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Roscommon hurling manager steps down

Roscommon GAA have announced that senior hurling manager Ciaran Comerford has stepped down from his position.

The former Laois and Borris-Kilcotton player was appointed Roscommon boss in November 2017 and has been popular with supporters and players alike in the county. Ciaran was in the final year of the agreed deal, but has now decided that the time was right to move to pastures new rather than complete the season when action and inter-county training resume in September.

Chairman of the Roscommon County Hurling Board, Christy McDermott, said in a statement, “I’d like to thank Ciarán for his efforts over the past two and half years with the Roscommon team. I fully respect the decision he has made, as the Christy Ring Competition will not now commence until much later in the year”. Mr McDermott acknowledged all the work Comerford put into his role and said

 “We had some good days including our winning of the Division 3 A National League last year. For those, we thank you Ciarán”.

Roscommon have said they hope to have a manager in place by the end of July. A recruitment process for the job will start in the coming days.

Roscommon GAA confirm Ciarán Comerford is stepping down as Senior Hurling Team Manager. https://t.co/j8wnDUclY4 #rosgaa #gaa #GAABelong pic.twitter.com/zoUnJr5dCC

Chairman of Roscommon County Board Seamus McSweeney said,  I’d like to thank Ciarán for all his efforts with Roscommon hurling over the last 2 and a half years that he has been with us and I can confirm that a  recruitment process for a new Hurling manager is now starting and we hope to have a new manager in place towards the end of July”.

English FA to make 124 staff redundant

The English FA is to make 124 staff redundant due to financial impact of Covid 19. RTE Sport report the lack of revenue from international and domestic games has hit the FA very hard. In fact reports suggest they lost over £300 million.

The Chief Executive of the FA, Mark Bullingham, has said, “As a not-for-profit organisation, this will hit us hard”. He continued, “Therefore, over recent months, we have forensically analysed the budget of every division within the FA in order to identify the most suitable areas to make costs savings”.

Bullingham stated the situation has “worsened” and a reduction in the FA numbers will need to be done in order to deal with the financial impact of the crisis. Mr Bullingham continued, “It might seem that football has weathered the storm by getting the top flight men’s game playing again”. He said, “However, unfortunately the past few months have impacted the FA severely and we have lost a significant amount of money that we can never recoup. “We also anticipate that many of our future revenue streams will be affected for a considerable time.” Bullingham said the next few weeks will be “difficult” for the FA.

“The next few weeks will be very tough for everyone at the FA and our aim is to ensure that we emerge in the strongest possible state and be ready for better times in the future.”

It certainly bad times when people are losing their jobs due to the virus. But personally I can see this happening at a lot of club around England in the coming weeks and months as well .Only time will tell how long this virus will last.

Super Rugby Aotearoa – Week 3 Video Highlights

The Blues are three wins from three having survived a scare from the Highlanders during the third weekend of Investec Super Rugby Aotearoa. The competition leaders had a tight 27-24 victory on Saturday at Eden Park.

The Crusaders remain unbeaten at home in 35 straight games, and are two wins from two in Investec Super Rugby Aotearoa after their 18-12 defeat of Chiefs at Orangetheory Stadium on Sunday morning.

Here are the highlights from both games.

Blues v Highlanders

Crusaders v Chiefs

Aidan O’Brien discusses his Epsom plans

Santiago, winner of yesterday’s Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby, has not been fully ruled out an attempt at a Derby double according to his trainer Aidan O’Brien.

Though the Ballydoyle handler had initially suggested Santiago could go next for the Ladbrokes St Leger at Doncaster, speaking to Nick Luck on Racing TV this morning, O’Brien suggested he could instead turn out in the Investec Derby at Epsom next Saturday.

The 14-times winning trainer of the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby said:

“It’s very possible (those that ran in Irish Derby could run at Epsom). I spoke to John (Magnier), Michael (Tabor) and Derrick (Smith), the entries are made on Monday so we’ll see what everybody thinks today and tomorrow whether they decide to make an entry or not.”

O’Brien continued:

“We’ll see what they want to do, but it’s not impossible. We’ll see what other horses are going to Epsom. It was unconventional to run them so soon after Ascot, but they came out of the race well and that is why they ran. Nothing is definitely ruled out.”

The Ballydoyle handler also said that Mythical and Amhrán na Bhfiann were in contention for Epsom, along with Russian Emperor, Mogul and Tattersalls Irish 2000 Guineas second Vatican City. Armory was also mentioned as a possible runner in either the Epsom Derby or the French equivalent.

In discussing possible runners in the Investec Oaks, Aidan O’Brien said that both Qipco 1000 Guineas winner Love and Tattersalls Irish 1000 Guineas victor Peaceful were both currently being aimed at Epsom, but both may not partake in the Epsom Group 1. He stated that both Ennistymon and Passion, second and third in the Ribblesdale Stakes at Royal Ascot last week, are also possibilities.

Recap:UFC Fight Night Las Vegas

Dustin Poirier and Dan Hooker went the distance in their UFC fight at Las Vegas in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Poirier started the fight rather slow but Hooker took control in the opening few rounds. However, Poirier turned the fight around to turn the fight in his way. Poirier record now stands at 26-6, while Hooker is 20-9. Mike Perry was also in action on the night with his girlfriend the only person in his corner. He out pointed Mickey Gall to win his 14th fight.

Speaking after the fight Poirier said, “I could have been a little bit sharper,” “I didn’t get out of the way of a few shots. It’s not that I disrespected Dan’s power, but I stayed in the pocket too long. I landed a couple of good ones that were making his head snap back and I thought I was maybe stealing the rounds but I could do better than that.”

In other fights, Maurice Green overcame Gian Villante. Green won by submission via arm triangle in Round 3. Brendan Allen beat Kyle Daukaus via unanimous decision on points, 29-28, 29-27, 30-27. All three rounds went in favour of Allen. Takashi Sato didn’t take long to see off Jason Witt by TKO. Sato taking just 44 seconds of Round 1 to win. Julian Erosa had a very good win over Sean Woodson via submission after 2.44 of round 3 in their bout.

The preliminary fights seen Khama Worthy beat Luis Pena by submission (guillotine) after 2 minutes 53 second of round 3. Tanner Boser also had a good win Philipe Lins via TKO after 2 minutes 42 seconds of Round 1. Kay Hansen beat Jinh Yu Frey by submission (arm bar) in round 2 in their fight, while Youssef Zala defeated Jordan Griffin by unanimous decision winning 29-28, 29-28, 29-28 in a tight match.

Gough opts out of 2020 championship due to social distancing

The Independent.ie report that Meath referee David Gough has opted out of reffing in the 2020 championship owing to social distancing. Gough is one of the best referees in the game and took charge of the 2019 All-Ireland football final.

The Independent state that Mr Gough informed Meath county board officials that he won’t be available to take charge of club games in the county. The club games in Meath are due to resume next month, as long as social distancing guidelines are met. Gough says that the same will apply to the inter county games when action resumes in the middle of October. He told the Independent.ie, “I spoke to the referees’ coordinator from the Meath county board this morning (Thursday) and updated him,”.

Gough said he can’t see himself returning to the game as long as social distancing is still in place. He said, “As long as there is social distancing still in place I won’t be taking charge of club matches in Meath for the foreseeable future”. He continued, It’s only two months since two metres seemed to be a life and death matter. If I go to town now I have to be two metres away from someone and wear a face mask at the same time which is HSE advice.

The Slane man continued, “So I don’t understand how I can safely be in a confined space with 30-plus people on a football field and be socially distant. Until that changes I won’t be coming back.” Gough said he thought very hard about the decision, but said it was made in the best interest of his team of officials which is made up of family members. He said,”I thought very hard about it. It’s based on my own personal circumstances and those of my umpiring team and I didn’t want to put them or myself (in harm’s way) based on our personal situations.

City to form guard of honour for Liverpool

RTE Sport report that Manchester City will perform a guard of honour when they host Liverpool next Thursday manager Pep Guardiola has said.

Liverpool were crowned Premier League champions midweek after Man City lost to Chelsea. It meant Liverpool ended their drought of a Premier League title for 30 years. The game against City was earmarked a title decider game but obviously now that has not come to fruition. Pep Guardiola said, “Of course we are going to do it,”. “We are going to do the guard of honour of course he told Sky Sports. 

The Spaniard continued, “Always we receive Liverpool when they come to our house in an incredible way. They cannot complain and of course we are going to do it because they deserve it.” Liverpool have been at their best this season. They have won 28 games from their 31 to date. With 7 games to go they have already wrapped up the title. Many have suggested City’s hunger may have dipped due to securing the treble last season. However, Guardiola rubbished these reports. He said, “A team that wins eight titles (trophies) in the last three years have passion, in every single game, in every competition, everywhere. No one in this country can say that”.

All is not lost for Man City though, they are still in the Champions League and FA Cup. Champions League action doesn’t get back underway until August, while they will face Newcastle in the FA Cup quarter-final on Sunday. Guardiola said, “Right now it is a priority because it is the next game and we can get Wembley again in the semi-final. I saw Newcastle and they have the weapons to punish us”. “The important thing is this game and after you can finish the Premier League as best as possible, finish second, and after that we have time to prepare for (Real) Madrid.”

Treble for Wayne Lordan at The Curragh

Wayne Lordan has been the jockey to follow for the opening two days of the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby meeting at The Curragh, with the Cork rider making it six wins with doubles on both Friday and Saturday.

Lordan claimed the opening two contests on Saturday with Serpentine and Buckhurst respectively.

Serpentine (5/2f) broke quickly in the Dubai Duty Free The Irish Village EBF Maiden and established an early five-length advantage, before the son of Galileo went clear to eventually win by a nine length margin for trainer Aidan O’Brien.

Buckhurst (13/8f) took the Group 3 Dubai Duty Free Jumeirah Creekside Hotel Alleged Stakes for Wayne Lordan and trainer Joseph O’Brien, in what was a disappointing field of three runners. He beat his stable companion Numerian by a length and a half with the race favourite Sir Dragonet from Ballydoyle in third.

Lordan completed his treble in the Group 2 Comer Group International Vintage Crop Stakes, doing it from the front again, as Joseph O’Brien’s Twilight Payment (15/8f) stayed on strongly to take the spoils.

Ancient Spirit (10/3) won the Dubai Duty Free Finest Surprise Celebration Stakes for Jessica Harrington and Shane Foley. The Listed Gain First Flier Stakes went the way of the highly-impressive Frenetic under jockey Colin Keane.

Charles O’Brien and Michael Hussey teamed up to win the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships Handicap with Big Gossey (14/1), while Tipperary handler Denis Hogan’s Big Baby Bull (11/1) claimed the Dubai Duty Free Millennium Millionaire Handicap for Joey Sheridan.

Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby Reaction

Séamie Heffernan, who won his fourth Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby with the victory of Santiago on Saturday evening, was full of praise for the recent Queen’s Vase winner, stating:

“He’s a tough horse – a mile and six (in the Queen’s Vase at Royal Ascot) back to a mile and a half in the Curragh really suited me. I was always comfortable. I would have liked to have had a better draw and a cleaner slot, but it worked out.”

The 47-year-old Ballydoyle jockey continued:

“It wasn’t an ideal draw and I took a gamble in dropping him in, but if you go forward and you get trapped wide he’s a horse that gets competitive. He wants to go and race and win.”

MV Magnier, son of Coolmore supremo John, spoke of the significance of winning the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby from a breeding viewpoint:

“The Irish Derby is the pinnacle of Irish racing. It is a stallion-making race and many great champions have won it over the years.”

The winning handler, Aidan O’Brien, who claimed his 14th win in The Curragh classic, said he believed the 2020 Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby winner was a likely St Leger horse:

“We’re delighted. He’s a lovely horse. We thought he would be a Leger horse we were going to look forward to next year. A lovely, clean-winded, honest horse. The St Leger looks a lovely race for him. We think he will be a lovely Cup horse next year but he has plenty class and travels well.”

The Wexford-native was also delighted with the performance of the runner-up and third-placed horses, saying:

“They are two lovely horses (Tiger Moth and Dawn Patrol) and are two babies, they are progressing. In a month’s time they will be even better we think.”

Image of Santiago and Séamie Heffernan by Patrick McCann/Racing Post, provided by Horse Racing Ireland (HRI).

Santiago wins Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby

Santiago (2/1f) provided trainer Aidan O’Brien with an incredible 14th win in the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby on Saturday evening at The Curragh.

The recent winner of the Queen’s Vase at Royal Ascot won Ireland’s Premier Classic by a head from his stable mate, Tiger Moth (11/1), giving his rider Séamie Heffernan a fourth success in the Group 1 race.

In what was another great race for Team Ballydoyle, Dawn Patrol (10/1) was third home, ahead of Order Of Australia (33/1), meaning the Co. Tipperary establishment trained the first-four home in the mile and a half contest.

The winning handler said of Santiago post race:

“Santiago is a lovely, straightforward horse. He likes to take his time in his races and Séamus got a lovely run through and stayed very well.”

The Ladbrokes St Leger at Doncaster was immediately mentioned as a next possible race for the son of Authorized.

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