Joe Schmidt is not expecting to be “love-bombed” on his return to Dublin with Australia for Saturday’s Autumn Nations Series finale at the Aviva Stadium. Having helped the All Blacks leave Ireland’s World Cup hopes in smithereens last year, there will, he says, be “a degree of unpopularity”. But he has nothing but good memories from his time here and there will, writes Gerry Thornley, always be “warmth and friendship” between him and Andy Farrell after their work together with Ireland. They’d both quite like to beat each other on Saturday, though.
Gus McCarthy, meanwhile, is still on a high after his debut against Fiji, but in the view of Owen Doyle, Sam Prendergast was decidedly lucky not to see red in that game. “Before the match there was concern that the outhalf would be the subject of some special attention, but nobody thought for a moment that he would be the one doling it out,” he writes.
On the club front, Leo Cullen is very much looking forward to welcoming Jordie Barrett to the Leinster fold later this week, although we’ll have to wait and see if he’ll be fit enough to make his debut in Friday’s URC meeting with Ulster.
In soccer, Gavin Cummiskey talks to Courtney Brosnan and Lily Agg ahead of the Republic of Ireland’s trip to Cardiff on Friday for first leg of their Euro 2025 play-off against Wales, Brosnan hell-bent on Ireland not being one-tournament wonders.
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Johnny Murphy on refereeing the All-Ireland final: ‘Hand on heart, I was happy with the way it went’
Malachy Clerkin: Ireland can’t afford to miss the women’s Euros - once momentum is lost, it’s hard to get back
In Gaelic games, Mayo’s hope of a curse-busting 2025 have hardly been helped by Cillian O’Connor opting out of intercounty football, Pádraig O’Hora now expected to announce the same decision. And Seán Moran looks forward to the Leinster club finals in Croke Park on Saturday, a rare double up for grabs for Dublin with Na Fianna in the hurling final and Cuala in the football.
In his Different Strokes column, Philip Reid takes us on a spin around the golfing world, stopping off in a rain-soaked Hong Kong where Patrick Reed won his first tournament since 2021. Fairyhouse was a bit rain-soaked itself after a rather moist weekend, but, Brian O’Connor tells us, the course will still need some “unseasonal watering” ahead of the weekend’s festival action. “The event has been disrupted in the past by snow and freezing conditions, but the issue this time is very different.” Climate change, that.
TV Watch: It’s Champions League time again and Feyenoord have a handy away tie to strugglers Manchester City (Premier Sports 1), Arsenal on the road too, Sporting Lisbon, who recently lost their manager to the other half of Manchester, their opponents (Virgin Media Two and TNT Sports 1). There’s also a tasty looking encounter between Bayern Munich and PSG (Virgin Media More and TNT Sports 2). All of these games start at 8pm.
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