Sports Briefing

Jamison Gibson-Park sets minimum standard that rest of Leinster must aspire to

URC playoff places on the minds of provinces; Galway’s big boost adds to Mayo pressure; wellness at the Olympics

Leinster's Jamison Gibson-Park is tackled by Northampton Saints' Tommy Freeman during the Investec Champions Cup semi-final match at Croke Park. Photograph: Damien Eagers/PA Wire

Mary Hannigan's face
Mary Hannigan
Wed May 8 2024 - 11:21

Their URC meeting with Ospreys on Saturday might be next on Leinster’s agenda, but Gordon D’Arcy has a notion that Leo Cullen and his coaching team will still be mulling over that performance against Northampton and figuring out a way of “avoiding a repeat of that final-quarter fragility”. It was, he writes, “clear very early that something was amiss”, but while he says that the “collective performance wasn’t there”, he doffs his cap to the individuals who pulled Leinster through – not least Jamison Gibson-Park whose display was “exemplary”. His “approach to the match should serve as a minimum standard for everyone ... and the challenge for all of his team-mates is to replicate that quality over the coming weeks.”

Will Connors missed out on a place in the matchday squad for the Northampton game, Johnny Watterson talking to the flanker about his efforts to get more game time with Leinster. And Johnny also hears from a man who will be a team-mate of Connors next season – but for now, RG Snyman’s focus is purely on helping Munster win back-to-back URC titles. Next up for Snyman and his team-mates is the visit of Connacht to Thomond Park, Linley MacKenzie talking to Connacht coach Pete Wilkins ahead of the game. And Michael Sadlier looks at Ulster’s URC hopes as “the jostling for playoff places intensifies”.

In Gaelic games, Darragh Ó Sé gives his assessment of last Sunday’s Connacht final, Galway’s victory giving them a welcome boost after a difficult winter. But while “Mayo are no worse off today than they were before the weekend”, their manager Kevin McStay will be “in the doghouse with the supporters”. “You can see why – they were two points up in injury-time and lost.” Seán Moran, meanwhile, writes about how the provincial championships in Munster and Leinster “have broken down for want of competition”, and how that poses a stark threat to the championship’s format. In hurling, Ian O’Riordan talks to the player of the month for March, Clare’s David Fitzgerald.

And we take a look at the International Olympic Committee’s launch of a mindfulness programme as part of their efforts to promote ‘wellness’ among athletes at this summer’s Games. They will also use “AI to weed out abuse on social media”. A sign of the times.

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TV Watch: In what promises to be a humdinger of a game, Real Madrid host Bayern Munich in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final tonight – the first leg finished 2-2 (Virgin Media Two and TNT Sports 1, 8.0). Borussia Dortmund await the winners after their victory in Paris last night.