-
2 months ago | 
echolive.ie | Derek Daly
Four tries in the opening quarter meant Munster’s Saturday night URC visit to Rodney Parade to face the Dragons was a comfortable one, as Cork’s Ben O’Connor capped off his first start in a Munster shirt with his first try.
-
Jan 24, 2025 | 
echolive.ie | Derek Daly
Travelling to the Rodney Parade stadium in Newport, with its bleak industrial backdrop, can be a hard sell when coming down from the highs and hype of a Champions Cup weekend, but it is a trip that Munster must successfully negotiate if they are to get their URC campaign back on track this Saturday evening.
-
Jan 22, 2025 | 
echolive.ie | Derek Daly
Clare and Limerick’s conversion of National Hurling League titles into All-Ireland’s in the last two seasons should tempt Cork into giving it a serious crack at ending their 27 year long wait for a league crown. Gone is the notion that a team is better off keeping their powder dry for the championship. The inter-county season is much more compact these days than it used to be, when we celebrated the biggest hurling day of the year on the first Sunday of September.
-
Jan 21, 2025 | 
echolive.ie | Derek Daly
It might sound a tad hyperbolic to state the following, but come Saturday evening we should already have a strong indication as to how the league campaign of the Cork footballers is going to transpire. John Cleary’s charges open their account at home to Meath on Saturday evening at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh, and the evidence would suggest that if they do not win in Round 1 they will not be in the promotion hunt come the final week.
-
Jan 20, 2025 | 
echolive.ie | Derek Daly
Sarsfields began the day hoping it would end up being the greatest day in their history. Unfortunately, their All-Ireland club final against Na Fianna turned into a nightmare, as they were never able to land a punch on what was a very slick Na Fianna outfit. It appeared that the occasion seemed to get to Sars, as they never got going.
-
Jan 18, 2025 | 
echolive.ie | Derek Daly
Munster agonisingly ran out of time as their late comeback fell just short in a thriller of a Round 4 Champions Cup clash with Northampton Saints at Franklin’s Gardens on Saturday. Both sides were extremely positive from the outset, with the game being the exact opposite of last week’s conservative arm wrestle with Saracens.
-
Jan 17, 2025 | 
echolive.ie | Derek Daly
Fresh from scalping Saracens last Saturday in Limerick, Munster now turn their attentions to old foes Northampton Saints, with them knowing that a victory in Frankin’s Gardens will give them a serious chance to go deep in this year’s Investec Champions Cup. The talk last week was about Munster getting the one or two match points they required to ensure qualification for the last-16.
-
Jan 11, 2025 | 
echolive.ie | Derek Daly
Two quick-fire second-half tries from Dian Bleuler and John Hodnett ensured that Munster scalped Saracens in a frantic Champions Cup tie at Thomond Park on Saturday evening. Saracens centre Alex Lozowski opened the scoring in the second minute when he split the posts from a 30m penalty, after Mike Haley had botched the kick-off. He doubled the away team’s lead with a similar penalty from straight in front of the posts in the 10th minute, after Rory Scannell had been penalised on the deck.
-
Jan 7, 2025 | 
echolive.ie | Derek Daly
The Cork hurling version of the Bermuda Triangle will invade Croke Park over the next fortnight, with the three clubs that form the vertices of this geographical triangle all hoping that these visits will mark the proudest days in their history. Draw a line from Glanmire up to Watergrasshill and then turn sharply right and trace a longer one down past Lisgoold, Carrigtwohill and Midleton until you reach Shanagarry.
-
Dec 7, 2024 | 
echolive.ie | Derek Daly
Munster opened their Champions Cup campaign with a comfortable bonus point victory over an indisciplined Stade Francais outfit at Thomond Park on Saturday. The French side ended the night with 13 players after receiving two straight reds in a crazy four-minute spell at the start of the second half. Munster got the opening score of the game on the quarter-hour mark, with a move sparked by a brilliant 50-22 from the left peg of outhalf Jack Crowley.
