Latest news with #JoeCanning
Irish Times
10 hours ago
- Sport
- Irish Times
Lions try out unlikely midfield combination against Argentina
The Lions' summer's business gets under way this evening with a warm-up against Argentina at the Aviva Stadium. As Gerry Thornley tells us, they'll be without 15 of the squad due to club commitments and injuries for a non-capped international that is 'primarily a moneymaking venture', one that, ultimately, will be 'a footnote in history'. Still, all concerned will be up for it, not least Argentina coach Felipe Contepomi who is not unfamiliar with the city of Dublin. Andy Farrell, says John O'Sullivan, has proved once more that he's not 'risk averse' by opting for 'an unlikely midfield combination' of Sione Tuipulotu and Bundee Aki , Tuipulotu more used to playing as an inside centre. Opportunity knocks, then, for the Scotland international in the absence of Garry Ringrose and Huw Jones. It's a huge weekend in Gaelic games with two hurling quarter-finals and four preliminary football quarter-finals in the schedule. Lose and your summer is done and dusted. After their hiding in the Leinster final, Joe Canning is hoping to see a vastly improved performance from Galway at the Gaelic Grounds when they come up against a Tipperary side 'with their tails up'. Galway's footballers have it all to do too when they meet a Down side whose 'confidence has been soaring' , Ian O'Riordan talking to Galway's Shane Walsh ahead of Sunday's meeting in Newry. READ MORE Meanwhile, those who might assume that this hooter business is the first timekeeping innovation in the history of Gaelic football ... Seán Moran has news for you: the Bogue Clock – the giant stopwatch that made its debut all the way back in 1938. In horse racing, Brian O'Connor reports on Trawlerman setting a track record on his way to winning Royal Ascot's Gold Cup on Thursday, and he previews today's action, Colin Keane choosing 'to stick with his old ally Babouche over Juddmonte's other big hope, Jonquil' in the Commonwealth Cup. In golf, Philip Reid reports on a good day at the office for Rory McIlroy at the Travelers Championship , his opening round of 64 putting him in contention, while Leona Maguire made a solid start to the PGA Championship in Texas with a level-par 72. No one topped Max Kennedy's exploits, though – he shot a course record 60 in France on the Hotelplanner Tour. Sadly, no one in the sports department was available to go sailing with Robert Dickson and Seán Waddilove in Dún Laoghaire and have themselves dangled over the ocean at a 45-degree angle giving you 'the same sensation as when you lean too far back in your chair and your life flashes before your eyes'. Except Muireann Duffy. Before you read about her adventure, have your tummy tablets at the ready. TV Watch : There's further coverage from Royal Ascot on Virgin Media One and UTV (from 1.30), and Sky Sports Golf will be hopping between the women's PGA Championship in Texas and the lads' Travelers Championship in Connecticut (from 1.0). At 8.0 you get to choose between the Lions v Argentina (TG4 and Sky Sports Action), athletics' Paris Diamond League (Virgin Media Three and BBC Three) and Shamrock Rovers v Cork City (Virgin Media Two).
Irish Times
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Uncharted with Ray Goggins: Once Joe Canning thaws this tropical thrill ride is a fine full stop to a rewarding series
It's funny how even famous people will drop their guard when suspended from a waterfall or hovering over a toilet in subzero temperatures. Such has been the lesson of celebrity survival series Uncharted With Ray Goggins (RTÉ One, 9.35pm), which across the past four weeks has brought us such unlikely spectacles as Leo Vardakar undergoing an existential crisis while dangling from a cliff in South Africa and one-third of Kneecap questioning the existence of God during a trek to a subzero loo in the Arctic Circle. The show's enjoyable first season now comes to an end with former Army ranger and lifestyle guru Goggins – think Bear Grylls trying slightly too hard to be Roy Keane – leading All-Ireland winning Galway player Joe Canning and Olympic athlete Thomas Barr - 'a hurler and a hurdler' – into the Colombian jungle for a spot of terrifying white-water rafting. But surely the biggest challenge is the one facing Goggins, who must go where many celebrity survivalists will have feared to tread by making a duo of top sportspeople appear interesting. It's a tough ask. While previous participants, such as former taoiseach Varadkar and Kneecap, know how to sell themselves, athletes are cut from a different cloth. They tend to be guarded on camera and generally talk in clichés. At the end of the day and with all credit to the lads, Goggins is going to have to find a way to make them open up. Otherwise, it would be platitudes till tea-time and beyond. The good news is that Canning and Barr are unusually personable by sports star standards. Dropping their guard from the outset, the pair are chatty and keen to test themselves. 'The fear of the unknown, that's my biggest fear,' says Canning as they drive into the jungle – though he gets a handle on his anxiety long enough to tease Barr. 'This is your terrain, coming from Waterford,' he laughs. READ MORE [ Uncharted with Ray Goggins review: Kneecap show their soulful side as they trudge through the Arctic snow Opens in new window ] Uncharted with Ray Goggins: Thomas Barr and Joe Canning There is candour to go with the jokes. Canning says he is slow to warm to strangers – echoing Leo Varadkar's reticence in week one. 'I'm an introvert. I don't like too big a crowd or being around people I don't know. If I don't trust people and think they're genuine, I won't open up to them,' he says. Goggins respects his honesty and responds with some home truths of his own, discussing his time spent away from home and the toll it takes on family life. 'I had kids when I was in Afghanistan,' he says, referring to a deployment with a private security company. 'I would be gone eight months of the year. My older son he's 17. I've missed a lot of his life. It's a big price to pay.' [ Uncharted with Ray Goggins review: Leo Varadkar has to get halfway up a mountain with Lyra before he lets his guard down Opens in new window ] The jungle is a daunting obstacle course. There is a terrifying trip down white-water rapids while the entire place is heaving with bugs, whose unblinking eyes shine in the dark (this is what experts refer to as nightmare fuel). As Cork's answer to Bear Grylls, Goggins is full of bite – though the show could do without the unintentional hilarity at the start when he pretends to be a shouty Sergeant Major and tells the celebs to refer to him as 'Ray' (what else would they call him?). There is also far too much swearing: an f-bomb is an f-bomb even in the tropics. But Goggins, Canning and Barr make for an engaging trio as they warm up to one another. Once the ice melts, this tropical thrill ride is a fine full stop to a rewarding series.
Irish Times
06-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Can Cork and Galway pass their repeat exams?
Cork, writes Joe Canning, have had just three weeks to figure out what went wrong at the Gaelic Grounds when they were close enough to being pulverised by Limerick. It's like 'they're sitting a repeat exam,' he says of Saturday's Munster fina l against the same opposition. This, Joe reckons, 'could be more like the game we thought we were going to get' last time out. Galway will be sitting a repeat exam too in Sunday's Leinster final, having been 'destroyed' by Kilkenny seven weeks ago . Can they pass the test this time? Cathal Mannion certainly hopes so, Ian O'Riordan talking to the Galway forward ahead of the game. Also in Gaelic games, Muireann Duffy has word on research in to camogie and women's football that found that players have the habit of suffering in silence when they sustain injuries for fear of 'being dropped, letting their team down or being seen as weak'. In football, Gavin Cummiskey previews this evening's friendly between the Republic of Ireland and a formidable looking Senegal side in Dublin, and he hears from Robbie Brady, the newly crowned senior international player of the year . Brady's message to his team-mates on hearing he'd won the gong? 'It shows how s**t you've all been if I'm winning this'. READ MORE In rugby, Gerry Thornley previews Leinster's URC semi-final against defending champions Glasgow at the Aviva Stadium tomorrow, and in his column, Johnny Watterson reflects on 'crampgate' , ie Jaden Hendrikse's carry-on during the Sharks' URC shoot-out against Munster last weekend. Did URC chief executive Martin Anayi condemn the behaviour? Heck no, he was so chuffed by the YouTube, X and Instagram hits, he 'freely skated over Hendrikse's antics'. In golf, Philip Reid reports on an excellent day at the office for Shane Lowry at the Canadian Open, where a 64 has him just three shots off the lead, but a not so good one for Rory McIlroy, his 71 leaving him well adrift. And in racing, Brian O'Connor previews the action at Epsom, the two-day meeting getting under way today. Aidan O'Brien has three runners in the Oaks , which he has won on 10 occasions, but Godolphin's unbeaten 1,000 Guineas winner Desert Flower is the favourite. And Brian also looks ahead to tomorrow's Derby which, he says, 'is trading on past glories' . It's 'the original, but sad to say it's not the best any more', the most commercially relevant of them all now the Japanese Derby. TV Watch : Virgin Media One and UTV have coverage from Epsom today (from 1pm) and in tennis, it's men's semi-final day at the French Open. The match between Lorenzo Musetti and Carlos Alcaraz is scheduled to start at 1.30, followed by the meeting of world number one Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic (TNT Sports 1). This evening, the Republic of Ireland meet Senegal in a friendly at the Aviva Stadium (RTE 2, 7.45) and at 8.0 Virgin Media Three has coverage of the Diamond League in Rome (8.0).
The Irish Sun
27-05-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
GAA take drastic action to fill Leinster hurling final amid RTE pundits arguing it should be taken OUT of Croke Park
THE Leinster Council are gifting 20,000 tickets for its upcoming hurling final to underage GAA teams. While batches of free tickets are often made available to the next generation of Gaelic football and hurling players, that is a particularly sizeable quantity. 2 TJ Reid, Derek Lyng and Co await Galway on Sunday week 2 Joe Canning said on Sunday that he'd 'love' to see it moved to a smaller ground to ensure it has a good atmosphere Credit: @TheSundayGame It would appear to be a proactive measure given doubts over how many fans from Galway and Kilkenny will take on the hefty expense of venturing up to Dublin for the June 8 decider. After Speaking on The Sunday Game Live, the Galway great reasoned: "I'd love to see it out of Croke Park, being honest about it. "I think the whole atmosphere…it's too big for the crowd that shows up for a Leinster final. Imagine a full Tullamore or Portlaoise instead? Read More On GAA "You'd get a full house there alright. Remember we played you guys there a few times? (At which point he beckoned to Jackie Tyrrell who was nodding in agreement beside him). "It would add to the whole thing. At a smaller ground you'll get a better atmosphere - and it's not going all the way up to Dublin. "But having said that it's great to get a day out in Croke Park." The moment was clipped by The Sunday Game's social team and judging off the replies, Canning's suggestion received broad support. Most read in GAA Hurling Conor Counihan threw another potential setting into the mix, tweeting: "Thurles would be ideal. "Smack bang between both counties and so easily accessible. RTE pundit Joe Canning urges GAA to make huge change for Leinster hurling final as fans 'totally agree' "And before anyone says Thurles isn't in Leinster, both sides played in Leinster final replay in Thurles before (in 2018)." Upon yesterday's announcement, Leinster Council chairman Derek Kent explained the details around it with applications required by 12pm on June 4. He outlined: "This is a celebration of our young players and an investment in the future of our games. "We want every child involved in GAA to feel connected to the bigger picture – to see our players in action, feel the energy of championship days, and be inspired their hurling heroes. "By offering 20,000 free tickets to our players, we're not only giving them a great day out, we're showing them they belong to something special." The giveaway is open to groups of 10 kids comprised of the U14 age grade or younger. Each group must be accompanied by a minimum of two adults. The Leinster football equivalent certainly benefited from
Irish Daily Mirror
26-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Why Waterford's veterans chances of an All-Ireland title are disappearing
Tipp's former All-Ireland winning boss Liam Sheedy fears Waterford's ageing heroes have missed their chance of ever winning an All-Ireland. The Deise contested the 2017 and 2020 deciders but lost out to Galway and Limerick respectively. And since then they have flopped in Munster - finishing fourth in 2022, 2024 and 2025, fifth in 2023, losing a quarter final to Clare in 2021. Read more: WATCH: The Sunday Game's Joe Canning, Anthony Daly and Jackie Tyrrell highlight four possible red cards in Dublin, Galway game live on RTE Read more: Waterford boss Queally 'irritated' as Ryan demands better effort for Cork's Limerick return But that year there was a second chance offered via a structure that allowed them to navigate their way past Laois, Galway and Tipp to reach an All-Ireland semi-final. That backdoor route has disappeared and the intense nature of Munster means the teams finishing fourth and fifth in the province are ruthlessly dispatched from the Championship by the end of May. And Sheedy fears for the team now. He said: 'For any manager going into the Munster Championship, success is getting into the All-Ireland series. 'For the second year in a row, Waterford managed to win their first game which is a big thing in the round-robin and you thought that might have given them momentum. 'They had chances early on in today's game to push on a wee bit more but they needed to open up a much bigger gap. 'For Waterford and for Clare when you don't get out of Munster, it is not seen as a good year and for players like Stephen Bennett, Tadhg de Burca and Conor Prunty, you just wonder if the best chance of getting to the very top is passing them out.'
