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Ireland Impress But Fail To Beat Germany in 3rd Olympic Game

The Ireland Women’s hockey team were beaten 4-2 by Germany in Pool A on Thursday morning at Oi Stadium.

The result leaves Ireland with two more chances to ensure a spot in the top four of the pool and subsequent progression to the tournament’s quarter-finals.

The side produced an impressive display against the Rio 2016 Bronze medalists but Germany were clinical in attack.

Sean Dancer’s Ireland was at a disadvantage from the beginning after Lisa Altenburg put the Germans in the lead.

The 31-year-old latched on to a smart lob pass and opened up a goalscoring chance for herself with a smart run.

That particular lob through to the right-wing was a common feature of Germany’s game plan throughout the match.

Sean Dancer’s women did not have a response for the Germans in the first quarter and finished the 15 minutes looking a level below their unbeaten opposition.

Ireland upped the ante in the second quarter and began to bring the game to the 2004 Olympic Champions.

A second penalty corner for the side almost birthed an equaliser with Hannah Matthews’ touch causing panic among the Germans.

However, it was the Germans who got the second goal of the game after a cross from Kira Horn found Cécile Pieper who scored with a lovely flick.

Chloe Watkins moved into a pocket of space which almost led to a first goal for the girls in green but the chance flattered to deceive.

Ireland goalkeeper Ayeisha McFerran was great against the Germans and pulled off some strong saves throughout the match.

However, the German’s added a third via a penalty stroke when they had a woman advantage – Anna O’Flanagan received a 10-minute yellow moments before.

Altenburg made no mistake from the spot and put her side into a commanding lead.

Ireland fought their way back into the game, opening their scoring account for the game two minutes after Altenburg’s second.

Elena Tice saw her strike find the bottom corner of the German goal with Ireland third penalty corner.

The fourth quarter started as the third ended with Ireland visibly confident and pushing for a second goal to bring the tie back within reach.

Sarah Hawkshaw and Zara Malseed caused the German defence problems, with the latter forcing a penalty corner.

The side’s fourth penalty corner ended with a fifth being given and Hannah McLoughlin scored her first goal for Ireland with a lovely shot that went beyond German keeper Julia Sonntag.

Controversy marred the final minutes of the game with two questionable video-call referee decisions going in favour of the Olympic mainstays.

Franzisca Hauke put the tie beyond Ireland’s reach when she scored Germany’s fourth goal of the game, even though replays appeared to show Ayeisha McFerran was obstructed in the build-up.

Zara Malseed had put the ball in the German net to get what would have been her side’s third but the video-call referee deemed it to be back-stick and disallowed it.

Germany has advanced to the quarter-finals with their win against Ireland.

The Irish comeback was not to be but the two goals against the Germans could prove important if progression came down to goal difference.

Ireland faces India next on Friday, July 30th at 3:45 am, with a win guaranteeing the side a quarter-final spot.

Olympic Rowing: Team Ireland Women’s Fours Win Bronze

The Team Ireland Women’s Fours rowing team won bronze in the early hours of Thursday morning after a stunning performance at the Sea Forest Waterway.

Aifric Keogh, Eimear Lambe, Fiona Murtagh and Emily Hegarty are the women behind Ireland’s first medal at Tokyo 2020.

Their win doubles the number of Irish women that have won Olympic medals for the team – the number is now at 8.

They join swimmer Michelle Smith, track star Sonia O’Sullivan, boxer Katie Taylor and sailor Annalise Murphy on the list.

Australia won the gold medal in an Olympic best time of 6.15.37 with the Netherlands second in 6.15.46.

Ireland finished five seconds off the pair of them in third with a time of 6.20.46 ahead of Britain by a single second (6.21.52).

Britain had been in third place throughout the race and at one point looked to be cruising to a medal finish.

Ireland was as low as fifth-place in the race at the halfway stage after a poor start saw them fall away from the pacesetters.

However, Ireland fought hard and got themselves up to fourth for the second time in the race by the 1500m mark.

The women ate at the time gap that the Team GB rowers had on them in third and overtook them heading into the final 200m.

The four rowers held on to their podium spot until they crossed the finish line to win a medal for Team Ireland.

This performance comes less than six months after the crew was formed.

The unlikely medal win serves as a promising precedent for what’s to come for Ireland in rowing at the Olympics, with Sanita Puspure and Paul O’Donovan and Fintan McCarthy tipped to do well in their respective events.

O’Donovan is already a medal winner for the nation in his event after winning silver in the Men’s Lightweight Double Sculls with his brother, Gary.

The Irish Women’s Four crew have potentially opened the floodgates for a successful Olympics for Irish rowing.

Ireland Finish 10th At First-Ever Olympics

The Ireland Men’s Sevens side has finished 10th in the Sevens tournament at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

Head coach Anthony Eddy’s team were the first Irish rugby side to represent Team Ireland at the Olympics.

Eddy’s men suffered a big loss to Kenya on Wednesday morning in the ninth-place final, losing 22-0 to the Shujaa after beating them less than 24 hours previous.

The match did not get off to the best start for captain Billy Dardis and his squad with a cagey start being interrupted by a Kenyan try to kick-start proceedings.

Kenya captain Andrew Amonde retired after the game and his teammates made sure to play their hearts out to send him off into the sunset riding a high.

Hohnstone Olindi opened the scoring for his country and the conversion was scored.

The side held onto their slim lead until halftime, putting them in prime position to earn ninth.

Jacob Ojee scored his side’s second try and put the result beyond doubt for anyone watching.

Ireland’s handling and concentration were once again below the level that was expected of them coming into this tournament.

Two more tries followed for the Kenyans but they were merely icing on the cake that symbolised a strong performance and revenge against the side that beat them on Wednesday morning.

Amonde was visibly emotional after the final whistle as his career came to an end.

Ireland ends their campaign with a win record of 40% (2W, 3L) and valuable experience at the Olympics that will help them on their push towards Paris 2024.

It was a subpar tournament for Eddy’s side and one that his players were clearly disappointed with after the Pool C game against Kenya.

However, they can hold their heads high knowing that they’ve once again grown as a side and taken the Sevens programme in Ireland to new heights – a trend that they will continue to follow.

Dream start for Robert Dickson and Seán Waddilove at Tokyo 2020

Sailors Robert Dickson and Seán Waddilove earned a race win on their Olympic debut in the Men’s skiff event at Tokyo 2020.

The Dublin pair won from Britain and Germany and will lead going into race 2 in the 49er class.

Light and shifting winds delayed racing, including an abandoned race in which the pair were also at the front of the fleet.

The thrilling single race of the day saw the pair gradually improve from fourth place to first over the three laps of the course close to Enoshima Island. The actual finish was delivered with a watery flourish as the Irish crew skidded over the line barely centimetres ahead of the British boat.

“You only have to win by a few centimetres”

“It was pretty close but you only have to win by a few centimetres,” said Robert Dickson of Howth Yacht Club. “We didn’t know (crossing the line) that we’d done it until we came in and Matt (coach McGovern) told us.”

While three races had been planned for the opening day, a near calm followed by shifting wind direction meant a series of delays plus the abandonment of the first race attempt in which the Irish crew also sailed well.

“I feel thrilled, we can’t ask for a better start,” Skerries Sailing Club man Seán Waddilove.  “But you have to remember that this is the very first race and anything could change with eleven races to go, plus a medal race – hopefully.”

The event rules prevent race starts after 5pm local times so racing resumes on Wednesday as scheduled with the missed races added where the programme allows later in the week.

Meanwhile, Annalise Murphy had her best day of the regatta so far with a consistent ninth and ten places partially off-setting her disappointment of the opening two days.

The double-Olympic veteran and Rio Silver medallist moved from 32nd place to 20th overnight and the series will have a rest day on Wednesday. Four further races on Thursday and Friday will decide the top ten places for the medal race final on Sunday.

The Extra.ie FAI Cup Second Round Draw

Shamrock Rovers will travel to Dalymount Park to face Dublin rivals Bohemians in the Second Round of the Exta.ie FAI Cup.

The draw, which was completed on RTE 2FM by Alan Cawley, will also see Leinster Senior League side St. Mochta’s head to Oriel Park in the hope of an upset against Extra.ie FAI Cup holders Dundalk.

Following their dramatic penalty shoout-out victory over Athlone Town, Waterford FC have been handed a home tie against Dublin’s Kilnamanagh.

Another derby tie takes place as Finn Harps welcome Derry City while Colin Healy’s Cork City will welcome St. Patrick’s Athletic to Turner’s Cross.

Dates and kick-off times will be confirmed in due course with all matches set to take place in the week ending Sunday, August 29.

FAI Cup – Second Round Draw

Waterford v Kilnamanagh
Dundalk v St. Mochta’s
Finn Harps v Derry City
Maynooth University Town v Cobh Ramblers
Bohemians v Shamrock Rovers
Cork City St. Patrick’s Athletic
UCD AFC v Longford Town
Killester Donnycarney v Wexford

Colin O’Brien names 20 players for 3-day training camp

Republic of Ireland Under-17 Head Coach Colin O’Brien has called-up 20 players for a three-day training camp at Johnstown House Estate this week.

O’Brien and his backroom team have been hosting a number of assessment days for players in recent weeks as they look to put themselves in the frame for an international double-header at the end of August.

It is part of the build-up for the first round of the UEFA European Under-17 Championship qualifiers that take place in October with Ireland facing Poland, North Macedonia and Andorra at Turner’s Cross.

The group met up today and will play a behind-closed-door friendly on Wednesday.

Republic of Ireland Under-17s training camp squad

Goalkeepers: Conor Walsh (Sligo Rovers), Fintan Doherty (Derry City).

Defenders: Finn Cowper Gray (Klub Kildare), Sam Curtis (Unattached), Cathal Heffernan (Cork City), Luke Browne (Shelbourne), Rudhan Kane (Klub Kildare), Luke O’Brien (Shamrock Rovers), Trisden Hughes (Klub Kildare).

Midfielders: Eanna Fitzgerald (Cork City), Gavin Hodgins (Shelbourne), Justin Ferizaj (Shamrock Rovers), James McManus (Bohemians), Joe O’Brien-Whitmarsh (Cork City), Darius Lipsivc (St. Patrick’s Athletic).

Forwards: Franco Umeh (Cork City), Liam Murray (Cork City), Mark O’Mahony (Cork City), Caden McLoughlin (Villarreal CF), Alex Nolan (St. Patrick’s Athletic).

Olympic Golf: McIlroy and Lowry Preview And Tee-Times

Team Ireland’s Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry will begin their quests for Olympic medals on the morning of Thursday, July 29th at the Kasumigaseki Country Club in Saitama.

Round One of the Olympic Golf tournament is scheduled to begin at 23:30 pm on Wednesday, July 28th – McIlroy and Lowry will tee-off several hours later.

Both golfers will be playing at their first Olympic Games after choosing not to travel to Brazil in 2016 due to the Zika virus outbreak.

McIlroy and Lowry are the two highest-ranked Irish golfers in the world and the latter is the most recent Irish golfer to win a major – The 2019 Open Championship.

The pair will go up against other top golfers in the world such as Justin Thomas and 2021 Championship Golfer of the Year Collin Morikawa.

Rio 2016 Gold Medalist Justin Rose will not compete this year and neither will Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau as both have contracted Covid.

Rory McIlroy comes into the tournament in Saitama off the back of some mixed form which has seen him miss multiple cuts but also get back to winning ways at the Wells Fargo Championship.

His form can be encapsulated by a contrast between the tied-seventh finish at the US Open on a tough Torrey Pines course in June and a poor Open Championship several weeks later on a Links course.

The Northern Irish golfer has been paired with Morikawa, an American, and South Korean prospect Sungjae Im for a 2:25 am tee time on Thursday morning, followed by a 00:25 am start for Round Two.

Shane Lowry enters this year’s Olympics a better player than he was in 2016 and has also been the most consistent Irish golfer at the top level, of late.

Lowry’s solid weekends have seen the Offaly professional post his best-ever finishes at the PGA Championship and The Masters this year, along with a respectable eighth at the high-profile Players’ Championship.

The Clara native will play his opening rounds with Patrick Reed of the USA and Team GB’s Tommy Fleetwood.

The trio will tee-off after McIlroy and co. in both rounds, with a tee time of 2:36 am in Round One and 00:41 am in Round Two.

The two golfers’ groups will be among the last to play the 18 holes on Thursday and among the first to do so on Friday.

Click here to see all the tee times for the opening two rounds of the Olympic tournament.

Click here to see the Olympic schedule for Thursday, July 29th.

Springboks Side For 2nd Lions Test Announced

South Africa has announced the Springboks team that will face Warren Gatland’s British and Irish Lions in the second Test of the three-game series on Saturday.

Head coach Jacques Nienaber has made three changes to his starting XV and a further three to the bench ahead of this weekend’s pivotal clash.

Two of these changes are in the front-row, where Kitshoff – who made his Test debut against Ireland in 2016 – will make his 50th cap next to Bongi Mbonambi and Frans Malherbe in a new-look combination for the hosts.

First Test loosehead Ox Nché was ruled out due to the neck injury he picked up but fortunately for Nienaber, Mbonambi’s hamstring strain has recovered sufficiently for him to start the match.

Leicester Tigers’ Jasper Wiese earns his first Test start after making his debut off the replacements bench against Georgia earlier this month.

Handre Pollard is in line to equal and possibly break Jackie Snyman’s record of six career penalty goals against the British & Irish Lions when he starts at fly-half.

Nienaber has opted for a six-two split on the bench, which sees Trevor Nyakane and Vincent Koch provide cover at prop, while Marco van Staden takes over from Rynhardt Elstadt as loose forward cover along with Kwagga Smith.

Herschel Jantjies and Damian Willemse will provide support in the backline.

This comes after their unexpected switch to a 5-3 split last week for the first Test.

South Africa Team v Lions 2nd Test

15 – Willie le Roux (Toyota Verblitz) – 63 caps
14 – Cheslin Kolbe (Toulouse) – 15 caps
13 – Lukhanyo Am (Cell C Sharks) – 16 caps
12 – Damian de Allende (Munster) – 48 caps
11 – Makazole Mapimpi (Cell C Sharks) – 15 caps
10 – Handré Pollard (vice-captain, Montpellier) – 50 caps
9 – Faf de Klerk (Sale Sharks) – 31 caps
8 – Jasper Wiese (Leicester Tigers) – 1 cap
7 – Pieter-Steph du Toit (DHL Stormers) – 57 caps
6 – Siya Kolisi (captain, Cell C Sharks) – 52 caps
5 – Franco Mostert (Honda Heat) – 41 caps
4 – Eben Etzebeth (Toulon) – 87 caps
3 – Frans Malherbe (DHL Stormers) – 40 caps
2 – Bongi Mbonambi (DHL Stormers) – 38 caps

1 – Steven Kitshoff (DHL Stormers) – 49 caps

Replacements:
16 – Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears) – 35 caps
17 – Trevor Nyakane (Vodacom Bulls) – 44 caps
18 – Vincent Koch (Saracens) – 21 caps
19 – Lood de Jager (Sale Sharks) – 46 caps
20 – Marco van Staden (Vodacom Bulls) – 3 caps
21 – Kwagga Smith (Yamaha Júbilo) – 8 caps
22 – Herschel Jantjies (DHL Stormers) – 12 caps
23 – Damian Willemse (DHL Stormers) – 8 caps

To see the Lions squad, click here.

Nicholas Quinn: ‘This Is Only A Step In Mona McSharry’s Journey’

Rio 2016 Olympian Nicholas Quinn has praised Mona McSharry for reaching the Women’s 100m Backstroke final and tipped her to achieve bigger things in the latest Swim Ireland swimming review video.

Mona McSharry became the first Irish swimmer to take part in an Olympic final since Michelle Smith in 1996.

McSharry came eighth in the final but Quinn was full of praise for the 20-year-old, who made her dreams come true.

“All these experiences are going to stand to Mona as she moves forward in her career because let’s be clear, this is only a step in Mona’s journey,” Quinn said on his daily review show.

The Irish senior record holder can add Olympic finalist to an already-impressive resumé that includes a World Championship in the 100m Breastroke and high finishes at senior European Championships.

At only 20 years of age, McSharry has her whole career ahead of her and can become an even better swimmer over time.

McSharry swam the final in 1:06.9 and Quinn feels there are a lot of positives she can take from her performance.

“Her dive was probably the best dive she’s done across the three rounds. She turned a 50 in 31.6, which was the same time she turned at the 50 in the semi-final.”

However, he feels that the University of Tennessee student used up the majority of her energy too early and it’s what cost her on the latter 50m.

McSharry’s run to becoming only the second Irish person to swim in an Olympic final has caught the eye of the Irish public.

The Sligo native was the third-youngest woman in the final and, at her age, could have several more Olympic appearances on the cards in the future, form permitting.

Olympian Quinn described the Olympic finalist as an inspiration for a generation.

“Mona won’t realise the impact she has had on others yet, but she will in years to come.”

Lions Announce Team For Second Test v Boks

The British and Irish Lions have announced the side that is set to face South Africa in the second test in Cape Town this Saturday.

Three changes have been made to the side that beat the Springboks 22-17 in the first test of the series last Saturday.

Conor Murray comes into the side at scrum-half in place of Scotland’s Ali Price.

Chris Harris takes the number 13 shirt this weekend ahead of Saracens and England player Elliot Daly.

Mako Vunipola starts at loosehead prop after an appearance off the bench at the weekend.

Alun Wyn Jones will captain the side once again after completing 80 minutes just 28 days after he dislocated his shoulder against Japan.

Man of the Match Maro Itoje remains on the side along with England teammate Courtney Lawes, who also made a big impression with his work rate.

Ball-carrying machine Jack Conan will look to add to his twelve from the first test with a second consecutive start at number eight.

Tadhg Beirne is the only Irishman available off the bench.

The second test against South Africa will be shown live on Sky Sports with the match kicking off at 5 pm.

British and Irish Lions: Stuart Hogg (Exeter Chiefs, Scotland); Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby, England), Chris Harris (Gloucester Rugby, Scotland), Robbie Henshaw (Leinster Rugby, Ireland), Duhan van der Merwe; Dan Biggar (Northampton Saints, Wales), Conor Murray (Munster Rugby, Ireland); Mako Vunipola (Saracens, England), Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter Chiefs, England), Tadhg Furlong (Leinster Rugby, Ireland); Maro Itoje (Saracens, England), Alun Wyn Jones – captain (Ospreys, Wales); Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints, England), Tom Curry (Sale Sharks, England), Jack Conan (Leinster Rugby, Ireland) #839

Replacements: Ken Owens (Scarlets, Wales), Rory Sutherland (Worcester Warriors, Scotland), Kyle Sinckler (Bristol Bears, England), Tadhg Beirne (Munster Rugby, Ireland), Taulupe Faletau (Bath Rugby, Wales), Ali Price (Glasgow Warriors, Scotland), Owen Farrell (Saracens, England), Elliot Daly (Saracens, England)

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