It was all going so well, so perfectly, until it wasn’t. Ireland’s footballers could do no wrong after securing World Cup qualification, until they did, until a video emerged of them singing The Wolfe Tones’ Celtic Symphony as part of the changing room celebrations, including the lyrics ‘Ooh ah, up the ‘Ra’. To be fair, the FAI owned up to the major lapse of judgement quickly. No one did so more than Vera Pauw, who outlined that it shouldn’t have happened regardless of whether the incident was caught on camera or not. As Malachy Clerking writes this morning, one positive that has come from the incident is the recognition that Pauw’s facility for getting her point across can’t have many rivals in the game. Away from the unsavoury singing, Joanne O’Riordan says that Tuesday night and the World Cup to come will capture the imagination of the nation in the way Italia ‘90 did. Damien Duff makes a similar point as he believes the qualification is on a par with whatever tournaments the men reached in their history. Mary Hannigan profiles Amber Barrett, the Donegal woman whose goal send Ireland to Australia.
In Champions League action from Wednesday night, Mo Salah scored the fastest hat-trick in competition history as Liverpool routed Rangers by a score of 7-1. It took the Egyptian just 14 minutes after coming on from the bench to rediscover his goal-scoring form in emphatic fashion. In London, Son Heung-min’s brilliant performance helped Spurs to a 3-2 win over Frankfurt, a massive result for them in the quest to reach the knockout stages.
For the first time since joining Leinster from Lyon, Charlie Ngatai has spoken to the press. For all his experience, including an All Blacks cap, Ngatai hasn’t had the smoothest settling in process. “It’s a very different style to French rugby,” he said about Leinster and the URC. “Probably similar to New Zealand; the fast-paced, open rugby, skilful. It’s getting the feeling back, a lot more running, a lot faster.” Despite the initial teething problems, his attacking display in last weekend’s win over the Sharks suggests he’s on the right track.
Ballyhale are looking to win a fifth Kilkenny hurling title in a row this weekend. Standing in their way is James Stephens and, to many’s surprise, Brian Cody. Cody joined up with his club at the start of September, just weeks after stepping down after 24 seasons as Kilkenny senior hurling manager following the narrow All-Ireland final loss to Limerick, ending a tenure that included 11 All-Ireland titles. Cody’s youngest son Diarmuid is also captain of James Stephens this season.
