By Paul Fitzpatrick’s calculation, that was the busiest championship weekend ever, with 26 hurling and football matches played between Saturday and Sunday. There is, then, a mountain to analyse, but Nicky English’s chief conclusion after the opening round of hurling games is that “the foregone conclusions don’t seem so foregone any more”.
While the four-in-a-row seeking Limerick got their campaign off to a winning start against Waterford, the two-point margin of victory was considerably less emphatic than most anticipated, Nicky seeing “worrying signs” in their performance, with a hint of fatigue and “legginess”.
Seán Moran, in his round-up of the weekend’s action, suggests that those who advised the bookies to pay out on Limerick retaining their crown, before a sliotar was even struck in anger, might have been a little hasty, hurling’s opening night, he writes, making “dunces of most onlookers”.
We have reports from all around the country, Denis Walsh in Ennis to see the Tipperary hurlers produce “a performance full of promise” against Clare. In football, Gordon Manning saw Galway hold off Roscommon’s second half comeback at Dr Hyde Park to reach the Connacht final, while Ian O’Riordan was at O’Moore Park to see the Dubs demolish Laois.
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In rugby, John O’Sullivan was at Musgrave Park to see Ireland lose 48-0 to England in the women’s Six Nations, while in the URC it was a mixed weekend for the provinces, Ulster beating Edinburgh, Munster coming back from 22-3 down to draw with the Sharks, Connacht losing to Glasgow and a makeshift Leinster suffering a hammering at the hands of the Bulls.
Once again, there was no place in the Munster squad for Joey Carbery, Denis writing about the player’s struggles this season, during which he has been “relegated to Ireland’s fourth choice outhalf” and “suddenly number three in Munster”. He might, though, be able to learn from Ronan O’Gara’s career, when he too had to overcome difficult spells to rediscover his form.
In soccer, Ken Early doffs his cap to the impact Roberto De Zerbi has had on Brighton since he succeeded Graham Potter as coach back in September, and while his team suffered the disappointment of losing Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final on penalties to Manchester United, they have produced football of “sensational quality” under the Italian.
Telly watch: Ireland’s cricketers are in test match action against Sri Lanka as we speak – BT Sport 2 and Premier Sports 1 have live coverage up to the close of play this afternoon (1.30pm our time). Later in the day, you can catch a glimpse of Kerry and Cork’s footballing futures when they meet in the Munster Under-20 final (TG4, 7.30), while Against the Head will review the weekend’s rugby action (RTÉ2, 8.0).
