New Zealand that ended up in a remarkable 29-20 win at the Aviva Stadium. 

Japan and Argentina were the other nations that Ireland put to the sword in November, which you might argue was always going to happen, but both teams have shown they’re far from minnows anymore. In addition to that, Ireland were able to rack up over 50 points in both games which was another indicator that this team is primed for a Six Nations campaign that concludes with them as the overall champions. Can it happen?

It’s impossible to say for certain, but a favourable home draw against Wales on the 5th of February suggests Ireland can get off to a winning start at the Aviva Stadium. In many ways, a strong start dictates how a team fares in the early rounds, and whilst you can’t win the Six Nations in February, you can definitely lose it. 

Another point to consider when weighing up Ireland’s chances of becoming eventual champions of the 2022 Six Nations is that, as we can tell from the past, any Six Nations winning campaign depends on earning bonus points against the smaller nations.

So if we go back to Ireland’s form in the autumn internationals for a second, we can tell that they’re crossing the whitewash with ease which suggests that they will score more than four or more tries when they come up against Italy who tend to be on the receiving end of some hefty defeats in the Six Nations. Indeed, Aidan Perkins reflects here on the top five highest ever score in Six Nations matches revealingly, Italy were involved in three of them. This means that Ireland’s Six Nation hopes could rest on their clash against the Italians at the Aviva Stadium on the 27th of February and ultimately how many times they go over for a try. 


Of course, there’s also the small matter of beating England, Scotland, and then France in Paris.

As briefly alluded to, it’s impossible to say for certain if Ireland will win the Six Nations and when you read back that last sentence, you do feel the wind being taken out of your sails. However, a nation can only start as they mean to go and Ireland have found impressive momentum in 2021 that they will use to try to win this competition for the first time since 2018.

Joey Carberry injury update ahead of 2022 Six Nations

When Andy Farrell included Joey Carberry in Ireland’s Six Nations squad last week, it was a surprise to many.

The Munster Fly-half has been injured for the last couple of months and wasn’t expected to be fully fit for the start of the Six Nations, but now it seems he might be ready to go. During the press launch for the Six Nations, Andy Farrell updated everyone on Carberry’s fitness level.

Andy Farrell on Joey Carberry: “He is fit as a fiddle and involved in all the ball drills, he is just waiting for the all clear to participate in contact drills” Looks like Joey is not far from being good to go.

When asked about Connacht’s Jack Carty returned to the wider Ireland squad “He’s done very well, certainly this season, obviously Connacht are playing really well as a team. I think what’s helped Jack along the way as well is the captaincy, the ownership of the captaincy has been new to him and I think some people sink or swim with that responsibility.”

IRELAND Guinness Six Nations Squad 2022

Backs (17)
Bundee Aki (Connacht/Galwegians) 33 caps
Robert Baloucoune (Ulster/Enniskillen) 2 caps
Joey Carbery (Munster/Clontarf) 27 caps
Jack Carty (Buccaneers/Connacht) 10 caps
Craig Casey (Munster/Shannon) 4 caps
Andrew Conway (Munster/Garryowen) 27 caps
Keith Earls (Munster/Young Munster) 96 caps
Jamison Gibson Park (Leinster) 12 caps
Mack Hansen (Connacht) uncapped
Robbie Henshaw (Leinster/Buccaneers) 53 caps
James Hume (Ulster/Banbridge) 1 cap
Hugo Keenan (Leinster/UCD) 16 caps
Jordan Larmour (Leinster/St Mary’s College) 30 caps
Michael Lowry (Ulster/Banbridge) uncapped
Conor Murray (Munster/Garryowen) 92 caps
Garry Ringrose (Leinster/UCD) 37 caps
Johnny Sexton (Leinster/St Mary’s College) 101 caps CAPTAIN

Forwards (20)
Ryan Baird (Leinster/Dublin University) 6 caps
Finlay Bealham (Connacht/Buccaneers) 18 caps
Tadhg Beirne (Munster/Lansdowne) 25 caps
Jack Conan (Leinster/Old Belvedere) 22 caps
Gavin Coombes (Munster/Young Munster) 2 caps
Caelan Doris (Leinster/St Mary’s College) 12 caps
Tadhg Furlong (Leinster/Clontarf) 52 caps
Cian Healy (Leinster/Clontarf) 112 caps
Iain Henderson (Ulster/Academy) 65 caps
Rob Herring (Ulster/Ballynahinch) 23 caps
Ronan Kelleher (Leinster/Lansdowne) 16 caps
Dave Kilcoyne (Munster/UL Bohemians) 45 caps
Peter O’Mahony (Munster/Cork Constitution) 79 caps
Tom O’Toole (Ulster/Ballynahinch) 2 caps
Andrew Porter (Leinster/UCD) 40 caps
James Ryan (Leinster/UCD) 40 caps
Dan Sheehan (Leinster/Lansdowne) 2 caps
Nick Timoney (Ulster/Banbridge) 2 caps
Kieran Treadwell (Ulster/Ballymena) 3 caps
Josh van der Flier (Leinster/UCD) 35 caps

Development Player
Cian Prendergast (Connacht)

Racing TV special offer ‘€12 per Month This Weekend Only’

Racing TV is delighted to announce its sponsorship of the €125,000 Grade 1 Racing TV ‘€12 per Month This Weekend Only’ Juvenile Hurdle on the opening day of the showpiece Dublin Racing Festival on February 5.

The race is one of the most significant juvenile contests run in the UK and Ireland and was won last year by Quilixios, who went on to glory in the JCB Triumph Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.

The leading horseracing channel will also be marking the occasion by offering Irish residents the golden opportunity to join for the best-ever price of €12 per month (normally €31) in Republic of Ireland and £10 per month (normally £24.98) in Northern Ireland for 12 months.

Leopardstown will host Racing TV cameras at the weekend, not only for the racing, but also for its flagship programmes, The Friday Club, Road to Cheltenham (after racing on Saturday) and Luck on Sunday, which will all be filmed live.

Martin Stevenson, CEO of Racecourse Media Group, parent company of Racing TV, said: “The team at Horse Racing Ireland and Leopardstown have done an exceptional job in establishing the Dublin Racing Festival as an undoubted highlight of the Jumps season in such a short period of time.

“The prizemoney over the two-day festival is exceptional and the consistently high-quality fields reflects that. We are delighted to be putting our name to the €125,000 Racing TV ‘€12 per Month This Weekend Only’ Juvenile Hurdle.

“Racing TV is proud to show 90% of all Graded and Group races in UK and Ireland and feel honoured to tell the storylines from both sides of the Irish Sea, which are so inextricably linked. The Dublin Racing Festival is a real jewel in the crown for us and we will be applying the very highest production and presentation values to the weekend, including hosting flagship programmes at Leopardstown Racecourse to get viewers in the mood for a mouth-watering two days of racing.”

Tim Husbands MBE, Chief Executive, Leopardstown, “Racing TV extending their partnership with Leopardstown by sponsoring the Grade 1 Spring Juvenile Hurdle demonstrates their commitment to Irish Racing and we are very grateful. Their exclusive offer to avail of the excellent coverage of UK and Irish Racing on their channel for only €12 per month is fantastic and we hope it will be received well by our audience. The Racing TV ‘€12 per Month This Weekend Only’ Juvenile Hurdle is a quality race and it is shaping up to be an exciting renewal.”

Gary O’Brien heads the team for the live racing output, and is joined by Nick Luck, Ruby Walsh, Fran Berry, and Donn McClean over the course of the two days.

The Racing TV €12 / £10 offer is for 12 months and only available from 9am Saturday February 5 until 9pm on Sunday February 6, to new and reinstating Racing TV members. Details will be available at www.racingtv.com/drf.

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