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Irish Times
8 hours ago
- Climate
- Irish Times
Weekend temperatures to reach 29 degrees, but rain to return next week
Friday is set to be another day of glorious sunshine across Ireland with temperatures expected to hit 29 degrees. Met Éireann said after possible early-morning thunderstorms in the west, the island will bask in pleasant conditions, the coolest of which will be 20 to 23 degrees in Munster and south Leinster. Night-time temperatures are not expected to fall below 12 degrees on Friday, although isolated showers are possible in parts of Ulster and Leinster. It will be mild, with temperatures not falling below 12 to 17 degrees. Met Éireann meterologist Holly O'Neill said: 'it is set to be a very warm and hot day today with long spells of sunshine across the country.' READ MORE She said the authority's ultra violet index (UV), which predicts danger of damage to skin from sunburn, is high and warned of the need for people to protect themselves by being 'sun smart'. Scattered showers are expected on Saturday, with some heavy and possibly thundery at times, but highest temperatures are expected to be up to 25 degrees. It is forecast to be warmest across the eastern half of the island, all in a light to moderate southwest wind. The hot spell may break in some areas on Saturday night as unsettled weather moves in from the Atlantic but many places will still enjoy long spells of sunshine. A heavier and more persistent band of rain will move in from the west later on Saturday night but temperatures should not fall below 12 to 15 degrees, in a mainly light to moderate southwest breeze. A bright start is expected to Sunday morning but outbreaks of showery rain will move in from the west with sunny spells and scattered showers to follow. It is expected to be fresher and breezier with highest temperatures of 15 to 20 degrees, warmest in the east, all with rather brisk westerly winds. The outlook for Monday, however, is for further change. There will be a bright start to the day with isolated showers, followed by outbreaks of rain later on. Highest temperatures are expected to be in the 13 to 18 range, feeling cooler in the north. By Tuesday the sunny conditions will be over, with cloudy conditions, rain and drizzle almost everywhere. A few brighter spells may break through in the north and west at times. Highest temperatures of 15 to 19 degrees, in mainly moderate to fresh west to southwest winds, are expected.
Irish Times
a day ago
- Sport
- Irish Times
Tactical analysis: Down will need to share scoring burden around more to knock out Galway
It can be difficult to get an accurate representation of a team's actual progress over a number of years. Often, we are blinded by landmark victories. The Gaelic Football ELO ratings, diligently kept on X/Twitter by Shane Mangan, are a manner to actually track a team's progression or regression. ELO ratings are essentially used as a way to rank a team based on their results, factoring in variables such as match importance, home advantage and standard of opposition. It is similar to the type of system used to determine world rankings by Fifa or World Rugby. In the past few years, there have been teams who have had large rises in the rankings in one season, such as Meath this year, with victories over higher ranked teams like Dublin and Kerry. READ MORE Roscommon are a good example of a team who have fluctuated in the rankings in recent years, from a high of 7th to their current position of 13th. The steady movers in the rankings are Down. Since the arrival of Conor Laverty in August 2022, Down have moved from 19th place to their current position of 12th. They have quietly risen, usually winning the games they should win and losing the games they are expected to lose. They now face Galway (Sunday, Pairc Esler, 1.45pm) who are ranked 2nd - could a major upset be on the cards? Down are not a team who have generated much media attention, as since Laverty's arrival they have mostly played off-Broadway. Yes, they have played in the Ulster championship, but they have yet to be a real contender in Laverty's three seasons. Their progress has been in promotion up to Division Two of the league, only to get narrowly relegated in 2025. They landed the Tailteann Cup in 2024, beating Laois in the final, having fallen at the final hurdle in 2023 to Meath. A favourable draw in this year's round robin saw them beat Clare and narrowly overcome neighbours Louth, before falling to Monaghan in the clash for top of the group in the final round. Down have been consistently, quietly building. What about their strengths and why do they have a chance of beating Galway? Well, it is in Newry and Laverty has tapped into Down football heritage by making it a fortress, but some of what they are doing on the field could make the difference. While Laverty may be a Kilcoo man, who are known for their restrictive style of football, he was often the forward who showed real creativity and this Down team shows that inventiveness within a structure. A lot of their attacking nous revolves around Danny Magill, Odhran Murdock and Pat Havern. At this current juncture, I believe Danny Magill is a nailed on All Star in terms of his explosiveness on the ball and his ability to beat men one-on-one, but also his foraging and defensive duties back the field. Down have relied heavily on Danny Magill, Odhran Murdock and Pat Havern for scores throughout the championship. To date in the Championship, these three men have scored 0-73, which represents 56% of their total scored (6-113). No other Down players have scored in every game, showing a lack of consistent support and a big dependency on the three attacking sparks. In the Donegal game, where the Down attack was so often stunted, there was particular attention paid to Murdock and how he looks to break a line. Michael Langan was detailed to mark the Burren man from the outset and never gave him any opportunity to break lines, leading to his one scoring blank this season. Donegal stopped Odhran Murdock getting on the scoresheet, with Michael Langan tagging him closely here. It is likely that Galway have identified these three men and they will have players working in a system to shut them down. Each of the three men offer different attributes meaning particular match-ups are required. Murdock has huge power and is hard to stop when running direct. He showed that against Louth after winning the throw-in, as he rampaged straight down the middle for a two-pointer. Magill has really been Down's go-to man this season, showcasing a wide variety of skills. He was a key man for kickouts against Donegal, showing for the ball for Ronan Burns, as well as winnings breaks off Donegal's restarts. Danny Magill bursts into a pocket of space to receive a short kickout against Donegal. He has carried the ball through the middle all season and is constantly looking to set up opportunities to run at men one-on-one using his blinding pace. Magill isolates his man to take him on one-on-one against Monaghan. Against Louth, Magill uses a stutter step to create a gap for a more direct route to goal. Havern has tended to operate as a distance shooter, hanging around outside the arc, picking off two-pointers and jinking inside to higher percentage shooting positions. Down are getting their shots off, as they outshot Donegal 26 shots to 25, but their shooting efficiency was only 54% on the day. They will need others to carry the load too against Galway. Pat Havern drifts into space, and has enough time to successfully kick a two-pointer. If Down are to take a scalp, they will need to eliminate basic errors. While Havern has been a maverick in scoring two-pointers and conjuring points from a standing start, he will need to be quicker in his use of possession. He fouled the ball technically twice against Donegal and was pulled up for a double bounce against Monaghan inside his own arc. What will annoy Laverty about this is that there was a longer kickout option for Burns and then an immediate kick pass option not seen by Havern, after he received the kickout. Either one of these would have put Down on the attack. Down had good options at this kickout, but Havern's double bounce led to a turnover. While much was made of Jack McCarron picking the ball up off the ground for his goal, the cause of the goal is of more importance. It was a basic skill execution error; a low handpass to feet, that led to the Monaghan turnover inside the Down 45m line. They cannot be turning ball over in this manner. A simple error led to Jack McCarron's second half goal for Monaghan. Equally they have been caught with three v three breaches in their last two games, resulting in 0-3 conceded. Small margins are crucial if they are to step up another level. Small margins are at play in their kickouts too. They have shown some innovation in the kickout zone, with a lot of high risk, high reward kickouts, eye of a needle stuff. In general it has worked well for them, but Monaghan managed to pick them off on a short kickout, leading to Mícheál Bannigan's goal. Down were caught out by Monaghan, as a short kickout was intercepted directly before Mícheál Bannigan's goal. Down are trying to get set up further out the field, often in a spine formation, and then break into pockets closer to their own goal. A couple of graphics emphasise this below. Down will need to be brave, but also smart, as they get ready for a Galway front eight who will look to punish anything that goes astray. Down setting up in a spine formation for a kickout against Donegal. They try the same kickout routine to go short against Louth here. Louth profited at times with their second half squeeze, not allowing Down out of their own half. Down will have to transition the ball faster into the safety of the Galway half this weekend. Louth also punished Down when short kickouts went astray. Steady progress has been made and Down can definitely take a scalp, but they will need their key men to fire, be decisive in possession and eliminate unforced errors across the field. Down have kicked the ball infrequently in games, but used it to good effect along with intelligent inside movement for John McGeough's goal against Monaghan. They will need to use all the tools at their disposal for a win against the Tribesmen. Down played more direct at times, with Jordan McGeough getting on the end of a kick pass and hitting the back of the net against Monaghan. Paul O'Brien is a performance analyst with The Performance Process.
Belfast Telegraph
a day ago
- Sport
- Belfast Telegraph
Ulster star set for extended period on sidelines after undergoing ACL surgery
The rampaging number eight, who broke through last season with some barnstorming performances in Ulster's back row, looks likely to miss the majority of the 2025/26 season after suffering the problem. It is cruel timing for McNabney, who had just been called up to the Ireland squad for their summer Tests against Georgia and Portugal as a training member and was expected to kick on in his sophomore season at Ravenhill. Now it is all but certain that the exciting young talent will not be seen on the pitch again until at least the new year, with ACL injuries generally keeping players sidelined for around nine months. Fortunately for Ulster, replacing the impressive McNabney shouldn't be too difficult as they are preparing for the impending arrival of South African number eight Juarno Augustus, although he himself has had a recent injury setback as a back problem led to his release from the Springboks' wider training squad ahead of their Test schedule. Twenty-two-year-old McNabney made his Ulster debut under Dan McFarland when he started against the Glasgow Warriors in November 2023 and would proceed to hold onto the number eight jersey for the next two games, making his European debut in a defeat away to Bath the following month. However, it was under Richie Murphy this season that the Ballymena man thrived, starting the opening game of the season against the Warriors and going on to make 17 appearances in all competitions, including starting in three of their four European pool games and their last-16 clash with eventual champions Bordeaux. That led to a first call-up to the Ireland squad, albeit as a training panellist, for this summer's tour, however that has now been cruelly taken away from the Academy graduate. In his absence, uncapped Munster back row Brian Gleeson has been called up – also as a training panellist rather than a full squad member – while an injury to winger Calvin Nash has led to Munster team-mate Diarmuid Kilgallen being drafted in, as has Munster's Evan O'Connell.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Ulster's McNabney suffers ACL injury in Ireland training
McNabney was called into the Ireland squad as a training panellist [Getty Images] Ulster back row James McNabney is set for an extended spell on the sidelines after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury in Ireland training. The 22-year-old was called into the Ireland squad as a training panellist, but will now miss their summer tour and is likely to a considerable portion of next season's United Rugby Championship campaign with Ulster. Advertisement He has been replaced in Paul O'Connell's squad by uncapped Munster back row Brian Gleeson. His fellow uncapped Munster teammates Diarmuid Kilgallen and Evan O'Connell have also been called up as a training panellists. Kilgallen comes in as cover as wing Calvin Nash is managing an ankle injury. Ireland face Georgia and Portugal in two Tests on 5 and 12 July. Ireland squad Forwards: Tom Ahern (Munster), Ryan Baird (Leinster), Finlay Bealham (Connacht), Jack Boyle (Leinster), Thomas Clarkson (Leinster), Gavin Coombes (Munster), Max Deegan (Leinster), Cormac Izuchukwu (Ulster), Alex Kendellen (Munster), Gus McCarthy (Leinster), Paddy McCarthy (Leinster), Michael Milne (Munster), Darragh Murray (Connacht), Tom O'Toole (Ulster), Cian Prendergast (Connacht), Stephen Smyth (Leinster), Tom Stewart (Ulster), Nick Timoney (Ulster). Advertisement Backs: Shayne Bolton (Connacht), Craig Casey (Munster), Jack Crowley (Munster), Nathan Doak (Ulster), Ciaran Frawley (Leinster), Hugh Gavin (Connacht), Stuart McCloskey (Ulster), Ben Murphy (Connacht), Calvin Nash (Munster), Jimmy O'Brien (Leinster), Tommy O'Brien (Leinster), Jamie Osborne (Leinster), Sam Prendergast (Leinster), Jacob Stockdale (Ulster). Training panellists: Brian Gleeson (Munster) Diarmuid Kilgallen (Munster), Evan O'Connell (Munster), Jude Postlethwaite (Ulster), Zac Ward (Ulster).
RTÉ News
a day ago
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Munster trio train with Ireland after James McNabney ACL injury
Munster trio Diarmuid Kilgallen, Brian Gleeson and Evan O'Connell have all linked up with the Ireland squad as additional training panellists ahead of the upcoming summer tour games against Georgia and Portugal. It comes after Ulster back row James McNabney was dealt a serious blow, with an ACL injury in training set to sideline him long-term. McNabney enjoyed a breakthrough season with Ulster, playing 17 times for Richie Murphy's side in 2024/25. While the 22-year-old wasn't set to tour with Ireland this summer, he had been named as an additional training panellist, having previously been in the extended squad at the start of the Guinness Six Nations. His former Ireland Under-20 back row partner Gleeson has been drafted in by interim head coach Paul O'Connell, while Kilgallen has also joined the wider group with Calvin Nash currently nursing a minor ankle injury which will limit him in training. Both Gleeson, Kilgallen and second row Evan O'Connell - nephew of interim head coach Paul - will train with the Ireland squad, who gathered at the IRFU high performance centre in Dublin today, but aren't set to travel to Tbilisi, barring an injury to a main squad member. The squad will train today and next week in the HPC before departing for Tbilisi on Wednesday, 2 July.
