Tag: Jack Crowley
-
Beware the pride of wounded lions
IRELAND…42 ENGLAND…21 If the forthcoming production was in relation to association football, one would automatically assume it was an England team to whom reference was being made. Given that they have three of the members of the feline family as the crest on their jersey. Now read on… But no, the wounded Lions in this…
-
Sideline Cuts – 44
McCloskey In From The Cold The major talking point from the Irish rugby team announced to take on the All Blacks in Chicago on Saturday night has been the inclusion of Stuart McCloskey to partner Garry Ringrose in the centre. It will be the 33-year-old’s first start in green since 2023. Other notable occurrences include…
-
Looking for problems where there are none
IRELAND… 32 SCOTLAND… 18 It’s probably the case with all team sports that all teams have two or three perspective candidates for each spot on the team. In Ireland’s case, that has absolutely been the reality for as long as I can recall at fly half. From Tony Ward to Ollie Campbell, to Ralph Keyes,…
-
Calculated gamble or demonstration of riches?
I made my confirmation in April 1994. On the same night, Dermot Morgan was finishing a run of shows at the Olympia Theatre. The old VHS tape thereof remains one of the best pieces of comedy the senses here have ever encountered. There are so many comedic gems therein it’s hard to nail down a…
-
Patchy performance won’t cover all the cracks
IRELAND…22 ARGENTINA…19 Dermot Morgan – Live At The Olympia – April 16th 1994: “People’s walks tell an awful lot about them. At Lansdowne Road, the main sports stadium in the country after the Gaelic football and hurling headquarters at Croke Park, you have two different types of walks as both the soccer and rugby internationals…
-
The troops may change but the ethos remains the same
France… 17 Ireland… 38 Not all that long ago, while longingly looking at clubs like Kilmacud Crokes and Kilcoo and Ballygunnar and bemoaning the fact that one’s own entity are not at a similar plateau. “Culture” explained a friend of mine with experience of playing and coaching in both GAA. “With them, it’s an in-built…
-
Forgotten man Zebo still has a part to play
Munster… 29 Toulon… 18 There was a time I was bitterly disappointed with Simon Zebo. As a rugby fan first off. Because his decision to go and play his club fare in France meant he was (wrongly) automatically excluded from the Irish setup. Also, mind you, because loyalty is one of the qualities held dearest…
-
A game for the ages but ‘only’ an ordinary win
Ireland… 13 South Africa… 8 One of the strange curiosities of the four match saga between Meath and Dublin in the Leinster SFC of 1991 was, after all the hype and coverage had subsided, it was only a first round encounter. The victors still had several hurdles to cross before they could even contemplate silverware.…
-
A fine line between opportunity and risk
Ireland… 33 Italy… 17 Challenge matches, Test matches, friendlies, warm ups, whatever you want. Do they carry any value? Observers of a certain vintage would be of the view they’re not worth the grass they get played on. An easy conclusion to arrive at if using the 1988 case of Meath and Kildare as a…
-
Carlsberg don’t sponsor Munster…but if they did…
Hans Christian Andersen, you may stand down sir. For those who produce fairytales to rival anything ever penned by yourself did so again on Saturday evening in some far flung corner of South Africa. Though I don’t think anybody in the celebrated writer’s works ever endured as much heartache and disappointment between pots of gold…