gaelick » Sport

Ireland squad named for Algarve Cup

click here — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 13:30:44 +0000

While men’s football went into convulsions yesterday over Fabio Capello’s shock resignation as England manager, this writer learned about the naming of the Irish squad for this year’s Algarve Cup.

Women’s Soccer United and Extratime.ie’s Niall Farrell bring us the news that Sue Ronan has named a 24 woman squad, which includes nine players from the Bus Éireann Women’s National League, all four members of Arsenal, and one player each from Chelsea and Liverpool. Sara Lawlor, Emma Mullin, Ruesha Littlejohn and Sophie Perry make their debuts for their country.

Announcing the squad on Monday last, Ronan said:

I’m looking forward to getting the squad together for the Algarve Cup at the end of the month. We haven’t been together since our European Qualifying game v Israel in October, so the 4 games we will play in this tournament will be vitally important as we prepare for the next game in the group, which is away to Scotland in April.

This time of year is always a problem for us in terms of the match-fitness of our players because some are only in pre-season with their clubs. However for a change it’s the opposite at home where our new Bus Éireann Women’s National League is in full-swing and as a result, our home-based players are in tip-top shape!

Also the quality of the games these players are now getting on a weekly basis is a big plus and can only benefit the international teams in the coming years. Already it has led to Sara Lawlor, Peamount United FC, being named in the squad for the first time. Sara has played underage football for Ireland, but her outstanding performances in the WNL to date for her club, sees her included for the first time at this level.

Taking place at the end of the month and into March, The Algarve Cup will provide an ideal opportunity to field the national side and integrate the team’s new players ahead of the remaining Euro 2013 qualifiers later this year.

The Algarve Cup is a worldwide invitational tournament for national teams. This year, 12 countries will participate. It has taken place each year since 1994. Apart from the FIFA World Cup and Olympic Football, the tournament is one of the most prestigious women’s football events.

Ireland has been placed in Group C, facing Wales, Hungary and hosts Portugal over the course of six days.

The Euro 2013 qualifiers resume in April, with games against Scotland, Wales, France and Israel concluding in September.

The Ireland senior women’s team currently is ranked 28th in the World, in the FIFA international ranking list. The side is ranked 17th in Europe.

Algarve Cup 2012: Ireland fixtures

29 Febr 2012: Hungary v Ireland
2 Mar 2012: Wales v Ireland
5 Mar 2012: Ireland v Portugal

Ireland Squad, Algarve Cup 2012:

Emma Byrne (Arsenal FC)
Eve Badana (Drexel College)
Grace Moloney (Reading FC)
Yvonne Treacy (Arsenal FC)
Louise Quinn (Peamount United FC)
Megan Campbell (Raheny United FC)
Sophie Perry (Chelsea FC)
Grace Murray (Peamount United FC)
Meabh De Burca (Amazon Grimstad FK)
Niamh Fahey (Arsenal FC), Ciara Grant (Arsenal FC)
Dora Gorman (Peamount United FC)
Marie Curtin (Cork Women’s FC)
Julie Ann Russell (Doncaster Belles FC)
Aine O’Gorman (Doncaster Belles FC)
Stephanie Roche (Peamount United FC)
Fiona O’Sullivan (Soyaux ASJ)
Ruesha Littlejohn (Liverpool FC)
Denise O’Sullivan (Cork Women’s FC)
Shannon Smyth (Amazon Grimstad FK)
Emma Mullin (Castlebar Celtic FC)
Michele O’Brien (Chicago Red Eleven FC)
Diane Caldwell (Avaldsnes FC)
Sara Lawlor (Peamount United FC)

Six Nations: Ireland v Wales (abandoned)

click here — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 15:06:17 +0000

UPDATE: 6th February 2012 at 10pm

Tonight’s Against the Head has footage of Friday night’s match – skip to the 24 minute mark. (Frustratingly, despite the fact that an RTÉ crew were therefore actually at the game, it was neither broadcast nor streamed online, nor were there any highlights on RTÉ news bulletins, unlike the senior men and under 20s boys teams.)

/ Update

The Six Nations got off to a disappointing start yesterday evening, when the Ireland v Wales match at Ashbourne RFC was abandoned at half time.

We brought you tweets live from the game as it happened. Unfortunately due to the freezing conditions and hardening of the ground, and citing concerns for the health and safety of the players, referee Kevin White made the decision to abandon the game. Indeed, even before game began, the ground was hard and grass crunched underfoot.

Niamh Briggs, who’s kicking was flawless, with one conversion and one penalty, tweeted:

To say we are disappointed is an understatement! We live to fight another day.. We’ll regroup for next match.. Support was unreal

The IRFU has confirmed that the Six Nations committee will meet early next week to decide on a date for the match replay. An offer had been made to replay the match today, but Wales declined.

(Personally, I’m delighted. A replay today would have meant I’d have missed it. The Six Nations: it’s all about me, really.)

View a slideshow of images from last night’s game.

The game (or half a game) itself was impressive. Both teams were fairly evenly matched, with Wales playing well defensively. Ireland appeared to have an edge, however, reflected by the 10-3 scoreline at half time.

Despite being confined to the Wales half for some time, Ashleigh Baxter and Lynne Cantwell combined before Cantwell got the ball to Connacht’s Alison Miller. Miller capitalised, with a blistering run from deep inside the Wales half to the try line, touching down in the 18th minute.

Niamh Briggs easily made the conversion, to make it Ireland 7-0 Wales.

Ireland later conceded a penalty in front of the uprights, giving away an easy three points to Wales. At the end of the half, a penalty was awarded in Ireland’s favour, and Briggs stepped up again for the kick. Sending the ball over dead centre from an awkward angle, Briggs made earning the additional three points look easy. The score at half time: Ireland 10-3 Wales.

Standout players included: Alison Miller, with a fantastic run and try; Niamh Briggs, with impeccable kicking; Sophie Spence, including an impressive run in her debut for Ireland; captain Fiona Coghlan, with a cracking block of a Welsh kick near the visitors try line.

More:

Six Nations: Team Ireland (part 2)

click here — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 08:00:17 +0000

Happy Six Nations Day, everyone!

Yesterday we introduced you to Ireland’s starting XV against Wales this Friday night, including the views of skipper Fiona Coghlan and former skipper Joy Neville.

The game kicks off this year’s RBS Six Nations proceedings from Ashbourne RFC.

Here we take a look at the XV’s replacements. An overview of the full squad (before the final cut) can be found here.

Let the games begin – Smashy smashy!

Tonight’s XV Replacements

16. NEWBIE: Paula Fitzpatrick (St Mary’s/Leinster) *

New to the Ireland side, and a member of the Leinster squad, Fitzpatrick was captain of St Mary’s RFC for several years and coaches Leinster’s youth side. When she’s not belting around a rugby pitch, you might find her wielding a hockey stick at Glenanne Sports Club in Dublin. Or if she’s not there, you might find her in a lab. Like her team mates, she’s got plenty of brains as well as braun, and is a PhD candidate at DCU’s School of Health and Human Performance. It involves lots of NaHCO³, and that’s all we need to know really.

17. NEWBIE: Ruth O’Reilly (Galwegians/Connacht) *

Another newbie, and another woman from the Wesht. Ruth O’Reilly is a Munster ex-pat, from Tralee, and lives in Galway. Along with provincial and national team mate Carol Staunton, she’s an assistant coach to the Connacht u-17 girls team, and therefore is one of those people who are instrumental to developing the pathways in women’s rugby mentioned by skipper Fiona Coghlan. O’Reilly can produce some impressive tackles, and has impact defensively as well as in anchoring the scrum, so here’s hoping it won’t be long until she gets the opportunity to demonstrate her skills.

18. NEWBIE: Siobhán Fleming (Tralee/Munster) *

Another of the uncapped players called up by Philip Doyle, and it’s easy to see why, Siobhán Fleming plays at flanker position. Another latecomer to rugby, Fleming started out in the sport only in 2007, and yet she’s captain of her club, Tralee RFC, and last year won Munster Ladies Rugby Player of the Year. She had originally been called up to play for her country last year, but was unable to participate due to personal reasons, so it’s particularly welcome to see her wearing the green jersey in 2012. She and her team mates appeared on Monday’s “Against the Head” on RTÉ Two. Take a look, sure (skip to 25 minutes in).

19. LEGEND: Heather O’Brien (Highfield/Munster)

The second qualified physiotherapist on the Ireland side (as far as I can tell), Cork’s Heather O’Brien plays in the lock position with Highfield, Munster and Ireland. She probably knows all about struggle and hard graft, and must be made of grit, having worked as a physio at two hospitals in the Irish health system before settling in private practice. Oh, and while she was working in the public system, she worked as a physio in private clinics, with rugby teams, GAA teams, basketball teams and the FAI. As well as pursuing further qualifications in specialist areas of her discipline. Clearly there are too many hours in the day, like.

An honours graduate from university in Edinburgh, she has also plaid college rugby in Scotland, as well as with the Irish Exiles and the invitational Shamrock Warriors 7s side. And if she’s feeling bored, she might just complete a marathon, climb Kilimanjaro, compete and/or teach various equestrian sports, and cycle the 80km round trip to work. Apparently. What is it with over achieving Irish rugby-playing physiotherapists, eh?

20. Larissa Muldoon (Exile/UWIC/Ulster)

After new cap, Ashleigh Baxter, is Larissa Muldoon the second-most wee member on the squad? (Well, they’re both born in 1991, so I feel old either way.) All the way from Ballybofey (wahey!), Cappry native Muldoon returns to the Ireland side again since the last Six Nations, after earning three caps thus far. Studying at and playing for the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff, as well as the Irish Exiles, she will be very familiar with some of the opposition tonight who on other days are fellow team mates. Here she is speaking to IRFU TV and being just adorable. Aw. Mind you, she’s a scrum half, so that’s actually a bit scary.

21. NEWBIE: Nikki Caughey (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster) *

We’ve found our baby of the bunch! (Née 1992.) Another brand new player called up to the national side and addition to Ireland’s Ulster contingent (that number is now seven, down from nine following the final cut) is Belfast Harlequins captain Nikki Caughey. Like her club team mate, Baxter, Caughey has been racking up the tries in her first two years playing senior rugby. She recently made several excellent runs, scored two tries and converted 5 out of 6 conversions for her club when Longford received a tremendous drubbing. Unsurprisingly, she was voted Players’ Player after the match.

It’s easy to understand Caughey’s accomplishments at such a young age, given that she has been playing since the age of five or six. She’s also a dab hand at hockey and netball, for the laughs, like. Caughey’s dream of playing for Ireland may be just around the corner (perhaps tonight), and the next goal? World Cup 2014 in France, baby!

22. AN Other

Ireland have left a spot empty on the bench as they await word on centre Shannon Houston‘s fitness. The Canadian, now a naturalised Irish citizen, collected an impressive 25 caps coming into the 2010 World Cup as a strong running centre, and since her debut in 2006 the tally is now running into the 30s.

A doctor by profession, she plays club rugby for Blackrock RFC and for Leinster. When she’s not representing club, province and country on the field, or curing disease, she’s a fan of skiing, and includes competitive weight lifting as part of her fitness programme. Of course!

* Denotes uncapped player

Six Nations: Team Ireland (part 1)

click here — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 12:30:06 +0000

It’s Six Nations Eve, everyone!

On Tuesday RTÉ brought us news of Philip Doyle’s choice for Ireland’s starting XV against Wales tomorrow night. (I know: RTÉ reporting on women in sport. Knock me on over with a feather!)

The game kicks off this year’s RBS Six Nations proceedings at Ashbourne RFC.

Also on Tuesday (knock me over a second time!), The Irish Times reported on captain Fiona Coghlan’s thoughts about her expectations as Friday night approaches.

The primary concern lies with the lack of team games played in advance of the competition. Ireland haven’t played a game since the last Six Nations. You read that right: that’s almost exactly a year. And with plenty of new talent in the squad, Ireland will hit the ground running in terms of putting their training into practice.

She told Scrumqueens:

We are set as we can be. We will have had four weekends together and there are some new faces in the squad so it will be good to see how they gel with the side in the first game out against Wales. They are similar to ourselves in that we haven’t had much time in games to work on things so I would say we will be fairly even. This game is always a massive one for both sides.

Discussing the fresh faces to the team, the Ireland captain told IRFU TV that many of the new players have excellent levels of skill and understanding of the game. She continued:

There have been [new] underage teams set up, so girls are playing [rugby] at a younger age. Their skill level is higher, their understanding of the game is better. And then they’ve been coming up through the provincials. Then there were inter-pros, and they were spotted at that, and then brought into national training for strength and conditioning. [The new squad members] have been involved since September in training and conditionging, so it’s been really good.

She confirmed that the development pathways from youth teams to national level are now meant to reflect the approach taken with the men’s game.

Coghlan, along with Lynne Cantwell and fellow team mates also appeared on Monday’s “Against the Head” on RTÉ Two. Those interviewed talked about their training, as well as about the challenges faced by the women’s game and the fact that the women’s game remains, as Ryle Nugent put it, “resolutely amateur”. It’s well worth a look (skip to 25 minutes in).

With all of that in mind, let’s take a look at the fifteen players selected for tonight’s game. There’s a healthy mix: Legends of the Ball; hardy perennial stalwarts; and wee newbies fresh from making their way up through the ranks.

We’ll also have a run-down of the XV’s replacements tomorrow, so check back! An overview of the full squad named before Christmas can be found here.

So, without further ado, to the players:

Backs

15. NEWBIE: Ashleigh Baxter (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster) *

Belfast native Baxter plays at fullback position, and is just a wee thing at 21 years of age and 5’5″. She teams up with experienced hands Alison Miller and Niamh Kavanagh to complete the back three. But don’t let age or a singular cap deceive you: she began playing rugby in second year in school. Compare that with some of Ireland’s top players who began their rugby careers after their school years. Unsurprising, then, that she spent the end of last year scoring oodles of tries and conversions. More of that, please!

14. Niamh Kavanagh (UL Bohemians/Munster)

This particular Niamh Kavanagh isn’t Ireland’s Eurovision legend, but is well on her way to becoming a legend for Ireland. Hailing from Offaly, Kavanagh made her first appearance for her country during last year’s Six Nations, and in her first two appearances managed to score a try for Ireland in each game against France and Italy. According to the woman herself, she’s met a Boston Celtic, is a fan of her Nan’s beef dinners, and is a bit addicted to YouTube. Here’s hoping she’s brought her lucky sports bra. She told the Offaly Express her feelings on playing for Ireland: “I’m very lucky and privileged. There’s loads of competition there. I don’t know what way to describe it really but it’s fantastic.”

13. LEGEND: Niamh Briggs (UL Bohemians/Munster)

Careful now. Clonmel’s own Garda Briggs, by now a fixture of the Irish team, won’t take yer messin’. (Probably.) Previously playing the fullback position, Briggs joins Grace Davitt in the centre pairing. She’s a one time Munster Women’s Player of the Year, and member of Scrumqueens team of 2011. Keep up the kicking and get that long arm of the law over that try line, will ya?

12. Grace Davitt (Cooke/Ulster)

Stamullen’s Grace Davitt has played at outhalf and on the wings, with clubs Boyne and Blackrock as well as her current club, Cooke RFC. Tomorrow night she’ll play at inside centre, teaming up with Niamh Briggs. A reliable kicker for Ireland, she’s also had her fair share of tries. Keep her lit, Davitt!

11. Alison Miller (Portlaoise/Highfield/Connacht)

Winger and full-back Miller is Connacht’s captain, one of three provincial captains on the Ireland side. The peripatetic Laois woman, teacher and relative newcomer to rugby, starts against Wales on the left wing. Miller’s sporting origins are in athletics. She rose through the ranks of Laois county football from the age of 21, had a brief dalliance with rugby while in college, before she began playing for Portlaoise RFC in 2009. She has risen steadily in three short years. Give those Welsh hell, Miller!

10. LEGEND: Lynne Cantwell (Exile)

Everyone loves an over-achiever. With a record number of caps for Ireland, and representing her country at no less than three World Cup tournaments, Cantwell will earn her 68th cap against Wales on tomorrow night. With another change in the usual player positions, she lines out in the fly half position and will team up with Amy Davis.

A graduate of the University of Limerick with a Masters from Southampton, Cantwell is a qualified physio, and isn’t alone on the team in that respect. Previously working in Ireland and New Zealand, and popping over to Oz for an advanced diploma (as you do), she now works at a practice in the UK. Oh, and she’s qualified in acupuncture. Starting out in rugby while at uni, she’s played for Munster, UL Bohemians, College Rifles (Auckland), Richmond RFC; she’s from Dublin’s northside (superextrabonuspointsthankyou); she’s happy to partake in a pinch of athletics, basketball, camogie and swimming; has been up for numerous awards and has won several (exhibit A, B and C); she’s been nudging the IRFU towards holding Ireland’s matches at Lansdowne Road; and has worked with the Wooden Spoon children’s charity raising funds to improve the lives of mentally, physically and socially disadvantaged kids in the UK & Ireland. Plus she’s mad for a chicken korma.

Did we mention that she’s a legend?

9. Amy Davis (Blackrock/Leinster)

Comfortable at scrum half, wing or centre, Davis is another experienced hand for Ireland and will team up with Cantwell tomorrow at the scrum half position. A University of Ulster woman, originally for County Down, and with a rake of caps to her name, Davis can also turn her hand to athletics, weight lifting and water sports if the mood takes her. Here she is havin’ the chats with Ireland and Leinster team mate Tania Rosser.

Forwards

1. LEGEND: Fiona Coghlan (UL Bohemians/Leinster) (capt.)

Yes, everyone loves Paul O’Connell and welcomes his captaincy for this year’s Six Nations, but there was a kind of fabulous symmetry with Brian O’Driscoll as skipper: both he and Fiona Coghlan are Clontarf natives, both captain Leinster, and of course both captain the national team. Coghlan has spoken of her anticipation of tomorrow night’s game against Wales: she knows they face a tough side but, despite the lack of game play with Ireland’s new line-up, she’s confident in her team. She stays on as prop tomorrow, leading Ireland in the loosehead position.

After Cantwell, she’s one of the country’s most capped players along with Joy Neville. A late-comer to rugby, she’s always been an enthusiastic sports woman. She tried out for Munster before joining the Leinster squad, and was introduced to the national side in 2002. When Coghlan is not propping up the Irish scrum she’s a full time PE and maths teacher. So behave down the back!

2. LEGEND: Gillian Bourke (UL Bohemians/Munster)

The University of Limerick just churns out Ireland’s top rugby players, and here’s another. Ireland’s hooker tomorrow, Bourke is among our veterans at the front and can also be found playing at prop. She started with the national team in 2009, had the good fortune and tenacity to be part of the side that defeated France, and has been a fixture ever since. Bourke is keenly aware of the additional dedication and challenges faced by women players compared with the men: “People don’t realise the commitment that women put in to play with their national team. I’m alright because my work can be reasonably flexible but there’s girls there who have less suitable jobs. There are a few teachers on the team who have to go to their headmaster asking for about 15 days off when that mightn’t be possible.”

She’s coached the UL team, as well as working as a youth development officer in Galway. Bourke is also a keen show jumper, if you don’t mind. (She doesn’t have much time for soccer players, though: they’re just too soft.)

3. Ailis Egan (Old Belvedere/Leinster)

TCD graduate Egan is another top Leinster player on the national side. Her debut for Ireland was during last year’s Six Nations tournament, and she plays again at tighthead prop, joining Coghlan and Bourke in the front row. Rack up those caps! Do Ireland proud! Trinners for winners!

4. Marie Louise Reilly (Old Belvedere/Leinster)

Although she has previously played at full back, Maz Reilly again takes up her position tomorrow night in the second row as lock. She first lined out for Ireland in 2010. And how did it feel to get picked for the Ireland squad for the first time? “Shock … nerves … excitement! Just delighted as I knew my family would be very proud.”

Prior to playing for Old Belvedere she played with Navan and with her first club, Tralee. From the land of the Lilywhites, Reilly attended Scoil Dara in Kilcock, attended college in Tralee, lives in Meath, and works as a sports development officer. So there now.

5. NEWBIE: Sophie Spence (Exile) *

Welcoming another new face into the Six Nations squad, Spence takes up the number 5 lock position in the second row. A current member of the Mowden Sharks, her previous clubs have been Teesside Uni and Darlington. In the autumn she made a powerful run for the Irish Exiles against Camp Hill (Birmingham), bursting through several tackles to earn a try under the posts. Her birthday’s at the end of the month, so let’s hope it’s a particularly special one!

6. LEGEND: Laura Guest (Highfield/Munster)

Clonakitly’s finest. A flanker with Munster, Laura Guest is another of Irelands legendary players. Tomorrow, she’ll be the blindside flanker with back row forwards Molloy and Neville. She’s also been a prop for Ireland, and plays tighthead for Highfield RFC. During the 2010 World Cup, she stepped in as prop to replace the injured Lauren Day.

A graduate of the University of Limerick, Guest is a former Clonakilty and UL Bohs player, has earned nine caps, is a secondary school teacher, and coach to UCC’s rugby team. She’s partial to a bit of golf, cycling, swimming and camogie if they’re going.

7. Claire Molloy (Bristol/Exile)

Openside flanker for Connacht, and captain of Cardiff University’s first XV, Galwegian Claire Molloy remains in this position for Ireland, although she’s also comfortable as a centre. She plays her club rugby for Bristol. Molloy spoke with IRFU TV before the 2010 World Cup, and gave an interesting insight into Connacht’s training and conditioning, as well as the experience of integrating into the national side. (Blogging Scrum Caps and Handbags for the IRFU, she also provided a ..unique post-World Cup run-down.) A GAA enthusiast, when her university studies in medicine took her to Wales, she settled for the next best thing: rugby. And thank feck for that.

8. LEGEND: Joy Neville (UL Bohemians/Munster)

Munster captain, former Ireland captain, one of Ireland’s most capped Ireland players with 58 caps, and a fixture of the national side for nine years. She made the Scrumqueens Team of 2011 and is described thusly: “The Ireland number 8 is an expert positional player with an array of ball skills. Works well from the base even when under pressure.”

Like Coghlan, Neville spoke with IRFU TV, and described the team’s preparation and the challenges they expect to face this week. She stays at the number 8 position tomorrow night. Yesterday, she spoke again about her expectations for the game, and how she’s looking forward to settle some scores against Wales:

All the training leading up to it has been really exciting and to put that jersey on, there is no better feeling to be honest.

Any time we play in the Six Nations will be a challenge but I’m really looking forward to playing Wales.

Wales is always a very hard tie. They are very strong and play with a lot of heart when they play against the likes of us.

A Limerick woman, she studied Social Studies and Social Care, works with a charitable organisation in her day-job, and has given her support to the Women’s Aid 16 Days campaign.

* Denotes uncapped player

Six Nations may pave Ireland’s way to World Cup 2014

click here — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 14:30:03 +0000

Scrumqueens and the official Rugby World Cup website brought us news yesterday of the qualification process for the 2014 World Cup tournament.

According to the International Rugby Board (IRB), in total there will be six automatic qualifiers: New Zealand, England, Australia, France, USA and Canada.

As far as Ireland is concerned, the Six Nations tournaments of this year and next could decide the issue. Ireland opens this year’s Six Nations competition on 3rd February next, taking on Wales at Ashbourne RFC.

For the European teams looking to qualify for the Rugby World Cup, England and France will automatically qualify due to England being World Cup runners up in 2010 and France being the hosts in 2014.

The two top Six Nations teams other than England and France, therefore, will qualify plus the highest ranked teams in Europe.

If we look at the Six Nations tables, this looks promising for Ireland. Last year’s is below, and reflects the team’s form over recent years:

The expanded qualification process underscores the commitment of the IRB to grow global participation and achieve greater competitiveness as set out in the recently launched IRB Women’s Rugby Plan.

IRB Women’s Development Manager Susan Carty said:

“With over 200,000 registered women currently playing the Game in over 100 countries around the world, the qualification process reflects the significant and sustained growth we have experienced in recent years in the Women’s Game.”

“We now have an improved tournament structure around the world which reflects the appetite for high level elite competition amongst traditional and emerging nations and we have incorporated these existing competitions, wherever possible, into the qualification process in line with the IRB Women’s Rugby Plan.”

As I write this, the radio broadcasts an ad for a national newspaper’s special supplement on schools’ rugby, including detailed analyses and squad-by-squad breakdown. It’s a pity this level of sports reporting doesn’t seem to apply to women’s senior rugby, as well as the kiddies’ game.

Given the IRFU’s commitment to developing the women’s game in Ireland, let’s hope they and the mainstream press show the level of support deserving of our national team.

Anyone for the Rugby World Cup 2018 in Lansdowne Road?

Six Nations fixtures announced

click here — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 13:30:06 +0000

The Six Nations 2012 fixtures have finally been confirmed, thanks to ScrumQueens, with the tournament kicking off on Friday, 3rd February, when Ireland take on Wales at home.

There will be no fixtures at Lansdowne Road (or Aviva, if you insist). England get to play at least one game at Twickenham, and Wales at least one game at the Millennium Stadium.

I hope to be able to cheer the team on, but it’s curious: All of Ireland’s home fixtures take place on a Friday, while every men’s game will all take place on a Saturday or a Sunday (Fridays having been ditched), so there would be no risk of fixtures clashing.

Although the Ashbourne AFC grounds have, as ScrumQueens put it, served Ireland well, all of the women’s and men’s games could be accommodated at Lansdowne Road.

Update

The Fingal Independent reports on the recent Fingal Sports Star Of The Year for 2011 and spoke with Ireland’s most capped rugby player, Lynne Cantwell. Her thoughts on the evening:

That night it was really, really special to be there with Brian O’Driscoll and Sean O’Brien, and to schmooze with some of the big guns in the IRFU. [...] It was good to be able to talk to them one-to-one about playing in Lansdowne Road. There’s no reason why we can’t play in these stadiums and hopefully we will.

Hear hear!

/ Update

Notable also is that today – less than a month before the tournament begins – is the first time that all of the 6 Nations 2012 women’s fixtures have been announced, while as far back as January 2011, the men’s fixtures have been known for both 2012 and 2013.

ScrumQueens has also reported the concerns of coach, Philip Doyle, over Ireland’s lack of test games in advance of the 6 Nations tournament and his fears that the team will have to play catch-up by comparison with their competitors.

Surely something’s wrong here. I would hate to think that the women’s game is being neglected, especially since the IRB’s recent announcement of a Women’s Development Plan.

Regardless of the challenges the team faces, however, I’ll be giving them my full support throughout the 6 Nations. Come on, Ireland! Heeeeeeave!

The full 6 Nations fixtures list is below. You can keep up to date on the ScrumQueens 2012 Fixtures and Results page here.

Round One

Fri, 3rd Feb: Ireland v Wales (Ashbourne RFC at 19:30)
Sun, 5th Feb: France v Italy (Stade Emile Pons Riom at 15:00)
Sun, 5th Feb: Scotland v England (Lasswade RFC at 17:00)

Round Two

Sat, 11th Feb: France v Ireland (Stade de Hameau, Pau, at 18:30)
Sun, 12th Feb: Italy v England (Rino Venegoni Stadium, Parabiago (Milan), at 15:00)
Sun, 12th Feb: Wales v Scotland (Cross Keys RFC at 13:00)

Round Three

Fri, 24th Feb: Ireland v Italy (Ashbourne RFC at 19:30)
Sat, 25th Feb: England v Wales (Twickenham at 18:15)
Sat, 25th Feb: Scotland v France (Stirling County RFC at 14:00)

Round Four

Fri, 9th Mar: Ireland v Scotland (Ashbourne RFC at 19:30)
Sat, 10th Mar: Wales v Italy (Millenium Stadium at 17:00)
Sun, 11th Mar: France v England (Stade Charlety, Paris, at 13:45)

Round Five

Sat, 17th Mar: England v Ireland (Esher RFC, London, at 14:30)
Sun, 18th Mar: Italy v Scotland (Pagani Stadium, Rovato (near Brescia), at 15:00)
Sun, 18th Mar: Wales v France (Cross Keys RFC at 14:00)

Irish sportswomen off to a good start in 2012

click here — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 14:30:32 +0000

We’re only just past the half-way stage for the month January, and Irish women in sport are already racking up the achievements – oodles of which have taken place this past weekend alone.

On your marks..

Katie Taylor

RTÉ and pals! Are you paying attention?

Only a little bit, it seems. On Saturday night Katie Taylor was awarded Boxer of the Year by the Irish Amateur Boxing Association.

Not the “Lady Boxerette of the Year” award. Not the “Best would-be winner of mainstream awards if only she played mainstream sports like golf, or had stuck with the football” award.

No. She was named Boxer of the Year. Overall. Full-stop.

She also received an Elite International Achievers Award, the only woman out of the six who received such an award.

Next up are the qualifiers for the 2012 Olympics. So no pressure, like.

Lynne Cantwell and Helen White

Earlier last week the Irish rugby squad’s Lynne Cantwell was named among the final nominees for the Fingal Sports Star Of The Year for 2011.

Cantwell, Ireland’s most capped player, is one of last year’s 12 monthly winners, picking up the award for August. She also received the Guinness Rugby Writers Women’s Player of The Year in the same month.

The Fingal Independent writes:

RECORD cap-holder Lynne Cantwell made another piece of history in August when she became the first-ever female recipient of a Guinness Rugby Writers of Ireland (RWI) Award. The women’s game hadn’t previously been acknowledged in this way, and Rolestown girl Lynne was quite rightly delighted with the prestigious honour. Lynne earned her award for a great contribution towards Ireland’s third place in [2011]‘s Six Nations Championship.

Also nominated was Helen White who won the monthly award in October. According to The Fingal Independent:

Mountain running may not be the best known sport in the world, but it’s certainly one of the toughest. Experienced athlete, Helen White, fell into the gruelling sport by accident, but she leaves nothing to chance in preparing for big events and that single-minded determination paid off handsomely in October when she scooped a bronze medal at the World Masters Championships, held in Pulazza, Italy. The mum-of-three won the silver medal twelve months previously at an equally tough course in Barcelona.

The awards ceremony took place on Saturday night, with the honour eventually going to young golfer Caolan Kennedy, who secured the Connacht U-15 Boys Amateur Open in June.

Ava Hutchinson

Turning again to athletics, and Ava Hutchinson joins Linda Byrne at the London 2012 Olympics marathon event, securing her qualification yesterday morning at the Houston Marathon, Texas.

Achieving a personal best of 2:35:33, Hutchinson was a comfortable 90 seconds inside the required standard of 2:27:00. Byrne’s qualification was secured when she ran the Dublin marathon in 2:36:21.

Earlier in the month, reigning European Cross Country champion Fionnuala Britton continued her champion form, winning the women’s 6km race at the Great Edinburgh Cross Country.

“I was not quite sure about my form before the race. But now I am happy that I was able to run so strong,” said Britton. Britton took the lead from the outset, and won in 21:32 with a 20 second gap over Britain’s Gemma Steel.

Come on, Ireland!

FIFA Ballon d’Or honour goes to Japan’s Homare Sawa

click here — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 19:00:03 +0000

Homare Sawa has been awarded FIFA’s coveted Ballon d’Or Women’s World Player of the Year for 2011.

Japan’s Norio Sasaki, who last year took his country to World Cup glory, won FIFA Women’s Football Coach of the Year for 2011.

The awards were decided after a poll in which the captains and head coaches of the men’s and women’s national teams, respectively, as well as international media representatives selected by French football magazine France Football, voted for candidates in each of the four categories. Each group’s votes represented one third of the final result.

Homare Sawa collected 28.51% of the total votes, ahead of Brazil’s Marta and Abby Wambach from the USA, who received 17.28% and 13.26% respectively.

The final three Ballon d’Or 2011 nominees were:

Homare Sawa (Japan)
FIFA Ballon d’Or Women’s World Player of the Year for 2011

Following last year’s victory after penalties over the USA in the World Cup final in Germany, the Ballon d’Or 2011 has gone to the captain of the current World Cup champions, Homare Sawa of Japan.

A midfielder and player with her current club INAC Kobe Leonessa, Sawa is a legend of women’s football. Her senior career began in 1991 at the tender age of 12. At just 15 she started with her national team against the Philippines, and scored no less than 4 goals. She has been a fixture of the Japanese team ever since.

Following her country’s success at the 2011 World Cup, she was awarded the tournament’s Golden Boot and Golden Ball.

Marta Vieira Da Silva (Brasil)
Photo: Paul Gilham/Getty Images Sport

Although the youngest of the final three nominees for this year’s award, Marta is an icon of women’s football, with great experience, limitless talent and countless honours and titles to her name. She plays for Brasil and, following a recent move, her current club is Western New York Flash.

In the 2007 World Cup, she was awarded the tournament’s Golden Boot and Golden Ball, despite her team losing in the final to Germany. She has also earned an Olympic silver medal playing for her country, and shares the record of all-time top World Cup goalscorer with Germany’s Birgit Prinz.

She has won the Ballon d’Or every year since 2006.

Abby Wambach (USA)
Photo: Odd Andersen/Getty

A forward and player with her current club MagicJack, Wambach began her senior career in 2002 with the club Washington Freedom, and in 2003 was selected for the USA’s national team in the World Cup.

In 2004, she scored the winning goal against Brasil to take gold at the Athens Olympics.

In 2007, she reached her100th cap when she played against England during the World Cup quarter-finals – which the Americans won 3-0, with the first goal scored by Wambach. She scored her 100th goal agains Canada in 2009, and to date, she has scored 125 goals for her country. She reached 100 goals in fewer games than any of the other USA footballers who have reached that milestone.

In the World Cup final against Japan, Wambach headed a goal home which made her the USA’s all-time scoring leader in FIFA Women’s World Cup with 13 goals – just shy of the joint record holders Brasil’s Marta Vieira Da Silva and Germany’s Birgit Prinz. She was awarded the tournament’s Silver Ball and Bronze Boot.

The other longlisted nominees were:

Sonia Bompastor (France)
(From left) Sonia Bompastor, Sandrine Bretigny and fellow nominee Louisa Nécib
Photo: Stéphane Guiochon

Kerstin Garefrekes (Germany)
Kerstin Garefrekes (left) and Kim Kulig of Germany during the FIFA World Cup, June 2011

Aya Miyama (Japan)
Photo: Koji Watanabe/Getty Images AsiaPac

Alex Morgan (USA)
Photo: Scott Heavy/Getty Images

Louisa Necib (France)
Photo: aicfoto

Lotta Schelin (Sweden)
Photo: DAPD

Hope Solo (USA)
Photo: Johannes Eisele AFP/Getty Images

Fionnualla Britton shortlisted for December European Athlete of the Month

Gooner — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:00:46 +0000

Ireland’s very own Fionnualla Britton has been shortlisted for the December European Athlete of the Month.

It’s a fitting end to a great year for the Kilcoole born runner having come first in the European Cross Country Championships in Slovenia earlier in December. This makes her only the second Irish person ever to win a senior cross-country title after Catherina McKiernan.

Fionnualla is also known for her exploits in the 3000 metres steeplechase and has flown the Irish flag at many international events with great distinction. Competing in Japan and Kenya as well as all over Europe.

Britton has taken top honors before, including the 2008 Irish National Athletics Award for the Cross Country/Road Athlete of the Year.

Britton is up against some tough competition in the form of the Great Britain duo, pole vaulter Holly Bleasdale and fellow cross country runner Emma Pallant.

As I write this, however, Fionnualla is currently leading the vote with an impressive 40.8%. So get voting, you can vote for the December European Athlete of the Month in both the male and female categories HERE.

Ireland’s rugby squad for 2012 named

click here — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 09:48:41 +0000

ScrumQueens brings us news of Ireland’s rugby squad being confirmed for 2012. The announcement includes details of the squad and fixtures, including Six Nations fixtures for February and March.

The squad line-up includes stalwarts, such as captain and Irish Times Sportwoman Fiona Coghlan, Niamh Briggs, Lynne Cantwell, Lauren Day who was injured during Ireland’s World Cup outing, Gillian Bourke, former captain Joy Neville, Laura Guest, Helen Brosnan.

Other familiar faces are absent, although the opportunity to introduce new and uncapped players has arisen. These include Christine Arthurs, Ashleigh Baxter, Nikki Caughey, Paula Fitzpatrick, Siobhan Fleming, Ashling Hutchings, Glenda Mellon, Laura O’Mahony, Ruth O’Reilly, Sophie Spence.

Ireland’s Six Nations fixtures take place in February (on 3rd, 11th and 24th) and in March (on 9th and 17th). Keep an eye out as we play (away) against England on Paddy’s Day, as tradition demands. Come on, Ireland!

All of Ireland’s Six Nations home games will take place at Ashbourne RFC. (We need to get our national rugby team lining out in Lansdowne Road, people.)

As ScrumQueens notes:

Ireland finished third in last year’s 6 Nations, a remarkable achievement once again despite their lack of international development beyond their national side.

Ireland were the only side in the top four last year to not field an A or U20s side and there are no clear 7s pathways developed either for the Irish, who along with Luxembourg and Slovenia are the only European women’s rugby playing sides, not to enter the draw for the World Cup 7s qualifiers.

In addition to the Six Nations games, Ireland is due to play against an Irish Exiles team in January. Watch this space for details!

Ireland 2012 fixtures

(All times are local to where the games are being played)

Friday, February 3: Ireland v Wales, Ashbourne RFC, 7.30pm
Saturday, February 11: France v Ireland, Stade de Hameau, Pau, 6.30pm
Friday, February 24: Ireland v Italy, Ashbourne RFC, 7.30pm
Friday, March 9: Ireland v Scotland, Ashbourne RFC, 7.30pm
Saturday, March 17: England v Ireland, Esher RFC, London, 2.30pm

Squad

Christine Arthurs (Tralee – Connacht)*
Ashleigh Baxter (Belfast Harlequins – Ulster)*
Gillian Bourke (UL Bohemians – Munster)
Niamh Briggs (UL Bohemians – Munster)
Helen Brosnan (Highfield – Munster)
Lynne Cantwell (Exile)
Nikki Caughey (Belfast Harlequins – Ulster)*
Fiona Coghlan (UL Bohemians – Leinster)
Amy Davis (Blackrock – Leinster)
Grace Davitt (Cooke – Ulster)
Lauren Day (Cooke – Ulster)
Ailis Egan (Old Belvedere – Leinster)
Paula Fitzpatrick (St. Mary’s – Leinster)*
Siobhan Fleming (Tralee – Munster)*
Laura Guest (Highfield – Munster)
Shannon Houston (Blackrock – Leinster)
Ashling Hutchings (UL Bohemians – Munster)*
Niamh Kavanagh (UL Bohemians – Munster)
Stacey-Lea Kennedy (City of Derry – Ulster)
Glenda Mellon (City of Derry – Ulster)*
Alison Miller (Portlaoise/Highfield – Connacht)
Claire Molloy (Bristol – Exile)
Larissa Muldoon (Exile/UWIC – Ulster)
Joy Neville (UL Bohemians – Munster)
Heather O’Brien (Highfield – Munster)
Laura O’Mahony (Tralee – Munster)*
Ruth O’Reilly (Galwegians – Connacht)*
Marie Louise Reilly (Old Belvedere – Leinster)
Tania Rosser (Blackrock – Leinster)
Sophie Spence (Exile)*
Carol Staunton (Galwegians – Connacht)

* Denotes uncapped player

FAIL: RTÉ Sports Person of the Year Awards

click here — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 11:34:16 +0000

And people thought the BBC’s Sports Person of the Year shortlist was bad?

Katie Taylor has been shortlisted for the Irish Sports Council/RTÉ Sports Person of the Year Awards in 2011, 2010, 2008, 2007.

This morning the 2011 winner was announced, and once again Taylor – undisputedly Ireland’s greatest athlete ever – has been overlooked. This is not a first for RTÉ, which seems to pride itself on almost invariably ignoring Taylor.

The only woman to ever have won the award was Sonia O’Sullivan in 2000.

The other recipients of the award since then have been: Mick McCarthy (who won it as a mangager – as opposed to being an actual sports person); Pádraig Harrington (three times: 2002, 2007 and 2008 – check out the shortlist for those two years); Barry Geraghty (who?); Ronan O’Gara; Seán Óg Ó hAilpín (er..?); Henry Shefflin (wha..?); Brian O’Driscoll; Graeme McDowell; and, this year, Rory McIlroy.

These are just some – some – of Katie Taylor’s achievements:

She has won every European Amateur Championship title since 2005.
She has won every EU Amateur Championship title since 2008.
She has won every World Amateur Championship title (held biennially) since 2006.
In 2009, she had won 60 out of 61 bouts.
In 2010, with her third successive world title at the AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships, she saw her 100th career win.

By comparison, professional boxer Bernard Dunne has won 28 out of 30 matches.

Taylor’s only appearance on RTÉ television was as warm-up act to Dunne’s fight at the O2 in Dublin in 2009.

Katie Taylor has probably had more wins in her sporting career than each of the previous RTÉ Sports Persons of the Year combined.

If she qualifies for the 2012 Olympics, she will be a force to be reckoned with and stands a very good chance of doing very, very well. In advance of the Games, she has had to resort to the UK’s Sky Sports for coverage (video and online), mentoring and support.

Katie Taylor is undoubtedly Ireland’s greatest sports person ever. She is one of the greatest female boxers in the world.

Her father, and coach, Peter Taylor has already expressed his dismay at the lack of coverage her achievements receive. The way she is treated by the State’s national broadcaster is a disgrace.

Sort it the fuck out, RTÉ.

Why do gay footballers prefer to remain in Narnia?

Gooner — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 08:00:06 +0000

Some people are so far in the closet they really are in Narnia. That, of course, is their own business, and they have their own reasons for it. However, when you see one particular group of people staying in the closet, it does make you think. Male professional soccer players are one such group. Homophobia in sport is something we talk about a lot here in Gaelick, however, where some sports, like tennis and golf, seem to have out women, there are precious few men who come out while still active in sport, especially, it would seem, on the football pitch.

I always assumed that the driving reason for this was the crowds. I am a massive football fan, but I have to admit that most fans are men and the assumption has always been that men find male homosexuality something they must mock, dare anyone think they are gay. So walking out onto a football pitch, surrounded by up to 80,000 fans, as an out man, can’t seem very inviting for most, and I have always understood that, even if it is a sad reflection on society as a whole.

However, a few players have come out recently, namely Sweden’s Anton Hysen as well as David Testo from North Carolina. Testo, who played in Montreal, was interviewed on Canadian radio and said (in French translation below)

I’m homosexual, I’m gay. I did not choose. It’s just part of who I am. And it has nothing to do with the talent of a soccer player. You can be both an excellent soccer player and being gay

Later saying

I really regret not having said publicly earlier. I fought with it all my life, my whole career. Living the life of a professional athlete and being gay is incredibly difficult … It saps all your energy to you, in addition to having to perform, having to play

You can’t help but have empathy for his statement, it must be very hard in such a testosterone driven environment.

What I find uplifting is that David was out, not just to his family and friends but also to his team mates. Sadly when he won the award for most valuable player he couldn’t thank his partner, and that is the sting in the tail isn’t it.

However, a new study by Staffordshire University has concluded that the main reason footballers stay so far in the closet whilst playing, is not the pressure from fans and fear of being mocked in such an open and intimidating situation, but rather from pressure they receive from their agents and clubs.

Having carried out a survey of 3,500 fans, the research found that over 90% of them would be happy to see a player come out. The study also shows that 40% of fans believe the reason players don’t come out is pressure from within the sport. The study was published in the Journal of Sport & Social Issues and it’s author Professor Ellis Cashmore has said

Football’s gay players have been reluctant to come out. Their reasons for remaining silent lie inside the football industry rather than in the crowds. Most fans are embarrassed by the popular conception of football as a homophobic environment. It is an impression, they believe, maintained by a code of silence orchestrated and enforced by agents and clubs

So what do the Association of Football Agents think about all this, well, unsurprisingly their chairman has said

It is utter nonsense to suggest that a sports agent would place any pressure on a client confirming or denying or concealing his sexual status… In the 21st century I think that a heterosexual affair would be far more damaging to a player’s image than any acknowledgement of a player’s homosexuality as far as sponsors were concerned

I have to say I think one issue with this study is that they asked fans why they think players don’t come out and it was the fans who said it was the clubs and agents, what do we fans know about it really? You’d have to ask the players, gay and straight, only they could really answer the question. I am still left agreeing with an FA spokesman (wonders will never cease) who thinks

There are many people who are openly gay in the industry. If they don’t wish to broadcast this via the media, that’s understandable

One person who does seem to think the study has some teeth would appear to be Chris Basiurski, chairman of the Gay Football Supporters’ Network. He has stated that his network know of gay players that have been advised not to come out for fear it would hurt them in the transfer market.

The British government have a charter to kick homophobia out of sport and Liverpool are lined up to be the first Premier League club to sign up, several lower division sides already have.

I can’t imagine the media hype if a player came out, so for me, them staying in the closet is sadly understandable. The bottom line is that we still live in a world where a male footballer has reason to fear walking out on to the pitch, especially away from home, if he is out. He also has a right to fear a real impact on his chances of moving up in the game as many clubs might be turned off by the media hype that would follow him. Never mind the impact on his personal life and those he loves, the media circus would be vast.

When retired players come out you feel it’s a shame they couldn’t while playing, but every athlete that comes out chips away at the stereotype and that has to be a good thing. Over 90% of fans being against homophobia, however, is a very welcome and positive statistic. Lets hope the pressure on these young men decreases soon and they can be beacons for all those kids who adore them.

FIFA actually listen – who knew?

Gooner — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 06:00:02 +0000

Back in June 2011 The New York Times featured an article which accused Eucharia Uche, the national coach of Nigerian Women’s soccer, of being homophobic. The article outlined how, during the two years of qualifying games for the World Cup, Uche went about systematically ridding the team of lesbian players, calling homosexuality “spiritually, morally very wrong”. The piece rightly highlights FIFA’s mission statement which says that the organisation is working to better women’s standing in society. It doesn’t take a genius to see that this practise goes against the very core of that statement and frankly, it makes the blood boil. It is also startling how open she is about this practice, obviously not seeing anything wrong with her actions.

Uche admits that having not witnessed any homosexuality from her players she relied on speculation and hearsay, stating

When rumors are strong, you are bound to believe it is happening

Good God, she’s serious. How horrible would it be to work towards your dream of playing in the World Cup, only to have it shattered by such blatant ignorance?

Thankfully people have spoken out and in large numbers too. AllOut, with the help of the Federation of Gay Games, and the International Gay and Lesbian Football Association, have facilitated people’s anger by hosting a petition, one that was signed by more than 47,000 people worldwide. Their website proudly announced last month that

FIFA has just announced they will be opening an investigation in to the Nigerian coach’s statements about purging lesbians from her team — sending a clear and important message: homophobia has no place in football, on or off the field.

For the past two years the Nigerian Football Federation has conducted a witch-hunt to kick women off the national team who were suspected of being lesbians. And Coach Uche just bragged to the New York Times that she has dealt with “the big problem of lesbianism”.

FIFA, soccer’s world governing body, has a powerful record of fighting discrimination. As Nigeria takes the field in the Women’s World Cup, keep the pressure on FIFA to give coach Uche the red card and publicly condemn homophobia in the sport.

This months sees them going one step further, saying

We just received a letter from FIFA’s Secretary General, Jérôme Valcke, announcing the first step of the investigation into Coach Uche’s homophobia.

This is one of those times when you have to smile and put your cynicism aside for a moment. There actually are times when our voices do count and are heard. Let’s hope FIFA take this as seriously as they should and really make a point to all those countries who put their players through the mill on issues that are of no concern to them.

Women like German’s Ursula Holl (right) are flying the flag for lesbians in the sport, but we shouldn’t forget that people like Uche are out there, and in positions of authority.

The whole story reminds me of the Rene Portland saga at Penn State women’s basketball. This, however, runs deeper in some ways, as these women do not necessarily live in countries who’s laws back up their rights. Indeed some live in places where they have no rights at all. Lets hope FIFA’s investigation into the Nigerian team leads to other countries taking note and making sure this kind of behavior is not tolerated.

Do women need men to be the best?

HAL — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 06:00:16 +0000

Here’s one to file under “Eh, what?”. Paula Radcliffe (right) currently holds the world record for the fastest woman in a marathon. Come January 2012, though, she won’t hold the record anymore. Not because some other woman has out-run her, but because she used male pacemakers.

Marathon runners, as well as competitive cyclists, use pacemakers as a matter of course. They basically team up with the main sportsperson to set the pace at which he or she thinks they need to keep in order to win. It’s perfectly legal and all part of sport. Up until now, men could be used as pacemakers for women, but the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) has decided that this is illegal as it makes the woman run faster. Em, isn’t that the point?

Paula Radcliffe ran the London Marathon in 2 hours, 15 minutes, and 25 seconds with the help of male pacemakers, but on her own legs. As Mary Wittenberg, race director of the New York City Marathon told SFGate.com

The pacers were far to the sides. She wasn’t surrounded by all those guys.

So, it’s not as if she coasted along while being propped up by these pacemakers. She ran the race fair and square.

Understandably, there has been outrage at the new ban. Even the sport’s own World Marathon Majors (WMM) and the Association of International Marathons (AIMS) called it “unfair and confusing.”

The whole thing makes no sense. Look at it this way, pacemakers run small parts of the race at top speed and, when they are knackered, they drop off to be replaced by another one and so on. So competitors are always keeping pace with someone faster, fresher and stronger no matter what the gender. Why does it matter whether they are male or female?

To add to the nonsense of the whole thing, Radcliffe has to hand her world record to the person who held the record before she, apparently illegally, broke it. That person is Paula Radcliffe.

The 2011 Solheim Cup Sept 23rd – 25th

Gooner — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 06:00:47 +0000

The 2011 Solheim Cup is almost upon us. Women golfers from the States will be taking on the Europeans in Killeen Castle, County Meath, from September 23rd. However, as of today the gates to the course are open for the public to watch the players practice and take in the atmosphere as it builds to Friday’s tee off. You can view the week’s schedule here.

For those of you new to matchplay golf, let’s take a quick look at how it’s done. 12 players make up each team and some are rather yummy I must say. Ten qualify by merit and the captains get twwo picks. Firstly the teams go out in the morning and play Foursome Matches. This means a pair from each team go out and have one ball per team, they take alternate shots till the hole is won. The afternoon sees Fourball Matches. The name gives this one away, it’s the same as the foursome except each player has their own ball. Personally this is my favourite part of any match play competition. Basically it means that if your partner gets in with par you can really go for it and try the shots you wouldn’t usually try. Makes for great entertainment. Sunday then sees the players go out in the Singles Matches. The captains put their players in a list of one to twelve and the two lists are paired up for the final round.

Being a captain in such a competition is a massive task. You have to pair people up for foursomes and fourballs trying to match both personality and talent into a winning team. Do you pair experience with the rookies, do you put people who are from the same country together, do you put mates together, and who do you leave out? For the singles the captain has to try to decide if it’s right to go out with your best players and try to get points on the board, or is it better to hope you are still in it at the end and leave your best for last? Captains try to read each other and it’s always interesting to see the tactics. The course itself lines up as follows:

Par 72
4 – Par fives.
10 – Par fours.
4 – Par threes.

So who are the teams? Alison Nicholas takes up the captaincy for the Europeans having been vice captain on two previous occasions. Laura Davies will be there having played in every Solheim Cup to date and this year sees the first ever player from the Netherlands taking part, Christel Boeljon. We have two rookie ‘captains picks’ in Sandra Gal and Caroline Hedwall. The team itself has lots of Solheim Cup experience and players from all over Europe should add to the team spirit, something we usually have in spades. The Americans are captained by Rosie Jones who like her counterpart has been vice captain twice. Their team includes captain’s picks Vicky Hurst and Ryann O’Toole who have both had a wonderful season. At 51 Juli Inkster is the oldest athlete to ever represent the U.S. in team competition, I’m well impressed with that. For me, the one to watch from the Us is Paula Creamer, who has only lost twice in 14 Solheim Cup matches, you can’t buy that experience on the big stage.

You can, however, still buy a ticket for the competition on ticketmaster, or indeed, at the gate. RTE and Sky Sports are both carrying some live action too, as well as highlights, so keep an eye out for some wonderful golf, even if you can’t make it to the event in person.

Come on Europe!

Getting Hockeyed

HAL — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 06:00:16 +0000

A piece from Etain, a Gaelick contributor and Pink Lady extraordinaire

A couple of months ago14 ‘ladies’ went to Rotterdam to compete in the Eurogames – a gay community games. The event welcomed more than 6,000 people to the city and was a massive success. Friends were made, hearts broken and medals won. And The Pink Ladies (right) were there, representing Ireland in the hockey competition.

It all began a couple of years ago when Frank Kelly from Outinireland, a gay sports network, told me about the gay games and all the wonderful hockey being played at these events. I began to draw up lists of players that I knew were gay (and lists of players who I suspected were gay) and tell them stories of hot hockey players in sunny climates with beautiful scenery. Many of them even believed in this promised land and signed up. It could be argued that the first training session for the Pink Ladies hockey team took place off the pitch. In fact, it could be argued that most Pink Ladies training ended up off the pitch in some bar or another playing pool and getting to know each other well enough for the type of banter required for screaming constructive criticism at one another.

A few gay message boards, some Facebook advertising and a year of networking later our first session was in UCD and only 5 people turned up, two of whom were never seen again! This was in April and the competition was at the end of July. Eeek. There was a build it and they will come feeling about team, people saying they would commit if we managed to fill our roster and so on.
Right up until the end of May we were still a few sandwiches short of our picnic basket. But it was time to start crunching the numbers, sorting out our kit and getting on with building something we could be proud of.

At a Team Ireland meeting we were introduced to Eoghan (squash player and lovely man) and Nina and Ginell from the Phoenix Tigers. It was at this point that I knew Team Ireland was going to be great. With such friendly and warm people helping Frank to organise how could it not be a success? We arranged a joint fund raising Table Quiz with the Phoenix Tigers in the Front Lounge
and managed to fill most of the tables. We even had a Sapphic culture round with a question about how Tara died in Buffy which elicited much emotion from the crowd. It was a great success and we raised enough money to buy our kit - a black and pink number which has been described as having the consistency and warmth of cling film.

That first training session with full team attendance we realised this was really happening. A feeling summed up succinctly by Bucko when she explained to me that the team were equal parts terrified and excited. It was exciting! It was terrifying! We were going on an adventure and had no idea what was ahead of us. We had a motley crew – some players new to hockey, some hyperactive, some very
laid back and some more sagely. Were we going to get thumped? Would we be shunned for being mostly smokers? What were the rules again? But our months of training had been fruitful, our new players were enjoying themselves and our short corners were savage. We were ready.

We had every intention of clean living. Every intention. But Rotterdam was a cruel mistress and we indulged in thrills of the city on our first night. And our second. Ok, well pretty much every night. But we love that stick and ball game, never letting our hunger for after hours fun get in the way of our hockey. The day before the tournament began the whole team had arrived and we pottered down
to the pitches for one last training session.

As soon as we walked on the pitch the sky opened and bucketed down, but only until we came off the pitch thoroughly soaked. That evening Tourism Ireland hosted a welcome reception for all the athletes in attendance from Ireland there were more than 60 attendees and the event was a great success and good opportunity for us to see the other competitors whose venues were on the other side of the city from ours. The next morning we opened our campaign against the London Royals – the reigning champions who had won the tournament several years running. So we all went to bed. LOL.

A mid morning game against Royals was the first for the Pink Ladies. Who were actually the Muted Grayish White Ladies as our tops were too close to the Royals and had to be turned inside out.

Something didn’t click for us and we lost our opener 3-0.

We didn’t have another game that day so we mulled about and soaked up the atmosphere at the pitches. There was also squash, handball, badminton and tennis on in the same venue so there was a great buzz about the place. We also got to check out the competition for the following day and got to know the Royals a little better (left).

Day two. A team breakfast buffet sorted us all out. We left with our pockets filled with sambos and our hearts filled with hope. Down to the pitches where we would face the hot favourites German ‘Charme on Tour’. Some of them may have been hot but they certainly were not our favourites and they beat us 3-1. We were disgruntled and disheartened. There was a short break before our next match and everyone was just a little pissed off that we weren’t playing like we knew we could.

The Dutch team were up next, confident on home ground and looked menacing in their orange kit. All of a sudden the Pink Ladies arrived. Hockey sticks smacked together as we took the field and shouted 1-2-3 IRELAND. Something had changed and we played a firey game to beat the Dutch 2-0! Now we were really having fun. There was a massive BBQ for the 200 or more competitors at the venue and the London Royals supplied us with face paint. The beer flowed as the sun set and the sports friends new and old danced on table tops to Europop in their hockey gear.

Day three of the competition. We had drawn the London Royals again and had the opportunity to play for the bronze. This time our kit would be the right way around and we had acclimatised ourselves to playing with a stonking hang over (right). We almost had to chuck our lovely (but at the time grumpy and dangerously ill) goalie in the cold showers to get her on the pitch, but when finally upright she played a blinder. We went 1-0 up on the Royals early on in the game and they too seemed to be suffering the affects of the previous nights festivities.

Soon it was 1-1 and we were fighting for our place on the podium. In the final 5 minutes, Aoife slotted home our second of the match and the Pink Ladies simply had to hold our ground to steal a win from the team who had beaten us 3-0 in the opening game. When the whistle blew we were ecstatic. We jumped all over each other, punched the air and beamed from ear to ear on our victory lap (warm down really, can’t hurt yourself on the way to the celebrations). In reality we could not have beaten a nicer team and the London Royals were both great sports and great craic throughout.

The prize giving was a little later in the evening which just about gave us enough time to loll about on the picnic benches and soak up some refreshment. We joked that at this point the Pink Ladies were mostly held together with tape and plasters but were nonetheless delighted with our battle wounds.

Later that evening the team went to the closing party in Aloha where Betty and Sister Sledge played. We eventually ended up in Gay Palace, Rotterdam’s answer to the George. It was sweaty, dirty and packed to the rafters with gay sports friends. They played ‘All I Want for Christmas’ and we finished our journey on what the pictures tell me can only have been a massive high.

We weren’t the only medal winners in Rotterdam with more than 40 members of Team Ireland returning home with rainbow ribbons around their necks. Including our friends the Phoenix Tigers who came 2nd in their tournament!

We are hosting a hockey tournament next summer in Dublin with Pink Hockey and simply can’t wait to welcome all our new friends over. There is ever more room on the Pink Ladies to get involved just find us on Facebook!

Gym and Bear it

Bear — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 06:00:40 +0000

When it comes to matters of health and fitness, I am decidedly a bear of very little brain. Or perhaps a bear of very little motivation would be a fairer statement. And as the years have passed by and I have become a bear of no little gain, I couldn’t really ignore the fact that I would have to get pro-active about getting in better shape. Or, shape generally. I have avoided even using words like “pro-active” for most of my adult life, because it sounds like, well, something I’d have to do that would get in the way of all my avoiding of things. But in the past few years, things have been getting more and more wobbly, so I’m attempting a start at doing something about it, now!

This year my employer offered a company subsidised gym membership to staff, so I realised I couldn’t look at that particular gift horse in any peculiar way, or however the saying goes, and signed up. Mrs Bear was delighted to hear that something was finally being done, as she is very active and loves running around, playing sports and all that jazz. I’d felt bad that I wasn’t much of a companion in that realm, so here was another incentive. I’ll never be able to beat her on the tennis court, but I thought it might be nice to be able to last a game of badminton with her at least. Or is it a set? I’ll find all that out, I’m sure.

So off I toddled to the gym. I knew I would be intimidated at the start, so I called in to a pub on the way and had a few swift whiskies to iron my will. Joking! That’s just water in my bottle, I swear. I wore a t-shirt and figured nobody would need to see my legs, so also some trackie bottoms – first mistake. The air conditioning in the gym was kaput on that particular day, so it was already like a sauna before I made any sort of movement. I wandered around a bit trying to look both nonchalant and non-sweaty, which was tricky. The main reason for that was to do a bit of reconnaissance on the machines, and try to look without looking at how people were operating them. I’ll say at this point that there seemed to be no staff on hand for any sort of intro, they must have been all away trying to fix the air-con. In a way that suited me, I thought that a guided tour of the place would draw too much attention on me, I just wanted to sneak in and get cracking. On the other hand, I hadn’t a clue, even after my scouting, how anything worked. So I went for the most familiar-looking thing there – exercise bike! I hopped up on one, nodded to the fembots beside me pedalling like pros, and after about 90 seconds realised I was not going to blend in so quickly. The combination of intense heat and my total lack of fitness had an almost immediate effect, and I wondered why suddenly my hair appeared to be crying. So much for the non-sweatiness, but I tried to keep up the nonchalance as best I could. I thought I did ok, considering I looked like someone was pouring water directly onto my head.

After a little while, I knew I’d have to take a break, not least because the fembots were starting to look a bit alarmed and I really didn’t want to break their impressive stride. A machine that I later found out was called a cross trainer had become free, so I wobbled over to it. After bashing a few buttons, it came to life, and I almost came to death. Did you know that they are set up to pull your entire skeleton apart? I’m fairly sure they use those contraptions to make this stuff.

Finally I thought I’d give the treadmill a go. I was still shell-shocked from the other two devices, so some monotonous trudging would be just the ticket, I thought. It all started out fine, the belt thingy starts moving, and then you do too, unless you want to end up in a heap on the floor. But then a bit of keeping up with the Joneses kicks in, an inadvertent pace is set by your sprinting neighbours, so you up the revs… It was ok though, because, for a change, I knew how to work the machine, especially the big red QUICK STOP button, the best part of the whole evening.

So I’m going to keep at it, because despite all my mishaps on day one, I think I might be able figure it out, sweat a few gallons less, and shape up a bit. I’m assuming that next time I go, the Spanish Inquisition will have taken back their cross trainers, and there will be nicer machines to try and figure out instead.

No matter what happens, I’ll continue to be inspired by a fellow doughnut enthusiast…

No related posts.

Gay cyclist warns gay athletes not to come out

Gooner — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 06:00:13 +0000

I have written many times about homophobia in sport. There is no doubt it is rampant in many sports all over the world. Thankfully people like, Gareth Thomas (Rugby), Steve Davis (Cricket), Anton Hysen (Soccer) and our own Donal Og Cusack (GAA) have come out and their profiles go a long way to lifting the stereotype. Teams including the San Fransisco Giants have also gotten in on the act by making “It Gets Better” videos.

However, for all this positivity there are still sports people who claim that is not advisable for athletes to come out. The likes of Germany’s soccer captain Philipp Lahm have said that coming out as a sports person is too hard. In his book Lahm writes

I would not advise any gay professional footballer to come out… I would fear that he could end up like Justin Fashanu who, after he outed himself, was driven into such a corner that he ended up committing suicide.

Lahm joins the likes of Jason Akermanis (Aussie Rules) who said in 2010 that

Imagine the publicity associated with a current player admitting he’s gay…It would be international news and could break the fabric of a club

He received a two-match ban from his club for his comments but you have to think that any gay sportsperson out there must read things like this and shudder. All their insecurities backed up.

The latest to join this group may come as a surprise, out cyclist Graeme Obree has warned his fellow athletes not to follow his example. In 1993 Obree became a Scottish hero when, riding a bike he made from parts of a washing machine, he smashed the world hour record. In an interview with the Scottish Sun he says:

While I was competing and in a changing room environment there was no way I would come out. You’d always be worrying if other people were thinking, ‘Is he checking me out?’…There are SPL footballers who are gay, I know that for a fact…But if I was in their position there is no way I would come out….It would be too awkward in the dressing room…You need to be retired first. Even now I wouldn’t do coaching because it’s still an awkward situation.

It’s not that I think coming out as an active sports person is easy, I can see where he is coming from. However, if everyone thought that way we’d never get anywhere.

What do you think? Are we naive to think sports people should come out? Should we do more work to make it easier for them or should they stand up and be counted? Tell us what do you think in the comments section below.

Cantwell wins Inaugural Player of the Year Award

Gooner — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 06:00:49 +0000

One of the top awards that football players can win is the Football Writers Player of the Year Award. The likes of Scott Parker and Wayne Rooney deservedly won this award in recent years and are understandably very proud of the award. They get a great deal of press and kudos for along with the prize itself. Rugby also has a similar award, recent winners include Leinster’s Seán O’Brien who also won the European award. For many years we who watch women’s sports have wondered why there isn’t and equivalent prize as the women’s games are just as hard fought. However, Guinness have recently added sponsorship of the men’s award with a similar award for the Rugby Writers of Ireland Women’s Player of the Year.

Lynne Cantwell is the first winner of the prestigious honour. Lynne plays for London’s Richmond and Ireland as centre-cum winger. She is Ireland’s most capped player, putting on the green jersey no less than 67 times to date. Although Cantwell now lives in the UK, having just won the English Premiership with Richmond, she played much of her career with UL-Bohemians and had a great deal of success.

It is great to see Irish female athletes get some praise, it is about time these awards spanned both genders as both work hard to meet their potential and should be awarded equally. Rugby has been on the up in Ireland over recent years with the men’s team doing so well in the 6 nations and Leinster joining Munster and Ulster as champions of Europe. The women are also successful however, and this award goes some way to addressing the lack of appreciation they get from the sporting community.

Ladies Who Golf

Gooner — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 06:00:55 +0000

Over the coming months Killeen Castle in county Meath is the place to be for those of us who love womens golf. The venue will host the Ladies Irish Open on August 5th and also host the wonderful Solheim Cup from September 23rd to 25th. Exciting times for Irish fans, it’s not often you get the best on your doorstep but between both these respected competitions we will have the chance to see the sports elite fight it out.

The course itself was designed by none other than Jack Nicklaus and it can be easy to forget that as a nation Ireland is extremely strong in the golfing world. The very best from Europe, the states and beyond have confirmed their participation in the Irish Open and the extra incentive of some much needed Solheim Cup points will add a touch of spice to the already highly rated competition.

Looking at the top ten US players (who are automatically selected for the Solheim Cup), we can see the current number three, Stacey Lewis, as well as numbers six and ten, Angela Stanford and Christina Kim. Everyone loves an up and coming star so we shouldn’t forget the amazing Lexi Thompson who at 16 is one to watch for the future. Lets not forget the stir she made when she qualified for the U.S. Women’s Open at 12 years of age.

On the European side the legend herself, Laura Davies, will compete. What this woman has done for the women’s game can’t be over stated, back in the day she was out on her own at the very top and even now she’s a born leader. The list is impressive and includes the Avnet LPGA Classic champion Maria Hjorth and winner of the Deloitte Dutch Ladies Open, Melissa Reid. Also in the running are tour event winners Diana Luna and Caroline Hedwall. Not forgetting last years Irish Open winner, Sophie Gustafson.

Rebecca Codd and Martina Gillen will be flying the Irish flag high and with great distinction. Unfortunately Codd, Ireland’s top player, is 25th in the Solheim Cup standings and so it is unlikely that an Irish player will feature come September. However, if you get yourself to Meath in early August you can cheer our ladies on as well as a few Irish amateurs, including the 16 year old twins Leona and Lisa Maguire from Co. Cavan.

Roddy Carr who is directing the even says,

This is an extremely important year for both the players and ladies golf in Ireland as we prepare to stage The 2011 Solheim Cup , and I am delighted with the strength of this year’s Ladies Irish Open field. The large crowd that attended the event at Killeen Castle last year witnessed an amazing tournament and with an even stronger field this year, spectators are in store for a feast of world class golf

I won’t get to Meath for either event but I will be stuck to my TV. Golf is a sport you can watch all day long and I have these dates in my diary and won’t be moving from my couch. If you can get down to Killeen Castle then I would advise you to do so, this is a top event with the most amazing athletes taking part.