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World No.1 Brooks Koepka confirmed for sold out JP McManus Pro-Am in July

World no.1 golfer Brooks Koepka has been confirmed for the 6th edition of the JP McManus Pro-Am at Adare Manor, Co. Limerick on July 6th and 7th, bringing to eight of the world’s top 10 players who are now set to play the charity event.

The 29-year-old American won the 2017 US Open, before claiming at least one Major championship in each of the last three seasons, en route to the summit of golf’s world rankings.

Florida-native Koepka is the latest in an impressive list of world class players who will play at the JP McManus-owned venue this summer, among them Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Justin Rose, Jon Rahm, 2019 British Open Champion Shane Lowry, Sergio Garcia, former Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley, as well as former Major winners Graeme McDowell and Pádraig Harrington.

Koepka, whose huge distance off the tee and superb all-round game have seen him become the dominant player in the men’s game over the past three years, has won an impressive array of Major Championships: 2017 US Open, 2018 US Open, 2018 USPGA Championship, and 2019 USPGA Championship.

Pro-Am host JP McManus said he is delighted Koepka will be at Adare Manor in July:

“It’s fantastic for the Pro-Am that Brooks has committed to the event and I extend our sincere thanks to him for doing so. It promises to be very special for the spectators to see a player of his calibre in action this July and we are also extremely fortunate to have eight of the world’s top ten golfers confirmed to participate.”

The Pro-Am takes place July 6th-7th 2020 at the Tom Fazio redesigned Golf Course at Adare Manor, with charitable organisations in the Mid-West set to benefit from the Pro-Am.

Ireland Club XV to play Scotland Club XV, Friday 7.30pm

The Ireland Club XV team to play Scotland Club XV in the opening game of the 2020 Club International Series at Netherdale on Friday (kick-off 7.30pm) has been named by Gearóid Prendergast.

Four players who took part in the 2019 series return and are joined by two other players with previous experience at this level, in a starting line-up which has an average age of 23 years.

Alan Kennedy, who featured against England Counties in 2017 and has been named as captain, with the Young Munster man set to start alongside Brian Hayes in the second row. John Sutton and Andy Keating are named in the front row with the uncapped Conor Maguire.

Michael Melia will start his fifth consecutive club international on Friday night when he packs down in the back row with Paul Derham and John Foley.

Aran Hehir and James Taylor form the half back partnership, while outside Taylor will be his UCC club mate Peter Sylvester. Pa Ryan is at outside centre the back three consisting of Jamie Heuston, Colm Hogan and Jack Ringrose.

Commenting on the team selection, Head Coach Gearóid Prendergast said:

“I’m excited to be working with this group of players. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the last few weeks of preparation and I think they’re going to grab this opportunity with both hands. They’re young, they’re ambitious and above all talented. We’ve sprinkled some experience in there, but a lot of these guys will be playing in a club international for the first time so it’s massively exciting for them.”

Ireland Club XV Squad

15. Jamie Heuston (Garryowen), 14. Colm Hogan (Dublin University), 13. Pa Ryan (Shannon), 12. Peter Sylvester (UCC), 11. Jack Ringrose (UCD), 10. James Taylor (UCC), 9. Aran Hehir (Shannon),

1. Conor Maguire (Old Wesley). 2. John Sutton (Cork Constitution), 3. Andrew Keating (Garryowen), 4. Brian Hayes (Cork Constitution), 5. Alan Kennedy (Young Munster), 6. Michael Melia (Terenure College), 7. John Foley (Young Munster), 8. Paul Derham (Old Wesley).

Replacements:

16. Adam Clarkin (Terenure College), 17. Corrie Barrett (Garryowen), 18. JP Phelan (Clontarf), 19. Peter Claffey (Terenure College), 20. Ryan Murphy (UCC), 21. Gerry Hurley (Cork Constitution), 22. Bryan Fitzgerald (Garryowen), 23. Matthew Byrne (Terenure College).

2020 Club International Series Fixtures:

Scotland Club XV v Ireland Club XV
Friday, January 31, kick-off 7.30pm
Netherdale, Galashiels.

Ireland Club XV v Scotland Club XV
Friday, February 7, kick-off 5.45pm
Energia Park, Donnybrook.

FAI set to receive 7.5 million euro from government

The FAI are set to receive 7.5 million euro from the Irish Government. RTE Sport report that the government will double its funding to the FAI. This funding will be an interest free loan of 2.5 euro annually for the three years. This set to to refinance the organisation and help save it.

Currently the FAI are in debt of around 62 million euros. So they are cash strapped. However this latest injection of money will likely help in some way or another. Sport Minister Shane Ross as well as Brendan Griffin met with representatives of UEFA. The FAI and the Bank of Ireland were also engaged in talks to come up with plans to help the organisation. It is also expected UEFA and Bank Of Ireland will contribute funding.

The Sport Ireland grant has also now been restored. The cash for this grant has also been doubled from 2.9 million euro up to 5.8 million euro. There has been no finance from the state since last year’s story broke of John Delaney lending the organisation 100,000 euro. Furthermore, Bank Of Ireland are set to sponsor the FAI. They will also hold the mortgage for the stadium.

Roy Barrett chairperson of the FAI was delighted with the plan, he said, This agreement is vital for Irish football and allows us to take the first steps in the rebirth of our sport. We can now progress with our plans to restructure and rebuild the Association and do what is best for our staff.  He continued, “On behalf of the Board and the Association, I would like to thank all our partners for their support and their commitment to the future of our game and we look forward to working with them, our staff and our stakeholders to bring this plan to fruition.

This is somewhat good news considering the association was on its knee 2 or 3 months ago. If all goes to plan hopefully the debt will be cleared. Irish football can go back to the grassroots and help clubs out that badly need to be.

Sigerson Cup Final Result and Review 2020

DCU 0-14 IT Carlow 0-07

DCU have won their first Sigerson Cup since 2015 after they beat IT Carlow 0-14 to 0-07 at the DCU Sportsground. Paddy Christie’s side pushed on in the second half as they were worthy 7 point winners.

Dublin netminder Evan Comerford opened the scoring for DCU from a free inside the first minute of play. Micheal Bannigan made it 0-02 to 0-00 with another free not long after. It took IT Carlow 14 minutes to register their first score of the night through Cian Farrell. However, once again the Dublin outfit hit back with white flags from Shane Carthy on 17 minutes and David Garland moments later.

DCU took a three point lead in at the break 0-05 to 0-02. They looked far more superior than their counterparts. Cian Farrell kicked the other score as well meaning IT Carlow didn’t score from play in the opening half.

Evan Comerford kicked a further two points in the second half to take his personal tally to 0-03 for the night. Paddy Small who was playing at full forward landed a nice point from play and another Dublin senior player Sean Bugler also got on the scoreboard. IT Carlow needed to rely heavily on the exploits of free taker Cian Farrell to keep them in the game. Farrell registered 0-06 for the Carlow men. However, any chance of a comeback was given a massive hit when Wexford midfielder Niall Hughes was sin-binned as was Richard Hitchcock. All the credit must go to DCU though and the Brendan McCole captained side will be celebrating for weeks to come. Sigerson Cup result on the night DCU 0-14 IT Carlow 0-07.

DCU: Evan Comerford (0-03, 0-03f); Daniel Corcoran, Brendan McCole, Conor Morrison; Kevin Flynn, Jordan Morrissey, Declan Monaghan; Sean McMahon, Shane Carthy (0-01); Brian Stack, Micheal Bannigan (0-03, 0-02f), Sean Bugler (0-01); Thomas E Donohoe, Paddy Small (0-02), David Garland (0-04, 0-01f).

Subs: Tom Fox for Donohoe (38), Stephen Smith for Stack (52), Mark Curran for Morrison (54), Kieran Dwyer for Corcoran (60), Nathan Gavigan for McMahon (60).

IT Carlow: Killian Roche; Richard Hitchcock, Ronan Ryan, Josh Moore; Cathal Walsh, Trevor Collins, Conor Doyle; Niall Hughes, Sean  Ryan; Adam Steed, Chris Byrne, Padraig O’Toole; Cian Farrell (0-06, 0-06f), Jack Walsh, Evan Lowry (0-01).

Subs: Gearoid Murphy for J Walsh (38), Sean Crowley for C Walsh (48), Tommy Griffin for Steed (50).

 

Division 1A Hurling: Westmeath v Waterford, Preview, Team News and live scores

The Division 1A hurling fixture of Westmeath v Waterford takes place at 2pm on Sunday. The game will be on in Cusack Park, Mullingar. We have a preview, team news and betting ahead of the game. To follow live scores of the game press the below link.

Livescores.sportsnewsireland.com

Preview

Westmeath come in to the game on the back of a heavy loss to Galway at Pearse Stadium. The Lake County lost out 1-24 to 0-10. Shane O’Brien will look for some sort of improvement here a loss here and his side will be up against it, with games against Limerick, Kilkenny and Cork to come. They will rely on players like Killian Doyle, Cormac Boyle and Eoin Price.

Waterford come into the game on the back of a win over Cork last time out. The Deise won 1-24 to Cork’s 3-17. Liam Cahill was delighted the way his side showed courage. He will be delighted with the performance of Iarlaith Daly at wing back, Stephen Bennett at full forward and Kieran Bennett in the half forward. Speaking to the Waterford News and Star said, “What this whole set up is about is finding the players that will give you the edge when the summer comes around,” “He continued, Really pleased. We’ll do it more as the league goes on but always trying to get a result as well. Exciting times ahead and looking forward to the next challenge that comes.”

Team News 

Westmeath and Waterford have yet to name their sides for the game.

Betting

Westmeath are 9/1 to win this game, while Waterford are massive favourites at odds of 1/20. Backing Waterford -12 at 10/11 looks a great bet. There is no coverage of Westmeath v Waterford but highlights will likely be on league Sunday.

Six Nations: Top Betting Markets

The Six Nations is just days away now so I have decided to look at the top betting markets ahead of the tournament.

Grand Slam Winner

The current suggest that at odds of evens their will be no winner of the Grand Slam in 2020. However, England are 13/8 to win the Grand Slam so not much really in it. If you fancy Ireland to win all five games in the competition they are 9/1 to do so. 2019 Championship winners Wales are 12/1 to win all games, France are 14/1, while Scotland who Ireland face in their first game are 100/1. Italy are a massive 500/1 to win all games in the tournament. No Grand Slam winner at 13/8 could be a good bet.

Top Try scorer

England’s Jonny May is the favourite to claim the top try scorer award. May finished top try scorer in the 2019 Six Nations and he is 7/2 to do so again here. Josh Adams of Wales is next at odds of 7/2. Adams finished top try scorer at the Rugby World Cup in Japan. Looking at some other players closer to home Jacob Stockdale is 9/1, while Garry Ringrose who has been in top form for Leinster this season is 25/1. Josh Adams at 7/2 would be the selection.

Top Point Scorer

This market mainly comes down to kickers of the teams. Owen Farrell was top point scorer in 2019 and he is favourite at odds of 11/8 to be again. Ireland’s Johnny Sexton won’t be too far behind him if he remains fit and he is 9/2. Wales fly-half Dan Biggar is 7/2. Finn Russell is also in the mix but he will miss the opening game of the tournament he is around 8/1. It is hard to look past Farrell at 11/8.

Player of the Tournament

This is quite tricky to call but several England players head the market. Maro Itoje is around 10/1 to win the award at 10/1. His fellow forwards Sam Underhill and Tom Curry are both 12/1. Josh Adams and Alun Wyn Jones are two Welsh players that head the market at 12 and 14/1 respectively. James Ryan is Ireland’s best hopeful at 20/1. However, some outside bets could be Stuart Hogg at 50/1, CJ Stander at 66/1 and George Kruis 100/1.

Division 1A Hurling: Cork v Tipperary, Preview, Team News and live scores

Cork v Tipperary in Division 1A of the hurling league takes place on Saturday. The game throws in at 7.00pm at Pairc Ui Chaoimh. We have preview, team news and betting information below. If you want to follow our live scores please use the below link.

Livescores.sportsnewsireland.com

Preview

Cork come into this game on the back of a narrow loss to Waterford at Walsh Park last weekend. Kieran Kingston’s charges lost out 1-24 to 3-17 in the end. In truth though Cork should have won. They amassed 17 wides in total in the game. However, the performances of Damian Cahalane who scored three points and Shane Kingston who scored 2-02 really impressed me. Pat Horgan was the player maker for two of Cork’s three goals. Cork have room for improvement and there is no better to judge that improvement with a game against All-Ireland Champions Tipperary. Speaking following the game he told RTE Sport, “Part of what we’re trying to do during the league is rotate the squad a little bit and particularly in the next couple of weeks when you have a lot of guys involved in college hurling”.

Tipperary will travel to Leeside looking for their first win of the campaign. Liam Sheedy’s side lost the game to Limerick despite leading the game by 10 points at half time. They will look to make up for that loss with a win here. John McGrath was impressive in the first half and he will need another big performance here. Seamus Callanan was on the bench so he may some game time. Speaking to the Irish Times Liam Sheedy said, I’d take huge encouragement from what I’ve seen, especially in trying to build a competitive panel for what lies ahead”. The Portroe man continued, “It’s early days, we’re not as far on as we would have been this time last year, physically”.

Team News

The teams have yet to be revealed by the managers. Once we get them we will post here.

Betting

Tipperary are 5/6 to win this game, while Cork are priced at 13/10. Not much to separate the sides. I think Tipperary will win this though as they will want to make up for the second half performance against Limerick last weekend. Cork v Tipperary throws in at 7pm and is live on RTE Sport.

Division 1A Hurling: Limerick v Galway, Preview, Team News and live scores

Limerick v Galway takes place in Division 1A of the hurling league on Sunday. The game throws in at 2.30pm in the Gaelic Grounds. We have a preview as well as team news and betting. If you can’t follow the game follow our match tracker.

Preview 
Limerick come into the game on the back of a 2-14 to 0-18 win over Tipperary last weekend. Many in the crowd and those watching at home probably thought Tipperary were going to blow the Shannonsiders away after their first half performance. In fact John Kiely’s side were 10 points down at the break. However, Barry Nash, William O’Donoghue and Diarmuid Byrnes thundered into the game in the second half. John Kiely speaking to RTE said, “It was a great warning sign for us, that these things can happen. We thought we had our preparation bang on the money coming in to tonight but for whatever reason we just weren’t at it. It’s a warning shot for us going forward and it’s a good time of year to get that warning shot.”
Galway come into this game on the back of a 1-24 to 0-10 win over Westmeath at Pearse Stadium. There was some big performances from Tadhg Harnan, Joe Canning and Conor Whelan. This will be a much tougher game than that but it promises to be exciting with the amount of quality players that will be on show. Speaking to Galway Bay FM, Galway vice captain Conor Whelan said he is looking forward to the game, he said, “It will be a big test, from our perspective we are focus on ourselves really. The Kinvara man said “It’s good to be getting competitive games this time of the year and it will be a true reflection of where were at”.
Team News
Teams have yet to be revealed by the respective managers John Kiely and Shane O’Neill. Once we get them we will post here.
Betting
Limerick are 4/6 favourites to win this game, while the Westerners are a tasty looking 15/8. Home advantage counts for a lot and Limerick should make it count and win by 2 or 3 points. Limerick v Galway throws in at 2.30pm and is live on TG4 GAA BEO.

Rugby World Cup Draw to take place in November

The draw for the 2021 Rugby World Cup will take in November it has been confirmed. World Rugby and the French Organising committee said the pool draw for the 2023 Rugby World Cup will take place in Paris after the November internationals in 2020.

This tournament will have 20 teams. 12 of those will have gained automatic qualification through their ranking in the 2019 Rugby World Cup. This means, New Zealand, South Africa, Australia, Ireland, France, England, Scotland, Wales, Italy, Argentina, Japan and Fiji are all guaranteed places.

Furthermore, as with all Rugby World Cups. The 12 teams outlined above will be seeded. This is broken down into three bands, 1, 2 and 3, 4 and 5. These bands will be determined after the November international games have taken place. However, if you were for example to look at the bands as they would be now. Ireland would be in Band 2 alongside Australia, Japan and France. South Africa and New Zealand would be in band 1 along with England and Wales. Band 3 would see Gregor Townshend’s Scotland, Argentina, Fiji and Italy.

Bands 4 and 5 will come from the 8 teams that will have to qualify for the tournament. Some of these games will begin this year. World Rugby Chairman Bill Beaumont said, “The pool draw is an important milestone on the road to Rugby World Cup 2023 in France as it really drives excitement and momentum both in the host nation and throughout the global rugby family – it is the moment teams and fans can start to plan”.

Ireland fans will of course be looking forward to the Six Nations this weekend. However, in the long term of things we all would hope they can get past the quarter-final in the next rugby World Cup.

 

Division 1B Hurling: Wexford v Clare, Preview, Team News and live scores.

Wexford v Clare in Division 1b of the hurling league promises to be a big game in Wexford Park. It will pit old team mates Davy Fitzgerald and Brian Lohan together on the sidelines. Let’s take a look at. preview, team news and betting ahead of the game.  However, if you can’t make it we will have live scores.

Preview

A win for either side will set them up nicely as both sides will still have Kilkenny and Dublin to play in Division 1b. Davy Fitzgerald was delighted with Wexford’s 2-27 to 2-16 win over Laois in Portlaoise last weekend. He stated before the game it wasn’t a game he was looking forward to. However, speaking to RTE following the game on Saturday night he said, “I thought we played really good stuff in the first half. But we shouldn’t have been going in up two points. “We should have been up way more.” Davy also alluded to this game with Clare in which he said “it will be a tough one”. He continued, “So it is what it is and we’ll just tear into it and see what happens.”

Brian Lohan’s Clare will come into the game on the back of a big win over Carlow at Ennis last weekend. It was a game in which former hurler of the year Tony Kelly starred in racking up 0-12. This will be a much sterner test for the Shannonsiders. Knowing that Davy is on the sideline for Wexford also adds a bit of spice to the game. Speaking after the game Brian Lohan said to Clare FM, “It was a tough enough first half, but we pulled away in the second half we were a bit stronger than them”. The former Clare full back when asked about the Wexford game said.  It’s big test, big challenge going down there (Wexford Park), but we are looking forward to it”.

Team News

Teams have yet to be named by the respective managers. Once we get them we will publish here.

Betting

Wexford are 8/11 to win this game, while Clare are priced at 13/8. For me home advantage counts for a lot and Wexford to me will come out on top by 2 or 3 points. Wexford v Clare will be deferred on TG4 following the Limerick v Galway game.

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