Golf clubs will not be expected to turn away members coming from further than 5km when they reopen next week, relying instead on members abiding by the Government's guidelines. A number of clubs around the country confirmed that they will be relying on members following HSE advice and that they will have rangers on duty but only to ensure that GUI instructions are followed. Tennis Ireland says that their interpretation of the Government guidelines is not intended to discriminate against the older age group but for health and wellbeing reasons over-70s will not be allowed to play on May 18th. So next week when the Elm Park club in Dublin can open its doors to tennis players and golfers, members of 70-years-old or more may play a round of golf but they may not play tennis on the same premises.
The IRFU has confirmed to its professional players that they will not be returning to team training on May 18th, as had been pencilled in by them six weeks ago. They will continue to train in isolation for another three weeks before being given a clear indication as to when rugby may or may not resume. There remains the hope that the Pro14 might yet be able to resume in August with two rounds of regional matches, including interpros, potentially behind closed doors, before semi-finals and a final in September. In his column this morning, Gerry Thornley explains why James Cronin's doping ban has left a bad taste: "News that Sport Ireland has requested a full case file as part of its continuing review of the matter means that it will not be going away, not for the time being anyhow."
A survey of club GAA players held by the club player's association (CPA) last week has shown that 22 per cent of participants in the survey oppose a return to club training and matches before a vaccine makes the activities safe. The response to the survey was 3,008 players of the estimated 25,000 membership.
Meanwhile Brian O'Connor reports that "aside from the jockeys looking like Dick Turpin in their face-masks", the resumption of racing in France on Monday mostly looked reassuringly normal. The Premier League is to attempt to persuade authorities to allow matches at home stadiums, the first of several hurdles the competition will try to clear after the British government gave hope that soccer could return in June. And in the latest entry to the sporting controversies series, it's the brutal, sad and mysterious tale of Shergar.
