Carty sets the Sportsground alight with a superb cameo
Rob Murphy
Connacht 29
Benetton 14
Rob Murphy at the Sportsground
IN fairness, even Jack Carty was a little taken aback by the whole thing when the full time whistle sounded. His smile said it all, as he watched his conversion sail through the uprights to crown a fairly astonishing 20 minutes of rugby. The newly capped Irish international produced one of the all-time great cameo appearances on Friday night to turn a potential crucial defeat into a bonus point victory.
The Sportsground was cacophony of noise as the Connacht players jogged over to greet the Roscommon man and shower him in back slaps and handshakes. Carty was surely brushing it all off and they where certainly measuring their praise in accordance with the fact that their fleet footed fly-half has been doing this for years at the College Road venue but again, in fairness, this was a little above and beyond the call of duty.
The stakes were high. Connacht were in need of at least a win and considering what their chief rivals for the third and final play off place were at over in Wales, a bonus point for good measure. The Cardiff Blues were hammering Llanelli so even a team like Benetton Treviso who are in the play off mix in their own conference and in the midst of a record breaking campaign, needed to be put to the sword.
A 14-0 lead after 30 minutes suggested all was going to plan. The visitors had surprisingly left a multitude of first choice Italian internationals at home a week on from the Six Nations and stuck with the squad of players that had gone unbeaten during the spring and propelled the long standing east of Italy club into a position among the play offs for the first time in their history. It was a risky ploy from the third year head coach Kieran Crowley.
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Séamus and Caoimhe Uí Fhlatharta, who will perform in Collins Barracks next Thursday.
The musical talent of Conamara siblings Caoimhe and Séamus Uí Fhlatharta from An Áird Mhóir, will be on show at this year's Temple Bar TradFest, which runs from January 26-230 in venues across Dublin. They will be performing at Collins Barracks at 1pm next Thursday, January 26.
Séamus and Caoimhe, who have won multiple All-Ireland titles for their music, are well-known among fans of traditional music as brilliant multi-instrumentalists, singers and dancers, whose vocal arrangements and harmonies bring new life to well-known and less familiar songs. Their performance on last week's Late Late Show as part of a musical tribute to murdered Offaly woman, Ashling Murphy, was widely praised.
TradFest is one of the first largescale events to host live audiences again, something that performers and fans alike hope will continue.
Other participants include actor Stephen Rea, hosting a night of poetry and music with Natalya O'Flaherty, Sasha Terfous, Louise and Michelle Mulcahy and Neill Martin; Fairport Convention; Peggy Seeger, Aoife Scott and Wallis Bird; Maria Doyle Kennedy; Boxing Banjo; Dervish, Altan and 4 Men and a Dog; Séamus Begley, Oisín Mac Diarmada and Samantha Harvey; Martin and Eliza Carthy; The Lost Brothers; Maria Doyle Kennedy; Joe and Steve Wall; Cór Cúil Aodha and Seán Ó Sé; Karan Casey; Niamh Ní Charra; Brídín; Laoise Kelly; Brenda Castles, Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh; Tim Edey, Eoghan Ó Ceannabháin and Ultan O'Brien.
Tickets and more information at tradfesttemplebar.com.
Alison Blaney of NUIG Mystics in action against Sophie Moore of Limerick Sport Huskies during the Women's Division 1 National Cup semi-final. The Galway club face Templeogue in Sunday's final.
NUIG Mystics head coach Paul O'Brien says his squad are treating this week like any other as they prepare to head to the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght on Sunday to take on Templeogue in the Women's Division One Cup final (1.30pm).
Mystics go into the game as favourites, having lowered the Templeogue flag on the Dublin side's home court in the league with a 76-60 win back at the end of November, though O'Brien insists that game will have little bearing on Sunday's contest.
"That was a couple of months ago, they are a much better side now, defensively they are far stronger now then they were for that game, so we are going to have to shoot the ball well, certainly better than we did in the semi-final," he says.
That semi-final saw Mystics overcome Limerick Sport Huskies 70-54, and they go into Sunday's final in great form, having trimmed Tipperary Knights 92-65 at the NUIG Sports Complex on Saturday, their eighth win on the bounce since their one and only defeat of the season, a 77-74 loss to Ulster University Elks back in November.
"That was a very good game at the weekend and the final scoreline doesn't do justice to Tipperary. They were right in it until about half way through the third quarter, they were leading in fact, but we just pulled it out with a big final quarter," he said.
Templeogue are also on a decent run of form, having won four games on the spin, their last defeat being that reversal to Mystics, and O'Brien says that the Dublin side will be boosted by having something of a home court advantage, given the fact the NBA is just a 20-minute drive from their home court.
However, Mystics have plenty of players used to playing high-pressure games, and the national arena won't hold any surprises for a side packed with players who have worn the green of Ireland at the venue, and have contested schools' and club finals there.
"We have a great team spirit, there is no ego in the squad, players don't mind who gets the scores as long as the team wins, and that has been crucial to our season so far. We are treating this week the same as any other, we'll train Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, and we'll get the bus up on Sunday morning and hopefully we will play to our ability," he said.
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