SPORTS DIGEST:The first four-star Nations' Cup of the season takes place this afternoon in Lummen, Belgium, where Ireland will be represented by Shane Breen, Alexander Butler, Edward Doyle and Dermott Lennon, writes MARGIE McLOONE.
Denis Lynch, Mark McAuley and Billy Twomey are competing in the second leg of the Global Champions’ Tour in Valencia this weekend. Twomey won his first Grand Prix of the Tour at the Spanish venue last year and will be all out to repeat his victory in the €285,000 event tomorrow.
Irish show jumpers are also in action at three-star level in Mannhein and Le Touquet and down a grade at Fontainebleau and Drammen. Sacha Pemble will be Ireland’s sole international eventer over the next few days, when she competes at Jardy in France.
Three Irish para-equestrian riders have travelled to Mannheim in a bid to secure Olympic qualification.
Leinster, Ulster and Munster on dream team
Two Leinster, two Ulster and one Munster player have earned places in this season’s RaboDirect Pro 12 Dream Team, writes Johnny Watterson.
Isa Nacewa is named at fullback and Richardt Strauss at hooker for Leinster with Ulster’s Springbok scrumhalf Ruan Pienaar and Dan Tuohy also selected. Munster’s only starting player is prop BJ Botha.
Tim Visser, who qualifies to play for Scotland this summer, is once again the leading try scorer in the Pro 12 and has bagged 36 tries in 56 appearances for Edinburgh up to round 22 of the campaign.
A panel of 14 journalists from Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales selected the team.
Dream Team 2011/12:Isa Nacewa (Leinster), Tim Visser (Edinburgh), Casey Laulala (Cardiff Blues), Ashley Beck (Ospreys), Alex Cuthbert (Cardiff Blues); Duncan Weir (Glasgow), Ruan Pienaar (Ulster); Jon Welsh (Glasgow), Richardt Strauss (Leinster), BJ Botha (Munster), Dan Tuohy (Ulster), Tom Ryder (Glasgow), Dave Denton (Edinburgh), Justin Tipuric (Ospreys), Ben Morgan (Scarlets).
Cuddihy makes the standard in Japan to qualify for 400m at London Olympics
Perhaps the least surprising name now added to the list of Irish qualifiers for the London Olympics is Joanne Cuddihy, who ran inside the 400 metres A-standard with her 51.45 seconds at the Shizuoka International meeting in Japan, writes Ian O’Riordan.
Cuddihy had been knocking on the door of qualification for the past few weeks while racing in Australia, and her victory in 51.45 – well inside the required 51.55, in wet conditions too – makes her the 17th Irish athlete to secure the A standard, with several more still expected.
The Kilkenny runner, who turns 28 next week, will almost certainly run quicker before London, possibly challenging her 50.73 Irish record set at the 2007 World Championships.
Also showing excellent form is Mark English, who ran a world junior qualifier of 1:48.19 when winning the British Milers meeting 800m earlier this week.
