Soccer

Miguel Delaney: Still much to play for but Jurgen Klopp’s mood music hits downbeat note

For a performance that ended as meekly as this, Jurgen Klopp was in a surprisingly buoyant mood. He was even joking about not complaining about fixtures any more, despite the two-legged defeat to Atalanta denying him that last chance at another European trophy. It was difficult not to feel the German had already been resigned to elimination in some...

RG Snyman starts as Munster ring changes for Bulls clash

The South African is one of six personnel changes and one positional switch to the side that lost to Northampton.

The Springboks have delivered one of the great rugby documentaries

Chasing the Sun 2 is riveting viewing.

Cooney kicks Ulster to last-gasp win over Cardiff

The province lost James Hume to injury before snatching a dramatic win.

F1 Chinese GP: Verstappen beats Hamilton to sprint win

Reigning Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen claimed victory in the Chinese Grand Prix sprint race after passing Lewis Hamilton for the lead on the ninth lap.

Hansen: Central contracts 'the only way Irish rugby is going to get stronger'

The Connacht winger believes Irish Rugby is ‘set up in a genius way.’

‘I’m the first person to do a 147, nine-darter and hole-in-one’ – Shaun Murphy living up to his nickname

As a winner of each of snooker’s three Majors, Shaun Murphy is part of the most illustrious 11-man club in his chosen profession. But there is another group of which he claims only a membership of one that just might be the most exclusive in all of sport. A maximum 147 break in snooker. A hole in one in golf. And the precision throwing of a perfect...

Poll: Who do you think will win the Munster hurling championship?

Limerick are the defending five in-a-row champions.

Power's momentum slows as he sits four back alongside McIlroy in South Carolina

Tom Hoge shot a lowest round of 64 to join a four-way share of the lead at Harbour Town.

Derry City urged to examine matchday arrangements for travelling supporters after attack on Shamrock Rovers fans

Derry City have been urged to look at their arrangements for travelling fans after a terrible night for the Candystripes on and off the park. Ruaidhri Higgins' team were second best against Shamrock Rovers but the post-match discussion was overtaken by crowd disturbances after missiles thrown from outside of the ground rained in on the away support...

Norris had no reason to apologise for China F1 sprint showing, says McLaren

McLaren says Lando Norris had no need to apologise for his Formula 1 sprint race showing in China, after failing to convert his pole position into a podium.

Hamilton blames wind for Q1 error as Mercedes "experiment"

Lewis Hamilton blamed a tailwind for the Turn 14 moment that pitched him out of Q1 for Formula 1’s Chinese Grand Prix in his “knife-edge” Mercedes.

Former All-Black Ngatai makes Leinster return for Lions showdown

Charlie Ngatai was has been sidelined with a calf injury since December.

Galway United inflict back-to-back defeats on Shelbourne

Ed McCarthy’s first-half goal was enough to earn United a fourth win of the season.

F1 Chinese Grand Prix – Start time, starting grid, how to watch, & more

Max Verstappen will start from pole position after topping qualifying for the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix. Here's how and when you can watch the race.

'I was bit of a pest... I wanted to be out with the boys and I wanted to play'

Ireland flanker Aoife Wafer reflects on her early days in rugby ahead of this weekend’s clash with England.

Seamus Power tied for second at RBC Heritage

Meanwhile, Leona Maguire and Stephanie Meadow both got off to solid starts at the Chevron Championship.

Munster require a statement performance to achieve the result they need against Bulls

The build-up to this round of URC fixtures has been low-key, which does this clash of the league’s third and fourth-placed teams a disservice. Both clubs exited the Champions Cup in successive weeks against the same opposition, but while Munster threw everything they could at Northampton and came up short amidst an unfortunate illness outbreak in t...

'The Italians looked at Joe and couldn't believe what he was doing'

Pat Jennings recalls his former Spurs teammate, Joe Kinnear, while Kenny Cunningham reflects on his impact as Wimbledon boss.

Paul Townend takes on extra rides in an effort to save jockey crown from Jack Kennedy

You wouldn’t need to use many fingers to count the number of outside rides Paul Townend has had this season, so you know that things must be getting serious when he is looking beyond his boss, Willie Mullins. Townend and Mullins are a lethal combination – they head to Ayr today for the Scottish Grand National meeting trying to sow up the British tr...

Centre Charlie Ngatai returns to Leinster team as Lions coach lauds Irish province’s strength in depth

Charlie Ngatai returns to action for the first time this year against the Lions tomorrow proving that even Leinster’s reserve reserves are stronger than most – and even their opponents agree. The Kiwi’s return from a calf injury sustained in December against Sale bolsters their chances of completing an opening week win in South Africa against Lions...

‘I don’t know much about snooker… I thought I did’ – Ronnie O’Sullivan gets coaching advice in bid to win record Crucible title

Ronnie O'Sullivan has gone back to basics in his bid to eclipse Stephen Hendry and become the first eight-time world snooker champion in the modern era. At the age of 48 and with a record 41 ranking titles - including 23 triple crowns - behind him, O'Sullivan has discovered that he "doesn't know much about snooker" and has linked back up with a for...

FAI: No permanent men's manager until September, hope to appoint O'Shea as interim for June games

Canham apologised and acknowledged supporters’ frustration around a process that began in November last year.

Hamilton: Norris would have been better off conceding in Turn 1

Lewis Hamilton thinks Lando Norris would have been better off conceding position in their Turn 1 battle in Formula 1’s China sprint, as he had the pace to overtake later.

National deals, PONIs, and Irish rugby's contracting

The IRFU could make a tweak to the national contracts system as early as next season.

Cork and Kerry name starting sides ahead of Munster championship games

The Cork hurlers are away in Walsh Park, while the Kerry footballers are at home in Killarney.

Fears over fielding a team to first Munster win since 2010 - Waterford's fight to survive

Former Waterford manager Benji Whelan says work is ongoing at underage level to preserve football in the county.

F1 teams and Pirelli had no warning of “painted” Shanghai track surface

Neither teams nor tyre supplier Pirelli were informed about the “painted” surface treatment at the Shanghai circuit before arriving in China for this weekend’s Formula 1 race, it has emerged.

UAE head coach unveiling featuring 'Newcastle legend' goes viral

The unveiling video for the head coach role at a brand new Dubai football club featuring a 'Newcastle legend' has gone viral. Soheil Var, who posts regular updates on TikTok as soheil.var, is starting up a brand new professional football club called Al Qabila in just 365 days. Before that, he documented his journey trying to make it as a profession...

Noel King set to make shock return to League of Ireland as manager of Dundalk

Dundalk staff and officials were taken by surprise by reports that Noel King is set to make a stunning return to the League of Ireland as the club’s new manager. It emerged on Friday night that Dundalk owner Brian Ainscough has turned to King, a long term football contact, in an attempt to steer the Lilywhites off the bottom of the table. The forme...

Beijing Half Marathon champion has medal taken away after other runners slowed down to let him win

The winner of Beijing's half marathon He Jie and three African runners have had their results cancelled after an investigation found that the three slowed down near the line allowing the Chinese athlete to finish first, organisers said today. He had won the race held last Sunday in China's capital in a time of 1:03:44, a second ahead of Ethiopian D...

Will Man City rue letting go a strong contender for Player of the Season?

Cole Palmer has been in superb form for Chelsea.

O'Donoghue drives Tipperary U20s to win over Waterford

Tipperary outscored Ken McGrath’s side by 14 points to five in a one-sided second half.

Tipperary U-20s come out top in error-strewn contest against Waterford, with Oisín O’Donoghue hitting the net

Tipperary prevailed in a mistake-ridden encounter to move top of the Munster U-20 hurling round-robin table with a nine-point win over Waterford. The hosts were without senior star Patrick Fitzgerald due to the 60-hour restriction but were still level with the Premier by half-time. Thereafter, Tipp won the second half by 0-14 to 0-5, with Oisín O’D...

The Clare Limerick Munster showdown - has there been a bigger hurling day in Ennis?

All eyes turn to Cusack Park tomorrow at 2pm.

The tragic downfall of Emma Raducanu, winner of the 2021 US Open

Audi a player, not a spectator, in F1 driver market - Sauber

Audi's financial backing of Sauber makes the German manufacturer a player and not a spectator in Formula 1's driver market, says the team.

Leinster's Aimee Clarke smashed perceptions when she moved to rugby from GAA

Seeing Aimee Clarke play rugby now you'd never realise that she only came to the sport seven years ago and didn't know many of the rules when she first stepped onto the pitch. The Leinster winger honed her skills playing Gaelic Football but made the decision to change to rugby in 2017 - and she's […]

Shelbourne fan who threw smoke bomb at assistant referee handed lifetime ban

Shelbourne have handed down a lifetime ban to the supporter who was identified for the smoke bomb-throwing incident which has led to Reds fans being barred from Friday’s league game away to Galway United. As reported by the Irish Independent earlier this week, the FAI’s disciplinary committee had initially decided on a stadium closure for Shels as ...

You ain’t seen nothing yet as Liam Turner’s overdrive ramps up in South Africa

There are two sides to every coin, even the most valuable. As Leinster flexed strengthened muscles this week, Ross Molony quietly confirmed his intention to leave. Any designs on an international cap, or persistent provincial recognition, will be cast aside. His is not at all a sad story; even his own deeply held personal and professional regrets, ...

Croke Park an 82,300 sellout! Leinster fans snap up tickets for Champions Cup glamour tie

Leinster’s Champions Cup Croke Park semi-final date with Northampton Saints has sold-out inside a few hours. Over 82,000 tickets have been snapped up since they went on release this morning at 10am as supporters raced to bank the best seats in the house. Leinster’s tie in the 82,300-capacity stadium takes place on Saturday, May 4, with a 5.30 kick-...

Jurgen Klopp admits Liverpool bowed out of Europe with a whimper

Anfield boss accepted lack of goal threat failed to pressure Atalanta but insisted Mo Salah form not a concern.

Aston Martin protests F1 Chinese GP qualifying results after Sainz red flag crash

Aston Martin has lodged a protest against the results of the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix qualifying results in relation to Carlos Sainz’s red flag crash.

Emi Martinez banned for first leg of Aston Villa’s semi-final against Olympiacos

The Argentina international saved two penalties in the 4-3 quarter-final shootout victory over Lille.

Kelly named on bench for Clare, De Búrca to start for Waterford in Munster SHC openers

Limerick have named 13 of their All-Ireland winning team for the trip to Ennis.

WRC Croatia: Neuville sets the pace to lead title rival Evans

World Rally Championship points leader Thierry Neuville made an almost perfect start in Croatia to lead Toyota’s Elfyn Evans after Friday morning’s asphalt stages.

How are Dublin shaping up for their All-Ireland defence?

Mick Bohan’s side face Kildare in their Leinster championship opener tomorrow.

Jenna Slattery insists sky’s the limit for pacesetters Galway as they target 2024 league title

After a perfect start to the 2024 Women’s Premier Division, Galway United midfielder Jenna Slattery feels the sky’s the limit for the Tribeswomen this season with a first league title in their sights. Four wins and three clean sheets from their opening four games has seen Phil Trill’s side storm out of the traps. Ireland U-19 cap Slattery has been ...

Lewis Hamilton insists he is ‘mentally strong’ after worst qualifying since 2017

Max Verstappen followed up his convincing sprint win with a fifth straight pole.

Alonso hit with penalty for Sainz clash in China F1 sprint

Fernando Alonso has been handed a 10-second penalty and had three penalty points added to his licence for a collision with Carlos Sainz in Formula 1’s China sprint race.