Tag Archives: Munster

HEINEKEN RUGBY

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ERC Heineken Cup

ERC Heineken Cup

Congratulations to Ulster Rugby on their Heineken Cup win over Leicester. The 19-22 victory over the Tigers at Welford Road thanks to the boot of Ruan Pienaar earned them a home quarter final at Ravenhill against Saracens. The semi-final draw also favours Ulster, and hopefully they can progress to a home tie against the winners of Clermont v Leicester. Ulster and Saracens met in the last eight last season and on that occasion the Londoners ran out winners 27-16.

The other semi-final could be an all-Irish affair with the winner of Toulon v Leinster hosting the winner of Munster v Toulouse. The quarter-finals take place from 4th-6th April with the semis following on 25th-27th April. The last eight line-up includes six past champions, with Saracens and last year’s beaten finalists Clermont the only survivors this season not to have won the tournament.

Quarter-finals: Ulster v Saracens; Clermont v Leicester; Toulon v Leinster; Munster v Toulouse.

Semi-finals: Ulster or Saracens v Clermont or Leicester; Toulon or Leinster v Munster or Toulouse.

Ulster Rugby

Ulster Rugby

ULSTER GAA PRESIDENT

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Martin McAviney

Martin McAviney

It’s been an important weekend for the GAA in County Monaghan. First there was confirmation that the new Uachtarán Chomairle Uladh (President of the Ulster Council) is Ballybay man Martin McAviney. Many in the border area and the Press Golf Society will remember the great work done by his late brother John, a photographer.

At the same time, the GAA Ard Stiúrthóir Paraic Duffy was back in Monaghan to attend a gala ball organised by his alma mater, St Macartan’s College, where he was also the Principal for many years. It was celebrating the 100-year history of the GAA in the College, which includes winning the MacRory Cup on nine occasions, but not since 1956 although they have appeared in two finals in the past decade. On Wednesday week (27th February) the “Sem” will take on St Paul’s Bessbrook (Armagh) in the semi-final of the competition under lights in Armagh (7:30pm).

Martin McAviney is a member of the Pearse Brothers club in Ballybay. He is a member of the Club Committee and a Club Trustee. He has previously served as Club Secretary and Club Chairman and received the Coiste Chontae Mhuineachain Senior Official of the year 1984. He joined the Monaghan County Board as Ulster Representative in 1987 and held the position until being elected as P.R.O. of Comhairle Uladh in 2004, a role he carried out very effectively.

During his term as P.R.O., Martin was awarded the Ulster GAA Writers Communications Award in 2005. Martin took up a position of Cisteoir (Treasurer) of the Ulster Council in 2007, and in March 2010, he was elected as Leas-Uachtarán (Vice President). On his first full day in the new job, Martin was at the Athletic Grounds in Armagh to watch the interprovincial hurling and football semi-finals, previously known as the Railway Cup.

The competition was reinstated to the GAA calendar last year, but has failed to attract the support it used to get in the 1950s and 60s when large crowds would turn up at Croke Park on St Patrick’s Day for the finals. The club finals have taken over the slot and continue to bring in the numbers, but it seems the appetite for interprovincial competitions has faded, judging by the attendances at the semis. So the final of the football competition at Croke Park next Sunday has now been fixed to coincide with AIB Club junior final. The hurling final will be a week later.

Joe Kernan

Joe Kernan

HURLING:  MUNSTER 3-20 ULSTER 1-14 

FOOTBALL: ULSTER 1-14 MUNSTER 1-13

Nice to see former Armagh boss Joe Kernan back in action as coach of the Ulster football side. He expressed his concern at the low attendance, given the quality of football on display. Monaghan made an important contribution to the Ulster side with Conor McManus scoring four points. The team was captained by Scotstown’s Darren Hughes, whose brother Kieran came on as a substitute.

Darren Hughes, Ulster

Darren Hughes, Ulster

LONDON INVASION

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heinekencupimagesI heard it first on RTÉ Radio sport: the possibility of an Irish rugby invasion of London at the start of April. And so it has come to pass. The remaining Heineken Cup pool fixtures this afternoon have deprived Ulster of a home draw in the quarter final. Instead Mark Anscombe’s team will be travelling to play Saracens on the weekend of April 5th/6th/7th just after Easter. They have been coached since 2009 by Mark McCall. He used to be in charge of the Ulster side so he will know the squad well and what to expect from the opponents. Their home games up to now have been played at Vicarage Road, the home of Watford FC. But they are about to move to a new stadium at Barnet with an artificial pitch. If they are to use the Allianz stadium at Copthall for the game, they will require permission from the local authority to increase the capacity from 10,000 to 15,000.

The other Irish side in the quarter-finals will be Munster, who will be up against Aviva Premiership champions Harlequins, coached by former Irish international Conor O’Shea. They had home and away victories over Connacht in pool 3. Their matches are normally at The Stoop at Twickenham, beside the RFU headquarters. Meanwhile the Heineken Cup holders Leinster despite a win yesterday are out of the competition but now get a place in the Amlin Cup. They will play another London side, Wasps, who play at the Adams stadium in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. Stand up for the Irishmen! The semi-final draw made at Leicester this evening produced the following pairings:-

Semi-final 1:  Saracens or Ulster Rugby v Toulon or Leicester Tigers
Semi-final 2:  ASM Clermont Auvergne or Montpellier v Harlequins or Munstermckennacuppowerni images

It was also a busy afternoon in Gaelic games and at the Athletic grounds in Armagh (attendance 4155), the line-up was decided for the McKenna Cup final at the same venue under the floodlights next Saturday evening at 7:30pm. Monaghan beat Down 1-12 to 0-12 and Tyrone beat Fermanagh 2-09 to 0-07. So Monaghan will get a chance to win their fourteenth McKenna Cup if they can manage to beat neighbours Tyrone.