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Rugby player talks about craziness of lifting Ref about his head

In one of the strangest things, you will ever see on a rugby pitch, Josaia Raisuqe, who plays for French ProD2 lifted the ref about his head during a game.

Referee Laurent Millotte blew the final whistle and in a moment of madness, Raisuqe lifted him over his head to celebrate the win.

Raisuqe said: “The day after the game when I woke up, it was all over the internet. I was completely overwhelmed by the event. On Instagram and Facebook, I had hundreds of posts. My phone kept ringing. It was unbearable. I was scared. I was afraid the leaders of Nevers would be angry. I was afraid of losing my job.”

He added: “I would have liked to tell him that I was sorry, that there was no aggressiveness in my gesture… I would have liked to tell him that at home, rugby is just a game and that we appreciate it differently, that’s all. I know that I should not have behaved this way.

“A few hours later all my friends in Fiji knew about it. It all got over me. My father called me. He was p***ed off and I don’t like it when he’s like that. After that, I had a really hard time sleeping. Not only because I felt guilty but also because the phone would not stop ringing.

It looks like the Fijian knows what coming as he will surely face a long-term ban for his actions.

“I’m afraid of being heavily punished. The disciplinary committee, that’s all I think about. I hope they will understand though that my gesture was not aggressive.

“I regret it so much… I don’t know why I did this.”

How much will Ireland miss David McGoldrick come March?

The Sheffield United striker announced his international retirement in November.

Ireland’s World Cup qualification begins in March with fans cautiously awaiting the commencement of the campaign.

It’s been a rough few months for the national side. Controversy surrounding a pre-match motivational video, no wins throughout 2020, the retirement of David McGoldrick in addition to Damien Duff and Alan Kelly stepping down from their roles in recent days have all contributed to a miserable period of time for Ireland.

The absence of David McGoldrick in particular could have a damaging effect on the team’s on-field performance.

Despite not being a natural goalscorer – or even an experienced international – McGoldrick proved himself as a key member of the squad over the past couple of years. His showing against Slovakia in October as well as his performances against Switzerland and Denmark in 2019 more than demonstrated his worth to the national team.

As luck would have it, McGoldrick is enjoying his best spell of form at club level for a long time since his international retirement. The striker has been the shining light in a torrid season for Sheffield United thus far.

He has 5 goal contributions in 16 games including a brace against Manchester United and a stunning backheel goal against Chelsea. Even more impressive, though, has been his all-around play. Just yesterday he was named man of the match against Newcastle after a string-pulling performance.

REPLACEMENTS?

McGoldrick’s retirement from international duty is further compounded by the lack of striking options available to Ireland at the minute.

Many Irish strikers playing at a high level are either inexperienced, out of form or lacking first team minutes.

Shane Long was Ireland’s go-to striker for years but his playing time at both club and international level has gradually decreased over the past couple of years. He still, of course, has plenty to offer but if he’s not getting first-team minutes Stephen Kenny may be reluctant to start the Tipp man in March given the magnitude of the games.

There are also plenty of young strikers coming through, some of which already have experience in the national side.

Adam Idah and Troy Parrott are the two most likely candidates to start up front in March. Both have had their injury problems this season but they’ve been given game time in the Championship when available which is more than can be said about a lot of Ireland’s other options.

Idah started the season strongly by scoring on the opening day but has been out injured since November. To add to his injury, Idah has also contracted COVID-19 over the past week or so. He’s due back in February so hopefully he can get some game time under his belt before the international break.

Parrott, on the other hand, has been starting for Millwall recently after a 2020 marred with injury/health issues. He is yet to find his scoring touch that he’s displayed previously at underage level, though. Saying that, he has been playing at an acceptable level. His first goal for the club could be just the thing needed for the Spurs loanee to get his season on track.

Michael Obafemi is another one which has been touted as a star of the future for a couple of years now. Despite an impressive 2019/20 campaign, he has only played 16 minutes of Premier League football this season. Obafemi was reportedly due to complete a loan move to Swansea this month but to his misfortune he suffered a muscle injury in training which resulted in the Welsh club ending their interest. Realistically, he may not even get selected for the senior squad. Stephen Kenny always preferred Idah and Parrott in the u21s and hasn’t called Obafemi up to any senior squad so far.

Kenny has an enormous task at hand in the upcoming campaign and his fortunes are only made worse by the lack of strikers available to him.

Is there anyone that can step up and fill the void left by David McGoldrick?

Sligo Rovers and Everton announce strategic partnership.

Sligo Rovers and Everton announced a “Strategic Partnership” between the two sides yesterday. The new agreement will see the two clubs partner on several initiatives. There will be information sharing between academy coaches and pre-season training link-ups. According to the formal statement “The clubs will exchange knowledge across both coaching and business operations.”

The best known link between the Merseyside club and the Bit O’Red was the 2009 signing of the then 20-year-old Seamus Coleman. The Killybegs native has went on to make over 300 first team appearances for the Premier League side. He has also captained both club and country during this time.

However, it is far from the first link between the two side. In 1939 Everton’s record goalscorer William Ralph “Dixie” Dean signed for Sligo Rovers. In his brief cameo at the club he scored ten goals in seven games. His five goals in a 7-1 win over Waterford is a club record that still remains to this day. He also picked up an FAI cup runners-up medal. Rovers losing out to Shelbourne 1-0 after a replay in that years cup final.

This formal partnership between Everton and a League of Ireland club is not a first by any means. In 1995 Home Farm agreed a deal wereby they were sponsored by the Merseyside giants. In return Home Farm Everton, as they were know for four seasons, gave Everton first refusal on their academy players. Future Irish international Richard Dunne was signed by the club as a result of this deal.

This partnership may pave the way for similar tie-ups between League of Ireland clubs and top flight English teams. New employment regulations resulting from Brexit preclude English sides from signing u-18 players. Ireland may act as a base for Premier league sides to train young talent. One would hope this would have a beneficial effect on opportunities for young Irish players and in the long run the national side.

Alan Kelly leaves goalkeeping coach role with Republic of Ireland

The Football Association of Ireland has confirmed that Alan Kelly is leaving his goalkeeping coach role with the Republic of Ireland team.

Manager Stephen Kenny has accepted Kelly’ to step away from his role due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

“Alan called to inform me of his decision and I have accepted it,” Stephen said. “I want to thank him for his time as goalkeeper coach with me and for his overall contribution to Irish football.”

Reflecting on his decision, Alan said: “With COVID-19 still viciously circulating in our communities, it is with a heavy heart that I have decided the time is right to step down from my role with the Republic of Ireland senior international team and pass on a fantastic group of goalkeepers to a new goalkeeping coach for the upcoming World Cup qualifying campaign.

“It has been an absolute honour and a privilege to represent the Republic of Ireland as a player and coach for the last 28 years.  A special thank you goes out to all the Irish International goalkeepers I have played alongside and had the good fortune to coach.

“I would like to thank the FAI and wish Stephen, the staff and all the players the very best of luck in the World Cup qualifiers beginning in March and for the future.”

25 entered for Dan & Joan Moore Memorial Handicap Chase

Twenty five horses have been entered for the €75,000 Dan & Joan Moore Memorial Handicap Chase at Fairyhouse on Saturday.

The Michael Winters-trained Chatham Street Lad, winner of the Caspian Caviar Gold Cup Handicap Chase at Cheltenham a month ago, heads the entries. The Emmet Mullins’ Unibet Greatwood Handicap Hurdle winner The Shunter is also aiming for the race.

Joseph O’Brien has Front View, successful in a beginners’ chase at Fairyhouse last month, among the current field. The Jessica Harrington-trained Impact Factor is also among the entries and will be bidding for a third Fairyhouse win.

Gordon Elliott has six horses still in the race, including Chosen Mate, winner of the Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Challenge Cup Handicap Chase at the Cheltenham Festival. Willie Mullins has both Fan Des Blues and Pont Aven.

Quilixios among 17 entries in Hurdle

Saturday’s card will also feature the ITM Virtual Stallion Trail Hurdle for which Gordon Elliott has entered Quilixios. He was an impressive winner at both Punchestown and Down Royal and heads a list of 17 entries.

Peter Roe, General Manager of Fairyhouse Racecourse, said:

“We are delighted to have another very exciting Dan & Joan Moore Memorial Handicap Chase on a great day’s racing at Fairyhouse on Saturday. Impact Factor was an impressive course and distance winner in the Easyfix Handicap Chase in November. Chatham Street Lad will be bidding to follow up on his Cheltenham win for the popular Cork trainer Mick Winters.”

The going is currently heavy at Fairyhouse.

Paul Pogba the hero as Manchester United go top of Premier League

Their win against Burnley tonight leaves them three points ahead of Liverpool.

Manchester United were one of the most feared teams in Europe for decades – predominately during the 1990’s and 2000’s. Over the past 10 years or so, though, they’ve been on a steady decline.

That said, this season they’ve managed to prove many doubters wrong – despite a shaky start to the campaign.

Statistically, they’re in the best spell of form out of all the teams in the Premier League. They’d won 4 of their previous 5 league games which left them level on points with title rivals Liverpool going into tonight’s fixture.

Manchester United travelled to Turf Moor with their sights firmly set on the top of the league.

As mentioned previously, the top two were on equal points prior to the game. Now, United have climbed their title rivals to claim 1st position after a 1-0 win against Burnley.

Paul Pogba scored the matchwinner in the 71st minute with a well struck volley which was deflected into the net.

The goal came after a variety of controversial incidents in the first half. Harry Maguire had a goal disallowed in the 35th minute for a push on an opposition defender.

Minutes before that there were a series of controversial incidents during a sequence of play. Robbie Brady had initially been yellow carded for a potentially goal-stopping challenge on Edinson Cavani but that was overturned after VAR reviewed a late Luke Shaw challenge in the build-up which led to a yellow card for the United man.

CLASH OF THE GIANTS

United and Liverpool are due to face each other on Sunday in what could be a potential title deciding clash.

Nothing but a win will do for Liverpool if they wish to reclaim their position as league leaders. They currently have a higher goal difference than United meaning any margin of victory would be good enough to go top.

Manchester United have not won against Liverpool in the last four matches between the two clubs. Liverpool have a long list of injury problems, though, particularly at the back. United will be looking to capitalize on their defensive woes en route to a match winning performance.

This week’s biggest FA Cup upsets

The competition’s 3rd round commenced on Friday.

The FA Cup, since it’s inception really, has been subject to the odd cup upset. There have been plenty of famous FA Cup incidents over the years, including; Wrexham’s victory over Arsenal in 1992, Histon’s win against Leeds in 2008 and Tottenham Hotspur – who were non-league at the time – lifting the cup in 1901.

Last Friday marked the beginning of the FA Cup 3rd round, otherwise known as the stage where clubs from the top 2 division in English football enter the competition.

There were plenty of “David vs. Goliath” encounters in the 3rd round. The most notable of the bunch featuring 2019 Champions League finalists Tottenham Hotspur against 8th tier outfit Histon.

Here are the biggest shocks of the 2020/2021 FA Cup 3rd round.

CRAWLEY TOWN 3-0 LEEDS UNITED

Arguably the biggest upset of the round came as League Two outfit Crawley Town defeated Premier League side Leeds United.

64 places separated the two teams going into the match. That fact clearly didn’t phase Crawley as they came out with a highly impressive 3-0 win.

Nick Tsaroulla opened the scoring in the 50th minute with an incredible solo goal. He ran with the ball from well outside the box, swivelling past several defenders in the process before blasting into the bottom corner.

Ashley Nadeson doubled their lead just minutes later with a well-executed finish past the near post. Kiko Casilla could perhaps be criticized for his ‘keeping leading to the goal but take nothing away from Nadeson.

Crawley added insult to injury with a 3rd and final goal in the 70th minute. Jordan Tunnicliffe was the scorer this time around.

Crawley are now through to the 4th round for the first time since 2012. They’ll travel to Championship side Bournemouth in the next round of fixtures.

CHORLEY 2-0 DERBY COUNTY

National League North side Chorley were the 2nd lowest ranked team – behind Marine – in the FA Cup 3rd round. They took on Championship side Derby County with hopes of progressing to the 4th round.

Their chances were amplified as Derby were forced to field a youth side due to a COVID-19 outbreak within the senior squad. Chorley took the chance presented to them and defeated the young Derby side by 2-0.

The first goal didn’t take long to come, Connor Hall hit the net in the 10th minute after a scramble in the box. Hall has now scored in his last 3 FA Cup matches.

Mike Calveley secured victory for Chorley in the 84th minute with a close-range shot.

Chorley have been drawn at home against Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers for the next round.

BLACKPOOL 2-2 WEST BROM (3-2 TO BLACKPOOL ON PENALTIES)

Blackpool are having an unremarkable but solid season in League One, sitting 13th in the table. West Brom, on the other hand, have been struggling since transitioning from the Championship to the Premier League.

Sam Allardyce was yet to win a game as West Brom manager before the match against Blackpool and that stat would remain unchanged at the full-time whistle.

Blackpool managed a victory on penalties after a hard-fought 120 minutes of football.

Jerry Yates opened the scoring for Blackpool in the 40th minute as he finished off an inviting pass from Bez Lubula. In truth, Blackpool were good value for their lead having been the better team up until that stage.

Semi Ajayi, as he has done previously in the season, equalized for West Brom with a towering header in the 52nd minute.

Gary Madine struck cleanly from outside the box in the 66th minute to regain Blackpool’s lead. The goal came after a fluid counter-attack from Blackpool.

West Brom were given a golden opportunity to equalize in the 80th minute after a Blackpool player was adjudged to have handled inside the box. Matheus Pereira stepped up to the spot and made no mistake as he made it 2-2.

Full-time ended 2-2 and no further goals followed in extra time. 120 minutes finished with the teams on level terms meaning a penalty shootout was needed to decide a winner.

PENALTY SHOOT-OUT

Blackpool missed their first penalty but went on to score their next 3, meanwhile West Brom had 2 of their 4 penalties saved by Chris Maxwell in the Blackpool goal.

Sullay Kaikai stepped up to take Blakcpool’s 5th penalty knowing if he scored, they would go through to the next round. Cruelly, though, he missed as he hammered his penalty off the post.

West Brom had to score their next penalty otherwise they would be knocked out of the competition. Matheus Pereira stepped up to take another penalty but this time he would be denied by shootout hero Chris Maxwell. His save meant Blackpool progressed to the FA Cup 4th round.

They have been drawn away to Brighton & Hove Albion for the next round of the competition.

EPCR temporarily suspends Champions Cup Rugby

EPCR temporarily suspends Champions Cup Rugby

European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) announced that the Heineken Champions Cup and Challenge Cup back to back fixtures scheduled to take place over the next two weekend will not now take place as planned. Over the last week there had been rumours of disquiet among both French clubs and the French government. Particularly in relation to their clubs both traveling and hosting clubs from the UK.

The plight of Bayonne in particular was highlighted last week. The club had reportedly withdrawn from their remaining two pool games against Leicester and Zebre. This came after positive COVID test within their squad after their most recent challenge cup game led to the squad being placed into self-isolation.

The EPCR, Ligue Nationale de Rugby, representatives of the French ministries of the Interior, Health and Sport, as well as of the President’s office took part in a meeting by audio conference last week. This highlighted concern around the testing procedures and Governmental concerns around the risk of transmission of the English strain of COVID in particular.

The full EPCR statement available here would indicate that this is only a temporary suspension of games. It remains to be seen if the tournament will resume unaltered or if the format will be tweaked to condense it in order to play the finals in Marseilles as scheduled on the weekend of 21/22 May.

What happens now?

The cancellation of these back to back fixtures frees up the next two weekends. This may allow the Guinness Pro14 to schedule some previously postponed games. We will bring you news of any rearranged fixtures as soon as a decision on this is made.

There is huge uncertainty around the current rugby fixture schedule. Both club and international fixtures look set to be either cancelled or rearranged due to increased COVID rates during the last month all over Europe, as well as in South Africa.

Speaking after Munster’s narrow win over Connacht on Saturday night head coach Johann Van Graan said: “We appreciate that the EPCR are dealing with a worldwide pandemic. We are getting accustomed to having to adapt, so we will just adapt as best we can and take anything that comes our way.” Indeed van Graan went onto revel that Munster have tried to build adaptability into their mindset for this season and chose the mantra “Change or be changed” at the start of the crisis back in March. “We know that change is the only certainty at this stage. We are so lucky to be able to play rugby. When we drove in today we said hopefully as the four provinces at least we are giving people an out for their mental space.”

Connacht coach Andy Friend was similarly asked about the stresses of dealing with the current uncertainty around fixtures. He commented “It’s not just at Connacht, it’s at every other PRO14 and European team out there. So the quicker we can get clarity on what the next few weeks look like, I think it’s going to be better for everybody.” However, he was keen to add that he’s not in any was apportioning blame for the uncertainty. He added: “I’m not having a shot at anyone. It’s the reality of what we’re living in at the moment, it’s tricky times. We will all look back in a few years’ time and ask how the hell we got through it.”

Will other tournaments be affected?

At this point, given the understandable stance of the French government in particular, it’s hard to see the Six Nations proceeding as planned on 6th February. The proposed Rainbow Cup involving the four former Super Rugby side – the Blue Bulls, Stormers, Lions and Sharks as well as the current Pro12 sides is due to commence in April. Talks continue behind the scenes in relation to the fate of the Lions summer tour to South Africa. We will endeavour to keep you updated on any breaking news.

 

Four Steps to Better Data-driven Marketing

The new age of technology and social media has allowed data retrieval to become substantially simpler to acquire. Data-driven marketing has set the foundation for success in the business realm. This marketing technique gives you the ability to market yourself to reach and entice your key demographic. The data allows you to create a sense of community within your business and keeps customers attracted with more personalised campaigns. When conducting data-driven marketing, it is critical to recognise who your target audience is and what content to create to catch their attention. Below are four ways you can optimise your digital marketing operation and boost your profits.

  1. Form Audience Segments

When creating a marketing plan, it is essential to identify what audience you’re trying to capture. Forming audience segments – based on common demographics – will aid in the process of dividing and categorising them appropriately. Every identified subgroup will grant you the ability to tailor your content according to their:

  • Age
  • Gender
  • Location
  • Common Interests
  • Consumption Habits
  • Behaviour
  • Engagement Level.

Instead of presenting a uniform, generic brand message to your customers, audience segmentation designs more personalised messages that have more reach. The goal of this approach is to clearly define and organise the needs of each subgroup. Doing so allows tailored email campaigns or messages to be created that best suit each subgroup. However, it is important to note that subgroups shouldn’t be too narrow or too specific. Narrow segmentation ends up wasting precious time and energy or reaches very few people. When done right, this strategy reaps its rewards in the form of maintaining your audience’s attention and loyalty. It refines your marketing approach to strategically give every subgroup what they are looking for.

  1. Simplify Data Analysis

Retrieving analytical data has become easily accessible as the popularity of different media platforms has risen. Analyzing simple data is a useful resource when forming a marketing plan. It allows you to examine the strengths, weaknesses, progresses, or regressions of your business. Compiling data from multiple different platforms can easily become confusing, so using a web analytics tool can help consolidate all of the data into one simple analysis. When analyzing your data, it is important to keep a few questions in mind:

  • What are your objectives and goals? 
  • From the given data, how can you improve customer relations?
  • How are your current marketing strategies faring in your business?
  • Are your competitors marketing their business more efficiently and effectively?
  • Can you change your marketing approach to render it more fruitful?
  • Are your resources being utilised efficiently?

Being cognisant of these questions will help improve the marketing techniques that are being used in your company. It puts into perspective the outcome of your past actions, the current market, and to predict the future market. It is essential to act on the data that is recovered and analysed from your simplified data analysis. Solutions and improvement techniques can be created or re-formatted according to the collected data. When new ideas are implemented to respond to your customer’s wants or needs, it gets reflected in your business’s success.

  1. Personalise Content

Customers want to feel appreciated and welcomed by a business. Establishing a strong connection with your customer through personalised content will create a fruitful relationship for both parties. The customer will feel no desire to go window shopping for your competitor’s services, and you will have acquired a recurring customer. There are a few ways that you can easily personalise your content to build that bond between the customer and your business:

  • Attempt to address your customer by their name – this technique has been shown to increase open rates of emails by 14%!
  • Use insight-driven marketing to create personalised messages for your customers – taking advantage of data analysis’ insights can help direct what messages should be sent to different subgroups.
  • Try offering personalised offers – an increase in brand engagement is observed when customers receive unique offers.

With such an overly-saturated market, customers are looking to receive a unique and customised experience when visiting your business. Relevant and personalised content has become a critical marketing strategy in data-driven marketing. When delivering your services to customers across different platforms, it is key to perform this tactic to keep their loyalty and engagement.

  1. Create Gripping Taglines

Capturing a potential customer’s attention is done over a matter of seconds. You have a limited amount of time or characters to draw them in. First impressions are arguably the most critical step in acquiring a customer. The taglines in your email or message have to pique their attention and make them interested in seeing your content for fear of missing out. A sense of exigency must be instilled while still delivering a personalised message. The tagline must remain relevant to them. Any applicable information should be mentioned in the tagline to make them want to click on the email and respond to it. Mentioning the personal interests of the customer makes a huge difference in gripping their attention. The more personalised, the better!

These key strategies are the baseline of data-driven marketing. When implemented correctly, they can skyrocket your customer activity and create meaningful relationships that result in higher revenue and traction for your business. The goal of a business is to provide the finest treatment and service to its valued customer. The multitude of different media platforms offers valuable information about your customers that should not be overlooked. Use this data to improve, accentuate, and adjust your business to service your customer to the best of your ability.

 

Leeds suffer humiliating FA Cup elimination to Crawley Town

Reality star Mark Wright also made his debut for the League Two side in the match.

Crawley Town took on Leeds United today in a much-publicised FA Cup 3rd round fixture. The pre-match attention was focused on whether Crawley could produce a “giant-killing” performance, but rather the potential debut of reality TV star, Mark Wright.

64 places separate Leeds and Crawley in the English football pyramid leaving many sceptical about the League Two sides’ chances.

Additionally, Leeds put out a strong starting team featuring a number of first team regulars. Viewers could be forgiven for expecting a Leeds walkover.

The FA Cup, though, has a reputation for providing cup upsets throughout its history. Leeds, in particular, have been on the wrong end of cup upsets several times in the past.

Today, they suffered one of the most high-profile shocks in recent FA Cup history.

Not only did Crawley win, but they did so comfortably.  They managed a 3-0 victory against Marcelo Bielsa’s side.

As mentioned previously, much of the pre-match attention was on the potential debut of Mark Wright, given most thought it would be a straightforward Leeds victory.

That all changed when Crawley opened the scoring in the 50th minute leaving viewers to ponder whether a shock was on the cards. Nick Tsaroulla was the goalscorer and what a strike it was. He swivelled past a number of Leeds United players as he moved into the box before unleashing a well struck shot into the bottom corner.

Crawley could have sat back thereafter and hoped for a result but that was not the case. In fact, they got their second just minutes after. Ashley Nadeson was played through and he found himself in the box but at a tight angle, that didn’t phase him though and he struck a low shot into the near corner. Leeds’ goalkeeper Kiko Casilla should have done better at his near post but take nothing away from Ashley Nadeson, he worked hard and was rewarded for it with a goal.

They all but secured victory in the 70th minute as they got their 3rd goal of the night. This time Jordan Tunnicliffe smashed into the back of the net after a scramble in the box caused by an indirect free kick.

Reality star Mark Wright was brought on in the 90th minute for his Crawley Town debut after victory was almost certainly secured.

Wright signed for Crawley on a non-contract basis last month as part of an upcoming TV mini-series titled ‘Mark Wright: The Last Chance’.

His introduction today seen him make his professional debut at the age of 33. He previously played at a semi-professional level before settling for a career in television.

The score ended 3-0 to Crawley with the players and staff deserving enormous credit for the performance and result.

Crawley are now through to the FA Cup 4th round for the first time since 2012.

Their opponents will be decided on Monday.