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Darwin Nunez has key role to play for Liverpool; Jon Rahm goes top of world rankings

The Morning Sports Briefing: Keep ahead of the game with The Irish Times sports team

Jon Rahm of Spain celebrates during the trophy ceremony after winning The Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club. Photograph: Cliff Hawkins/Getty

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David Gorman
Mon Feb 20 2023 - 06:54

If Liverpool are to surprise Real Madrid in the Champions League last 16 this week, then they need their entertaining but puzzling striker Darwin Nunez, writes Ken Early. “Darwin is averaging 5.48 shots per game, more than any other player in the top five European leagues. He leads this category by quite a distance, with nearly a full shot more per game than second-placed Lionel Messi.” Yesterday in the Premier League, Manchester United and Tottenham strengthened their top four positions, with Rashford starring against Leicester.

In golf, Rory McIlroy had a week to forget with the putter as Shane Lowry finished strongly at Riviera. Jon Rahm won the title at the Genesis Invitational in a week where Tiger Woods returned to PGA Tour action. The Spaniard is back number one in the world after his third victory of the year. In athletics, Israel Olatunde is now undisputed as Ireland’s fastest man. The 20-year-old UCD student broke the indoor 60m mark to go with his outdoor 100m record last summer.

Roscommon continued their brilliant form in the national football league and are top of the table after a third win in a row, this time against Armagh. There were also victories for Monaghan, Galway and Mayo in Division One at the weekend, while Dublin narrowly came out on top against Cork in Division Two, where Jack McCaffrey was back in action for the Dubs. In the ladies football league, Kerry crushed Dublin to maintain a perfect start to the season.

In the GAA TV view, Mary Hannigan writes Derry put Meath to the sword, but manager Colm O’Rourke remains a picture of calm – after all, his crew are a work in progress. “Hello there, you’re very welcome to Owenbeg ... it’s windy, it’s lashing rain, and Michael Bublé is playing over the tannoy. It doesn’t get much worse than this,” says RTÉ's Damian Lawlor. Also at the weekend was GAA Congress, as Jarlath Burns was elected as GAA President. The event was haunted by the Kilmacud-Glen controversy, writes Seán Moran. GAA “Don’t let players on until players come off. Enforce it. The rule is there so enforce it. It was an unfortunate error so that would be the most basic thing, I think,” GAA president Larry McCarthy said.

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This is a golden age for Irish sportswomen but they still do not get the support they deserve, writes Denis Walsh as he says audiences want good sport no matter who plays it – so demand more coverage of women. “According to 20x20 research, the audience for women’s sport on television had grown from 7 per cent to 18 per cent, but, overall, there had been a 40 per cent decrease in the amount of TV coverage during the two years of their campaign.”

In rugby, Ireland’s Dan Sheehan and Cian Healy are the likeliest of the injured quintet to return against Italy. The game may come too soon for Henshaw (wrist), Jamison Gibson-Park (hamstring) and Tadhg Furlong (calf). Meanwhile, Alun Wyn Jones puts his law degree to good use in Welsh rugby dispute as he helps to represent colleagues across the Welsh club divide who are considering industrial action in response to the continuing dispute between players and the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) regarding a long-term pay agreement. If you want all the angles on this year’s Six Nations, sign up for The Counter Ruck, our new weekly rugby newsletter from Gerry Thornley.