EQUESTRIAN: Ireland remain at the bottom of the Samsung Super League after an under-par performance at the Dutch Nations Cup in Rotterdam yesterday, reports Grania Willis.

The Irish got off to a promising start, sharing a four-way tie for third at the break, three fences adrift of the all-powerful Germans, who headed the field on a clean sheet.

But the Irish and the German challenges faltered in the second round, with Germany dropping to equal fifth and Ireland plummeting to seventh when only captain Shane Carey and Cian O'Connor could repeat their first round single-error performances.

The result leaves Ireland last in the table, .625 of a point adrift of the Dutch, eighth in yesterday's competition.

While her team-mates struggled to make inroads on the Super League rankings, Jessica Kürten was in flying form at the Monte Carlo fixture, adding a second in Thursday night's late-finishing jump-off class to her speed class win and fourth.

SAILING: Southampton round-the-world sailor Mike Golding, skipper of the Open 60 Ecover, has withdrawn from next week's BMW Round Ireland race citing keel problems, reports David O'Brien.

In with a great chance of the race record, Golding last week shaved two hours, 10 minutes and nine seconds off the 284-mile French race from St Nazaire to St Malo around the coast of Brittany.

Also out of the fleet is Adrian Lee's Irisha, from Dún Laoghaire, a regular competitor since 1990, for business reasons.

CYCLING: AG2R Prévoyance duo Philip Deignan and Mark Scanlon are likely to miss tomorrow's national road race championships in Westport, reports Shane Stokes.

Recent tests showed Deignan had contracted glandular fever several months ago, unknown to him and the team, and he has been advised to rebuild gradually to avoid a relapse.

Although Scanlon has not officially withdrawn it is believed he will miss tomorrow's event owing to poor form.