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Sports News Ireland’s proposed structure for 2020 All-Ireland Football Championship

What type of Football All-Ireland might we see in 2020?

Yesterday the GAA ruled out any inter-county games before October. If All-Ireland titles are to be awarded in 2020, there is a relatively short window to do so. Last year Football championship started in New York on the 5th of May. It was twenty weeks later when Dublin lifted Sam Maguire after a replay victory over Kerry. Sports News Ireland have come up with a Proposed All-Ireland Football Championship for 2020.

The timescale would present less of a problem in Hurling championship due to only 12 teams competing in the Liam McCarthy cup last year.

How will the GAA find a winner for this year’s Sam Maguire?

An open-draw knockout Championship structure would be the quickest route. There is an opportunity to run a straight knockout competition over five weekends. Assuming that there will be no climax to the National Football leagues and the GAA focus on the All-Ireland Championship there would be 12 weekends available before the end of the year.

Barring postponements and replays the five rounds of games could then be spaced over ten weekends. GAA President, John Horan stated last week on RTÉ radio One, that the 2020 Championship may be pushed back into 2021. However, this would have a knock-on effect on next years league and championship campaigns.

Starting a competition in October would come with plenty of potential pitfalls. If there was a fortnight between rounds, then the business end of the competition would be well into December.  Perhaps the All-Ireland final could take place on St.Patrick’s day 2021? Until two years ago the AIB Club finals on Paddy’s day was one of the highlights of the GAA calendar.

This year’s Allianz leagues are highly unlikely to be completed. However, rather than completely ignore the five rounds of fixtures that were already fulfilled, the GAA has an opportunity to reward those counties who performed well in their respective divisions.  The current league positions of each county could be used as seedings for the 2020 championship (see table 1-A).

How would this work?

The last inter-county football game to be played was on Saturday, March 7th when Armagh enjoyed a 3-14 v 0-10 win over Fermanagh in a rescheduled Allianz league two game at Brewster Park. This left each of the 32 counties across all four divisions with 5 games played.

Table 1-A: The 4 Allianz league divisions provide an ideal number for a 32 team knockout competition.
Sports News Ireland Proposed All-Ireland Football Championship 2020

Galway, who sit top of division 1 would be 1st seed, while London who sit bottom of Division 4 would be the 32nd seed. Here we hit our first snag – at this stage with international travel looking like a distant memory, would London be in a position to fulfil this fixture? If not there is an opportunity for Kilkenny to field a team in the Sam Maguire for the first since 1982. 

Fixtures in round 1 where Division 1 sides play Division 4 sides would see home advantage being awarded to the lower league sides. The potentially more balanced fixtures between Division 2 versus Division 3 sides could be played at neutral venues. 

The seeding would work in a mirrored fashion. 1st would play 32nd, 2nd v 31st, 3rd v 30th and so on. The draw would also be divided into two sides A & B. This would allow the fixture planners to narrow down the possible pairings in order to plan venues in advance. The odd number fixtures would then form side one of the draw (A). While the even-numbered fixtures would be on the opposite side (B).

Table 1-b: This is how the Round 1 draw would look using the current Allianz Football League standing.

Weekend 1 of the championship would see 16 matches over the two days. 8 games from side A of the draw on Saturday and the 8 from side B on Sunday (see diagram 1-B). Weekend two would see the eight winners face off over the two days. By the third weekend, we would be at the quarter-final stage (see table 1-c). By weekend four the teams would be whittled down to the last four. The semi-finals would take place at Croke Park on consecutive days. By week 5 we would be left with just two counties competing for the Sam Maguire Cup. 

Why might this not work?

One of the most obvious stumbling blocks to this suggested format would be the lack of Provincial Championships. Would the four provincial councils agree to their showpiece event being cancelled even as a one-off event?

However, the proposed format would throw up some interesting encounters. The first four ties on each side of the draw would give division four sides a taste of the big time against top tier opposition.

The prospect of the Dubs travelling to face Sligo in Markievicz Park would surely attract large numbers of the Hill 16 army for the weekend. It would also serve as a huge boost to the local economy. While the eight ties between division two and division three sides should be fiercely competitive encounters.

Proposed All-Ireland football championship rounds 2 - 5.
Table 1-c. Proposed All-Ireland football championship rounds 2 – 5.

 

Shortlists announced for All-Ireland League Awards

The shortlists have been announced for the Energia All-Ireland League awards. The awards themselves will be broadcast virtually on Energia’s Facebook and Youtube channels on Friday the 8th of May.

Rugby fans across the island will be in for a full line-up of special guests including Irish Rugby Players Peter O’Mahony, Keith Earls, Joey Carbery, Jordan Larmour and Irish Rugby Coaches Andy Farrell and Adam Griggs all presenting awards on the night. The event will be hosted by comedian Mario Rosenstock who will surely be banging out some of his favourite rugby impersonations.

The nominations for the AIL men’s player of the year shows a list of five, these include Cork Con’s Brian Hayes, Miah Cronin of Highfield, Brad Roberts of Rainey Old Boys, Killian Marmion of Greystones and Paul O’Loughlin of Skerries rugby club. In the women’s category three players are up for the award. Blackrock’s Hannah O’Connor, Chloe Pearse of UL Bohemians and Steph Carroll of Railway Union.

There are five players up for the award for men’s try of the year. These are Conor O’Brien of Nenagh, Peter Cashell of Dungannon rugby club, Jack Crowley of Cork Con, Kelvin Brown of Galwegians and Scott Finlay of Malone RFC. In the women’s equivalent four players are up for the award. These include, Nichola Fryday of Old Belvedere, Alana McInerney of UL Bohemians, Stephanie Nunan of UL Bohemians, and Jenni Burke of Blackrock College.

In addition to these awards, the shortlists for other categories in the All-Ireland league have been announced the rising star of each division will be announced, women’s coach of the year, mens’ coach of the year, club scene award and the Energia Positive Energy award.

The award ceremony will take place at 8pm on Friday on the Youtube and Facebook platforms of Energia.

Energia AIL Award Shortlists include:

Energia AIL Men’s player of the year

• Division 1A: Brian Hayes, Cork Constitution
• Div 1B: Miah Cronin, Highfield
• Div 2A: Brad Roberts, Rainey OB
• Division 2B: Killian Marmion, Greystones
• Div 2C: Paul O’Loghlen, Skerries

Energia AIL Women’s player of the year

• Hannah O’Connor – Blackrock College
• Chloe Pearse – UL Bohemian
• Steph Carroll – Railway Union

Energia AIL Men’s Try of the Year award

• Conor O’Brien – Nenagh Ormond RFC
• Peter Cashel – Dungannon RFC
• Jack Crowley – Cork Constitution FC
• Kelvin Brown – Shannon RFC
• Scott Finlay – Malone RFC

Energia AIL Women’s Try of the Year award

• Nichola Fryday – Old Belvedere RFC
• Alana McInerney – UL Bohemian RFC
• Stephanie Nunan – UL Bohemian RFC
• Jenni Burke – Blackrock College

Madrid and Barcelona players undergo virus testing

Real Madrid and Barcelona player have undergone testing for Coronavirus. The tests come after La Liga clubs plan to return to restrictive training ahead of a season resumption next month.

RTE Sport that Barcelona captain Lionel Messi and French World Cup winner Antoine Griezmann were among players pictured arriving one by one in their cars at the clubs training facilities on Thursday morning. Real Madrid players which included Karim Benzema and Eden Hazard also undertook health checks on Thursday morning at Madrid’s training facilities.

The testing comes on the back of the strict La Liga protocol which teams must comply with before a return to training. The results of the tests are expected in the 48 hours. Atletico Madrid will also carry out testing today and they are aiming to get back to training once results are known, providing everything is okay.

The Spanish Government announced a four phase programme earlier last week. In terms of football, the first phase would allow players to train alone, with a maximum of six players allowed on the pitch at anyone time. RTE report that players will be expected to arrive for training dressed in team kit, they must also wear a mask and gloves when not training. They will also be given a bag with clothes for the next day after each session.

The fourth stage which is scheduled for June would allow for outdoor events to take place. However, such events could go only go ahead with less than 400 people. The Straits Times report that La Liga are proposing to play the rest of the season behind closed doors with games to begin in the middle of June.

La Liga President Javier Tebas has also said this stating, “Circumstances are unprecedented, but we hope to start playing again in June and finish our 19/20 season this summer.”

Joshua and Pulev could fight in Croatia

Anthony Joshua could fight Kubrat Pulev in front of a crowd at a Roman amphitheatre in Croatia according to Pulev’s manager Ivaylo Gotsev.

The British Boxing Boxing Board of Control Organisation said last week that boxing could return in July without spectators. However, Eddie Hearn said Joshua would fight behind closed doors as a last resort. Gotsev said due to the measures in England in place. They are currently looking a new territory for the fight to take place. He said, “We have given ourselves four weeks to look for a new territory if the situation and measures in England do not change”. He continued, “We are discussing Croatia, there is a unique Roman stadium – Pula Arena – there and we are in active talks,” he said, adding that the fight would most probably take place in August or September”.

Pula Arena has hosted events in the past with several concerts taking place there. Singers such as Sinead O’Connor, Elton John and Andrea Bocelli all singing there to name but a few. Two ice hockey games also took place there in 2012. Gotsev said there needs to be a mutual agreement and the terms and conditions would have to benefit both parties. He said, “There needs to be a mutual agreement. We want the terms and conditions to be beneficial for both parties”.

“They can’t meet in Bulgaria because Joshua will not agree. He wanted to fight at home, but force majeure brought a change. Kubrat, however, was ready to fight in Joshua’s backyard, even if the judges were his family.”

Joshua currently holds the WBA, WBO and IBF belts after beating Andy Ruiz in a rematch in Saudi Arabia in December. Incidentally, Joshua, was due to fight Pulev in 2017 in Cardiff. The Bulgarian had to withdraw from the fight the fight with a shoulder injury.

NFL Scraps all four London Fixtures

The NFL have scrapped all four games which were due to take place in London the later this year.

Two of the fixtures involved the Jacksonville Tigers were scheduled for Wembley Stadium, while the further two games were due to be played at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The BBC report that these games will now be played in the USA, organisers have also ruled out the games taking place on a different continent owing to the coronavirus.

It will be the first time a NFL game has not taken place in London since 2006. The NFL commissioner Roger Goodell made the decision based on discussions with stakeholders, local government and the clubs themselves. London Mayor, Sadiq Khan said, “It was absolutely the right decision to ensure the safety of everyone involved in sport”. Furthermore, Tottenham Hotspur chairman, Daniel Levy, said “They fully appreciate the difficult decision that the NFL has had to make”.

In my opinion it is hardly surprising news given the current situation we are all in. No one also knows when professional sport will resume in the UK. However, when and if sports to resume in 2020 they will likely be behind closed doors, with no supporters present in the stands. The Biggest Losers in terms of the financial aspect of things will of course be Tottenham Hotspur and the English FA. The games attract big attendances, as well the commercial element, from merchandise and food sales. In fact BBC state that the company responsible for the technology that allows beer to filled from the bottom of the glass upwards that they took in about 1 million last year for two games.

However, life has to be simply put ahead of sport in these times. We will all have all the sport in the world to watch once this virus stops completely.

GAA Fixtures – No County games until October

GAA have released a statement on inter county fixtures and it seems there will be no matches until October.

The GAA notes and welcomes the plans published by the government last Friday and some of the dates included relating to the possible return of sporting activity, including Gaelic games.

The Association will attempt to seek clarity around some of the issues that have arisen in internal discussions since last Friday including the challenge of social distancing in contact sport.

 GAA facilities are to remain closed as part of efforts to prevent gatherings which breach the restrictions.

We are instructing our clubs and counties to continue to adhere to the restrictions and to refrain from organising on-field activity. These measures are expected to remain in place until July 20.

 We will continue to monitor the dates and timelines as revealed by the Government and our arrangements will remain under constant review.

Our units are reminded that the Player Injury scheme is suspended and will remain so until an official return to action protocol is confirmed.

 The GAA still firmly hopes to be able to play county and club competitions this year, subject of course to public health guidance. We can confirm however that no inter-county games are expected to take place before October.

Counties are asked, in the interest of players, to suspend all inter-county training until further notice. There will be a phased resumption of training at both club and county level to allow players to prepare appropriately for playing games.

While not categorically ruling out the possible staging of games behind closed doors later in the year, there appears to be a lack of appetite for this type of fixture-scheduling at the current time across the wider Association.

The GAA can also confirm the appointment of a dedicated Covid-19 Advisory Group which will advise the Association on matters relating to return to play protocols and other similar issues.

The members of this group are as follows:

Shay Bannon (Chairman) – existing Chairman of Health and Safety group

Dick Clerkin (existing Chairman of Medical Scientific and Welfare Committee)

Dr Pat O’Neill (Dublin)

Dr Kevin Moran (Donegal)

Dr Jim O’Donovan (Limerick)

Dr Seán Moffatt (Chair of Gaelic Medical Association and Mayo team doctor)

Paul Flynn (CEO Gaelic Players Association)

Stephen Mc Geehan (Head of Operations, Ulster GAA)

Tony Mc Guinness (Events and Safety Manager, Croke Park)

Sinéad McNulty (CEO An Cumann Camógaíochta)

Helen O’Rourke (CEO Ladies Gaelic Football Association)

John Horan (Uachtarán CLG)

Tom Ryan (Ard Stiúrthóir CLG)

Feargal Mc Gill (Director of Player, Club and Games Administration)

 

The outcome of this group’s work will be a graduated approach, informed and guided by the recently published Government Roadmap and by Government policy from Stormont.

 

Our units have played an important role in the community effort against the pandemic and we thank all of our members for their role in this to date.

 

We also underline the importance of continuing to adhere to the guidelines to ensure that the country as a whole meets its targets in the coming weeks allowing us to make progress and facilitate a return to games when it is safe to do so.

Shane Jackson wins The Grand Annual Steeplechase in Warrnambool, Australia

Australian-based Irish jockey Shane Jackson rode favourite Ablaze to win the 2020 $315,000 Waterfront by Lyndoch Living Grand Annual Steeplechase (5500m) at Warrnambool on Tuesday.

Ablaze, trained by Ciaron Maher and David Eustace, defeated two previous winners and remains unbeaten from four jumps starts, and becomes the first horse to claim Warrnambool’s marathon double, the Jericho Cup (4,600m) on the flat and the Grand Annual Steeplechase.

Kiltegan, Co. Wicklow-born Shane Jackson aboard the son of Raise The Flag made full use of his weight advantage over 5500 metres against Zed Em and Gold Medals, both of which had won the Grand Annual Steeplechase once each in the past two seasons.

The 33-year-old jockey admitted that winning the Grand Annual Steeplechase was the “pinnacle” of his career to date:

“He’s a good horse and he’s the star of the next few years. It’ll take a damn good one to come out and beat him. To have that one ticked off (the Grand Annual Steeplechase), it’s the race I’ve always wanted to win. I know there’s no crowds here, but it doesn’t matter, it’s such a thrill.”

Zed Em, under replacement jockey Arron Lynch, attempted to lead for the majority of the race, and while he negotiated the course of 33 obstacles faultlessly, with 7kg more than last year’s Jericho Cup winner Ablaze, Lynch’s mount couldn’t match the eventual winner for speed once the jumping had concluded.

Gold Medals got past the weakening Zed Em inside the final 150 metres to finish second, eight lengths behind Ablaze.

Ciaron Maher was full of praise for the Irish jockey, who moved to Australia in 2012, saying:

“They rolled along at a brilliant tempo. He is inexperienced so full credit to Shane Jackson. To win the Jericho and to come back in his third start over jumps to win a race like this is phenomenal. Full credit to my brother and the team at Ballarat and to Jacko (Shane Jackson).”

Maher, who trains in partnership with David Eustace, indicated that Ablaze would campaign through the winter months and could be prepared for a title defence of the Jericho Cup, the 4600-metre flat race at Warrnambool restricted to Australasian-bred horses in November.

UCI announces revised 2020 WorldTour Calendar

The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) has announced a revised 2020 calendar for the UCI WorldTour, with a view to the resumption of the cycling season later this year.

In agreement with all stakeholders, the UCI has established a revised 2020 UCI WorldTour which will start with the Strade Bianche on 1st August and finish with the Vuelta Ciclista a España on 8 November.

Featuring among the 25-event series are 17 one-day races, including the five Monuments (Milano-Sanremo, Tour des Flandres, Paris-Roubaix, Liège-Bastogne-Liège and Il Lombardia) and eight stage races, including the three Grands Tours.

Regarding the Grand Tours, the length of the Vuelta Ciclistica a España (20 October – 8 November) has been shortened by one weekend at the request of the organiser, Unipublic, which has received confirmation from the authorities of the city of Utrecht that the conditions cannot be met for a Grand Depart in the Netherlands.

The length of the Giro d’Italia remains unchanged. It should also be highlighted that it has been possible to find space in the calendar for almost all the other UCI WorldTour events whose organisers did not request cancellation due to the health crisis.

With the Aigle-Martigny 2020 UCI Road World Championships taking place in Switzerland at the scheduled dates, the 2020 season proposes a large majority of the most prestigious races originally registered on the year’s UCI International Road Calendar.

Revised 2020 UCI WorldTour Calendar

1st August: Strade Bianche (Italy)

5-9 August: Tour de Pologne (Poland)

8 August: Milano-Sanremo (Italy)

12-16 August: Critérium du Dauphiné (France)

16 August: Prudential RideLondon-Surrey Classic (Britain)

25 August: Bretagne Classic – Ouest-France (France)

29 August – 20 September: Tour de France

7-14 September: Tirreno-Adriatico (Italy)

11 September: Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec (Canada)

13 September: Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal (Canada)

29 September – 3 October: BinckBank Tour

30 September: La Flèche Wallonne (Belgium)

3-25 October: Giro d’Italia (Italy)

4 October: Liège-Bastogne-Liège (Belgium)

10 October: Amstel Gold Race (The Netherlands)

11 October: Gent-Wevelgem in Flanders Fields (Belgium)

14 October: A Travers la Flandre (Belgium)

15-20 October: Gree – Tour of Guangxi (China)

18 October: Tour des Flandres (Belgium)

20 October – 8 November: Vuelta Ciclista a España (Spain)

21 October: Driedaagse Brugge-De Panne (Belgium)

25 October: Paris-Roubaix (France)

31 October: Il Lombardia (Italy)

Dates are yet to be confirmed for EuroEyes Cyclassics Hamburg (Germany) and Eschborn-Frankfurt (Germany).

The National Championships should take place from 20 to 23 August. However, their dates will be subject to the possibility of National Federations to organise their event in August.

Revised 2020 UCI Women’s WorldTour Calendar announced

The UCI had confirmed the revised UCI Women’s WorldTour calendar, which will start on 1st August with the Strade Bianche and finish on 8 November with the Ceratizit Madrid Challenge by La Vuelta (Spain).

The 2020 series will consist of 18 events: 13 one-day races and five stage races.

Revised 2020 UCI Women’s WorldTour Calendar

1st August: Strade Bianche (Italy)
8 August: Postnord UCI WWT Vårgårda West Sweden TTT (Sweden)
9 August: Postnord UCI WWT Vårgårda West Sweden RR (Sweden)
13-16 August: Ladies Tour of Norway (Norway)
26 August: GP de Plouay – Lorient Agglomération Trophée WNT (France)
29 August: La Course by Le Tour de France (France)
1-6 September: Boels Ladies Tour (The Netherlands)
11-19 September: Giro d’Italia Internazionale Femminile (Italy)
30 September: La Flèche Wallonne Féminine (Belgium)
4 October: Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes (Belgium)
10 October: Amstel Gold Race Ladies (the Netherlands)
11 October: Gent-Wevelgem in Flanders Fields (Belgium)
18 October: Ronde van Vlaanderen (Belgium)
20 October: Tour of Guangxi Women’s WorldTour (China)
20 October: Driedaagse Brugge-De Panne (Belgium)
23-25 October: Tour of Chongming Island (China)
25 October: Paris-Roubaix (France)
6-8 November: Ceratizit Madrid Challenge by La Vuelta (Spain)

For UCI Women’s WorldTour events, the maximum number of riders can be fixed at 5 (compared to 6 or 7 usually). This measure will enable organisers to invite more teams (a maximum of 26 compared to 24 normally), while this increased flexibility will enable teams with multiple commitments to participate in a greater number of events.

Sam Cane named All Blacks Captain

New Zealand loose forward and Chiefs captain Sam Cane has been named as the new captain of the All Blacks.

Twenty-eight year-old Cane, who has played 68 Tests, including 48 starts, since making his debut against Ireland in Christchurch in 2012, succeeds Kieran Read who retired after Rugby World Cup 2019.

All Blacks Head Coach Ian Foster said he was delighted to name Cane as the new captain:

“Sam is an experienced All Black with eight years in the team now and is a ‘follow me’ type of leader and a very good thinker in the game. He has a natural ability to connect with everyone in the team and is straightforward and direct when he needs to be.”

The new appointee described it as “massive honour” to be given the captaincy:

“It’s a pretty exciting challenge really and as I’ve spent more time in the All Blacks and grown as a player, I’ve become a lot more comfortable being a leader in the team. The great thing about the All Blacks is that the leadership group is full of captains and experienced players already, so I’m just really looking forward to working closely with that group and doing my best to lead them and the rest of the squad.”

The Rotorua-native (All Black Number 1113) has already captained the All Blacks on three occasions, having become the 67th Test captain and fifth youngest ever when he captained the team against Namibia at RWC2015 at the age of 23. He also captained the team against Italy in 2016 and against Argentina in Buenos Aires last year.

Sam Cane made his provincial debut for Bay of Plenty in 2010 at just 18 years old and his Super Rugby debut for the Chiefs the following year. In 2011, he was part of the Junior World Championship-winning New Zealand Under 20 side, was the New Zealand Rugby Age Grade Player of the Year and was also nominated for International Age Grade Player award.

Cane helped the Chiefs to the first of their back-to-back Investec Super Rugby titles in 2012 before making his All Blacks debut in June that year aged 20. He was co-captain of the Chiefs for four years taking sole charge this year and has played 116 games for the club. In 2018 Cane fractured his neck during a Test against South Africa and faced months of recovery post-surgery before making a much-anticipated return to the Chiefs in 2019, helping the team through to the Quarter Finals. A Rugby World Cup 2015 winner with the All Blacks and part of the RWC2019 squad, Cane has scored 13 tries to date for his country.

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