Latest news with #Devine
Irish Examiner
a day ago
- Automotive
- Irish Examiner
Callum Devine and Noel O'Sullivan narrowly lead Donegal International Rally
With a pace that matched the searing heat, just thirty seconds cover the top six in the Wilton Recycling Donegal International Rally following the six stages in Carndonagh during the opening leg of the three-day event. Derry's Callum Devine (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2) and his Killarney co-driver Noel O'Sullivan, seeking a third straight victory, hold a 12.4s lead over the Hyundai of New Zealander Hayden Paddon and his Mallow born co-driver David Moynihan with the Welsh/Killarney duo of Meirion Evans/Ger Conway (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) 2.8s further behind in third. Devine and Armstrong were joint quickest on the opening stage at Malin Head with Paddon 1.9s behind and 0.3s ahead of Donegal's David Kelly (VW Polo GTi R5). Armstrong was best on SS2 Mamore Gap and moved into the lead just 0.9s ahead of Devine, who topped the time sheets on SS3 Coolcross, that completed the opening loop. At the Carndonagh service halt, Devine led by 7.1s. "The pace is fast for sure." His closest rival at the end of last year's rally Meirion Evans (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) had a steady run and moved into second place 3.3s ahead of his MEM team mate William Creighton. Having moved into the lead after SS2 Armstrong dropped to ninth place and thirty seconds off the lead when his Ford Fiesta R5 broke a driveshaft on SS3. Paddon was another to lose time when he spun on SS2 - by the end of the loop he was fifth 12.7s off the lead and 1.5s behind Josh Moffett, who reverted to his Hyundai i20 R5 for this latest round of the Irish Tarmac series. Kelly, who had been temporarily shown as rally leader after SS2, but in reality was seventh, climbed a place to occupy sixth, he reckoned that the stages were dustier than expected. Armstrong set a blistering pace on SS4 and SS5 and admitted to being a bit cautious on SS6 where the level of grip varied. Serving notice of intent he trimmed 9.3s off Devine's lead to leave the gap between them at 20.7s with 14 stages remaining over today (Saturday) and tomorrow. Leader Devine put the event in perspective saying: "There's no let-up in it, the pace is as fast as it's ever been, a second here and there, that's what you get when you bring professional drivers here. "It's trying to stay out of bother but you need to be on the pipe, but we are definitely happy. It's another big day tomorrow." Paddon enjoyed his afternoon as he continued to tweak his Hyundai, adding: "We are still struggling a bit, just for the feeling in the car and the roads are very demanding. You have got to have a lot of confidence in these stages with the car and in the conditions, I'm enjoying it but to be at the maximum, you need to be a hundred percent." Third placed Evans had what he described as his best Friday in Donegal with a strong pace without taking any risks. Josh Moffett completed the top six overnight. In what is set to be an absorbing battle, there are eight stages today and six on Sunday. Wilton Recycling Donegal International Rally (Round 4, NAPA Auto Parts Irish Tarmac Rally Championship) Letterkenny 1. C. Devine/N. O'Sullivan (Skoda Fabia RS Rally) 41m. 18.2s 2. H. Paddon/D. Moynihan (Hyundai i20 Rally2)+12.4s 3. M. Evans/G. Conway (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2)+15.2s 4. W. Creighton/L. Regan (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2)+15.4s 5. J. Armstrong/S. Byrne (Ford Fiesta Rally2)+20.7s 6. J. Moffett/A. Hayes (Hyundai i20 R5)+28.9s 7. D. Kelly/A. Kierans (VW Polo R5)+41.3s 8. D. Boyle/P. Walsh (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2)+44.9s 9. M. Boyle/D. McCafferty (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2)+53.7s 10. K. Eves/C. Melly (Ford Fiesta Rally2)+1m. 26.8s.
Belfast Telegraph
a day ago
- Automotive
- Belfast Telegraph
Callum Devine on course to complete hat-trick at Donegal International Rally
A winner of the Irish Tarmac Championship fixture in 2023 and again in 2024, the Claudy man is aiming to emulate Cathal Curley (1972-1974), Billy Coleman (1984-1986), and the late Manus Kelly who dominated his home meeting between 2016 and 2018 respectively. Devine was quickest out of the blocks on yesterday's 'Malin Head' opener in his Michelin-shod Skoda Fabia RS Rally2, with that setting the tone for much of the Friday leg. 'I am happy enough with how the first leg has gone, it has been a very good day,' reflected Devine, who provisionally leads by 12.4 seconds. 'The speed and times are both there. 'The pace is fast – as fast as it has been all year, actually – and it is nice to be in the mix. The priority now is to ensure we get a good rest overnight because Saturday is a big day.' Although he did not record quickest times on each of the six stages, Devine was able to move into a comfortable lead as some big Rally2 names suffered unexpected setbacks. Event debutant Hayden Paddon was fifth after the opening loop in his C&M Motorsport Hyundai i20 N Rally2 having reported a moment on stage one, a trip into a ditch on two, and a set-up that left the Korean supermini nervous over the bumps and jumps on three. Despite this, and revealing his car felt underpowered for Friday's closing two runs, his time competing in the sport's top tier came to the fore as he vaulted up to second place. 'We are not in the window with the car – it has been challenging but it has also been enjoyable,' the New Zealander said. The battle for third-position is also finely poised but it is Welshman Meirion Evans that currently enjoys the upper-hand over Castrol MEM driving-mate William Creighton who was happier with the ride of his Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 as he arrived the overnight halt. M-Sport Ford driver Jon Armstrong set the same time as Devine on 'Malin Head' and led after the second test before his works-supported M-Sport Ford Fiesta was struck down with driveshaft failure, leaving it with front-wheel-drive for the seven miles of 'Coolcross'. That demoted him to ninth overall, however, with his car repaired by mechanics at service in Letterkenny, he went on to win two of the afternoon stages to pass Josh Moffett for fifth. Saturday's action comprises four loops of two stages, with the first – the 7.45-miles of 'High Glen' – scheduled to get underway just before 10 o'clock in the morning.
RNZ News
4 days ago
- Sport
- RNZ News
White Ferns captain Sophie Devine won't be lost to women's sport when her time is up
White Fern Sophie Devine to make Cricket World Cup her ODI swansong. Photo: Marty Melville Captain Sophie Devine has been the face of the White Ferns at some of their highest and lowest points, and she has taken all of the knocks on the team's performance personally. Devine will retire from one-day internationals after this year's 50-over Cricket World Cup in October calling time on part of her career that began when she was 17-years-old. The timing is "drawing a line in the sand" for Devine but the decision to step away took her more than a year to arrive at. "There's been some ugly tears, there's been some anger, there's been some fear, but at the end of the day I just feel really grateful that I've been able to do this as a job," Devine said. Turning down a central contract with New Zealand Cricket for the upcoming season, in favour of a casual contract that leaves the door ajar for T20 internationals, was an important part of Devine's approach. "Being able to take a casual playing agreement, it offers me balance, but it also offers another player the opportunity to be fully contracted which is something that's really important to me, is that that person can now get more opportunities and more support from New Zealand Cricket. So, I think it's a win win for everyone involved. "I think if I was to pull the pin on everything all at once, I'm not too sure how I'd handle that. "So, to be able to stagger it, I mean, obviously stepping back from the T20 captaincy last year , and now being able to step away from the one day format, it buys me a bit of time and can sort of slowly ease me out of this cricket life that I've lived for over half my life." For the majority of her 198 appearances for the White Ferns, across ODI and T20s, Devine has been a go-to player that can turn a game in New Zealand's favour. The 35-year-old admits she felt the burden at different times of being central to their success but she said she had taken pride in that expectation too. "I want to step up and I want to be the one that performs for the White Ferns. "I think the great thing about where this programme's at at the moment, where this group's at, there's more and more people putting their hand up and having those match winning performances and that's probably helped my decision in terms of starting to step away, is knowing that this group's in really good hands, that the depth is certainly starting to grow. "We're getting into a place where I'm happy to walk away knowing that there's people that will take my spot, which I think is a really good sign is that I'll be fighting for my place in this team." But the future has not always been so rosy when Devine has had to face up to questions from fans and the media when results were not going the White Ferns' way. "I think you always take performances to heart. I think particularly, even more so being captain of this group the last four or five years, you do take everything personally in terms of those results "Not just your personal efforts, but also the team as well and it's been no secret that we've had our struggles the last couple of years and so it is hard you certainly take all that on the chin, and you want to be doing everything you can to help this group win, and I guess, to prove people wrong. "And I think that's what made the World Cup win last year so special was a lot of people had written us off and to be able to lift that trophy at the end of the World Cup was really pleasing for so many reasons. "That's certainly given me motivation in terms of heading into the 50 over World Cup as well, was knowing that, geez, it would be nice to have two trophies in the cabinet finishing up." Sophie Devine and head coach Ben Sawyer have worked closely together. Photo: Chris Symes / White Ferns coach Ben Sawyer acknowledges that Devine is different from her peers. "She is a once in a generation player and we're just very lucky that she's part of our side," Sawyer said. "Captain, bats four, bowls - can't offer too much more to a team than that and obviously her leadership off the field. So whilst disappointing she's leaving, super excited she's at least got one more World Cup with us." Sawyer worked with Devine in franchise cricket, and coached against her with Australian teams, before he joined the White Ferns in 2022. "I can say as a coach stepping into a foreign team, and coming from outside, she's made my time here absolutely amazing. "To work with her has been a real privilege and she's the heart and soul of this team. "We're going to lose a lot when she leaves. There's no papering over that crack, she's going to be a huge loss to us, but I guess this gives us a little bit of time to plan for that. "Also I reckon I could pick up the phone at any stage and lean on her and ask her questions, and she'd be more than willing to give anything for the White Ferns." Sophie Devine with a special cap for playing in her 100th T20 international in 2021. Photo: PHOTOSPORT The decision to move Devine to a casual contract with New Zealand Cricket does not open the door for more female players to do the same, Sawyer said. "I think Sophie is a little bit different. She deserves this thoroughly having played for so long and been a great of the game. "So I think it's a case by case scenario, but for her and where she's at and now retired from ODI cricket, I think it works well for both parties. She can see where she's at, and then we can make decisions around that T20 World Cup [next year] as well." Sawyer is pleased Devine gets to leave the game on her terms and that she returned to play after taking a break. "I think cricket should be the place where maybe you get to forget some of the other things that are going on, and we would love our team to be that place for people. "So I'm really happy that this is now that place for for Sophie, that she feels like she's at her best when she is in and around this team." The White Ferns will play defending champions Australia in their opening game of the Cricket World Cup on 1 October in Indore, India. Image of Honey Hireme playing at the 2014 Rugby World Cup. Right: Book cover. Photo: Left: Photosport. Right: Bateman Books Devine has just finished reading former athlete Honey Hireme-Smiler's memoir and said it has inspired her about what is possible beyond her playing days. "That's probably part of the great thing of sort of the last six months is coming to this decision, is thinking about what does come next and although I'm not 100 percent sure what that looks like, and it's still a little bit daunting at times I certainly feel like I won't be lost to the game, not just cricket but women's sport in general. "I think it's given me so much over my career and my lifetime that I feel it's only right that I give back in some capacity, whether that's coaching, whether it's managing, mentoring, whether it's commentating. I don't know what it quite looks like yet, but I certainly want to make sure that that I'm around and I can help whoever it is at whatever stage of their careers can help give back in some way, shape or form." Devine had become aware that her sporting attributes could still serve her well beyond her playing days. "I think it's really cool to see that athletes now have a whole heap of different paths that they can go down. "I think knowing that your skills that you've learned in your time in a high performance environment can certainly cross over. I think it's just leaning into that and knowing whereabouts can you use your skills best and offer maybe a slightly different perspective in the corporate world or in the business world, whatever it looks like. "Although it will be very different to getting up and doing this slog of the running, the gym and the cricket training, I think there's certainly something that we can offer as athletes outside of our sporting codes."
Otago Daily Times
4 days ago
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Devine to pull pin on ODIs after World Cup
Sophie Devine. Photo: Linda Robertson White Ferns ODI captain Sophie Devine has an end date in sight. The veteran all-rounder will retire from one-day internationals at the end of the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup. The 35-year-old has accepted a casual playing agreement for the 2025-26 season. Devine is one of the country's most celebrated female players. She has played 298 internationals over two formats since making her debut in October 2006. She took over the captaincy in 2020 and led the team to a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games in 2022 and a maiden ICC Women's T20 World Cup victory last year. The right-handed Devine is one of the most prolific all-rounders in the game. She has amassed 7421 runs, including eight ODI centuries and one T20 century, and taken 226 wickets throughout her international career. Devine said it felt like the right time to retire from ODIs. "I feel very fortunate to have New Zealand Cricket's support in finding a solution that means I can still give to the White Ferns," she said. "It's important that everyone knows I'm focused and dedicated to giving this group everything I can before I step away. "I'm really excited by where this young group's going and I'm looking forward to playing my part in the next six to nine months.' NZC chief executive Scott Weenink said Devine ''has been an extraordinary leader and ambassador for the White Ferns". ''Supporting her move to a casual playing agreement will allow her to continue contributing to the White Ferns environment. "Her legacy as one of the game's greatest all-rounders and her commitment to nurturing the next generation makes this a positive step for both her and the White Ferns.' Devine will lead the team at the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup starting on September 30, and a decision on her successor will be made before the New Zealand home summer. The 17 centrally contracted White Ferns will be announced today. — APL
RNZ News
4 days ago
- Sport
- RNZ News
White Fern captain Sophie Devine won't be lost to women's sport when her time is up
White Fern Sophie Devine to make Cricket World Cup her ODI swansong. Photo: Marty Melville Captain Sophie Devine has been the face of the White Ferns at some of their highest and lowest points, and she has taken all of the knocks on the team's performance personally. Devine will retire from one-day internationals after this year's 50-over Cricket World Cup in October calling time on part of her career that began when she was 17-years-old. The timing is "drawing a line in the sand" for Devine but the decision to step away took her more than a year to arrive at. "There's been some ugly tears, there's been some anger, there's been some fear, but at the end of the day I just feel really grateful that I've been able to do this as a job," Devine said. Turning down a central contract with New Zealand Cricket for the upcoming season, in favour of a casual contract that leaves the door ajar for T20 internationals, was an important part of Devine's approach. "Being able to take a casual playing agreement, it offers me balance, but it also offers another player the opportunity to be fully contracted which is something that's really important to me, is that that person can now get more opportunities and more support from New Zealand Cricket. So, I think it's a win win for everyone involved. "I think if I was to pull the pin on everything all at once, I'm not too sure how I'd handle that. "So, to be able to stagger it, I mean, obviously stepping back from the T20 captaincy last year , and now being able to step away from the one day format, it buys me a bit of time and can sort of slowly ease me out of this cricket life that I've lived for over half my life." For the majority of her 198 appearances for the White Ferns, across ODI and T20s, Devine has been a go-to player that can turn a game in New Zealand's favour. The 35-year-old admits she felt the burden at different times of being central to their success but she said she had taken pride in that expectation too. "I want to step up and I want to be the one that performs for the White Ferns. "I think the great thing about where this programme's at at the moment, where this group's at, there's more and more people putting their hand up and having those match winning performances and that's probably helped my decision in terms of starting to step away, is knowing that this group's in really good hands, that the depth is certainly starting to grow. "We're getting into a place where I'm happy to walk away knowing that there's people that will take my spot, which I think is a really good sign is that I'll be fighting for my place in this team." But the future has not always been so rosy when Devine has had to face up to questions from fans and the media when results were not going the White Ferns' way. "I think you always take performances to heart. I think particularly, even more so being captain of this group the last four or five years, you do take everything personally in terms of those results "Not just your personal efforts, but also the team as well and it's been no secret that we've had our struggles the last couple of years and so it is hard you certainly take all that on the chin, and you want to be doing everything you can to help this group win, and I guess, to prove people wrong. "And I think that's what made the World Cup win last year so special was a lot of people had written us off and to be able to lift that trophy at the end of the World Cup was really pleasing for so many reasons. "That's certainly given me motivation in terms of heading into the 50 over World Cup as well, was knowing that, geez, it would be nice to have two trophies in the cabinet finishing up." Sophie Devine and head coach Ben Sawyer have worked closely together. Photo: Chris Symes / White Ferns coach Ben Sawyer acknowledges that Devine is different from her peers. "She is a once in a generation player and we're just very lucky that she's part of our side," Sawyer said. "Captain, bats four, bowls - can't offer too much more to a team than that and obviously her leadership off the field. So whilst disappointing she's leaving, super excited she's at least got one more World Cup with us." Sawyer worked with Devine in franchise cricket, and coached against her with Australian teams, before he joined the White Ferns in 2022. "I can say as a coach stepping into a foreign team, and coming from outside, she's made my time here absolutely amazing. "To work with her has been a real privilege and she's the heart and soul of this team. "We're going to lose a lot when she leaves. There's no papering over that crack, she's going to be a huge loss to us, but I guess this gives us a little bit of time to plan for that. "Also I reckon I could pick up the phone at any stage and lean on her and ask her questions, and she'd be more than willing to give anything for the White Ferns." Sophie Devine with a special cap for playing in her 100th T20 international in 2021. Photo: PHOTOSPORT The decision to move Devine to a casual contract with New Zealand Cricket does not open the door for more female players to do the same, Sawyer said. "I think Sophie is a little bit different. She deserves this thoroughly having played for so long and been a great of the game. "So I think it's a case by case scenario, but for her and where she's at and now retired from ODI cricket, I think it works well for both parties. She can see where she's at, and then we can make decisions around that T20 World Cup [next year] as well." Sawyer is pleased Devine gets to leave the game on her terms and that she returned to play after taking a break. "I think cricket should be the place where maybe you get to forget some of the other things that are going on, and we would love our team to be that place for people. "So I'm really happy that this is now that place for for Sophie, that she feels like she's at her best when she is in and around this team." The White Ferns will play defending champions Australia in their opening game of the Cricket World Cup on 1 October in Indore, India. Image of Honey Hireme playing at the 2014 Rugby World Cup. Right: Book cover. Photo: Left: Photosport. Right: Bateman Books Devine has just finished reading former athlete Honey Hireme-Smiler's memoir and said it has inspired her about what is possible beyond her playing days. "That's probably part of the great thing of sort of the last six months is coming to this decision, is thinking about what does come next and although I'm not 100 percent sure what that looks like, and it's still a little bit daunting at times I certainly feel like I won't be lost to the game, not just cricket but women's sport in general. "I think it's given me so much over my career and my lifetime that I feel it's only right that I give back in some capacity, whether that's coaching, whether it's managing, mentoring, whether it's commentating. I don't know what it quite looks like yet, but I certainly want to make sure that that I'm around and I can help whoever it is at whatever stage of their careers can help give back in some way, shape or form." Devine had become aware that her sporting attributes could still serve her well beyond her playing days. "I think it's really cool to see that athletes now have a whole heap of different paths that they can go down. "I think knowing that your skills that you've learned in your time in a high performance environment can certainly cross over. I think it's just leaning into that and knowing whereabouts can you use your skills best and offer maybe a slightly different perspective in the corporate world or in the business world, whatever it looks like. "Although it will be very different to getting up and doing this slog of the running, the gym and the cricket training, I think there's certainly something that we can offer as athletes outside of our sporting codes."
