‘MOVE ALL OF THE DUBS’ GAMES OUT OF CROKER’
DUBLIN’S Allianz League fixtures should be moved out of Croke Park, according to Kevin Walsh. In his book, The Invisible Game, the former Galway manager points to the advantage that Dublin have gained from having Croke Park being designated their home stadium and argued that All-Ireland semi-finals featuring the Boys in Blue should be played at another venue. And he told Sportsmail that the GAA needs to go further by taking Dublin’s home league games — which have been played at GAA headquarters since 2011 — back to Parnell Park to ensuring Croke Park regains its status as a national stadium. ‘When I was playing I had no issue with Dublin playing in Croke Park because they played their league games in Parnell Park, so there has to be no question that it is an advantage and it is an unfair advantage. ‘There is a study that has proven that advantage exists. ‘Dublin have had a lot of close games in Croke Park particularly against Mayo and Kerry, but if those games had been played in Castlebar or Killarney you would wonder which way those games would have rolled. We don’t know the answer to that but the bookies might tell you different. ‘You would have to ask in those drawn matches and one-point games, would home advantage have swung those games?’ Walsh has personal experience of having to play Dublin on their home patch in big games, losing to them in the 2018 league final and AllIreland semi-final. In the latter, Eamonn Brannigan missed a crucial first-half penalty and Walsh suggests that his miss, along with other highprofile failed conversions, may have been down to the ‘away’ ground factor. ‘You would have to ask, would Eamonn Brannigan have missed that penalty in Pearse Stadium? Would Paul Geaney have missed his penalty in the 2019 final had it been in Killarney? Would Cillian
O’Connor have missed the vital free in the 2016 replayed final in Castlebar? The proven fact of home advantage is that the more time you are in the same environment the better you are. Why otherwise do teams, when they are fixed to play a game at a venue they are not used to being in, seek to travel there the week before a game to get a run out there? If you are playing all your league games in the same venue, the value of sleeping in your own bed, going to the same dressing room, identifying familiar landmarks from the pitch, then you would have to think that an advantage has to accrue from that. ‘I give great credit to Dublin because they have put great structures in place so it is up to other counties to look at what they have in place. ‘Dublin have fine footballers, but all I am saying is I would like to see them taken out of their environment so bigger questions can be asked of then on a given day.’
RORY McIlroy is on the heels of the leaders at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando as he seeks to end a 16-month winless stretch. McIlroy, the 2018 winner, couldn’t match his first round at Bay Hill, but a one under 71 didn’t inflict any damage. After four birdies and three bogeys, McIlroy said: ‘I bailed myself out, had some some good up and downs as I battled to hang in there.’ On seven under par, the fourtime Major champion is two strokes behind Corey Conners (69), and one behind US-based Scot Martin Laird (67). Norway’s Viktor Hovland, widely tipped to make the European team in Wisconsin, is level with McIlroy after fiinishing with three successive birdies for a 68. McIlroy’s playing partner Tyrell Hatton completed an astonishing fightback in his title defence. Starting out at five over, Hatton displayed the fight which has lifted him to No 6 in the world. One under through 13 holes, the Englishman reeled off four successive birdies from the 14th for a 67.
Ryder Cup captain Padraig Harrington continues to hold his own with the young guns on Tour as he made the cut after rounds of 70 and 74. Harrington, 49, was level par for his round before a bogeybogey finish. But Open champion Shane Lowry continues to search for a spark to ignite his season. After his opening 75, Lowry needed a fast start but after coughing up shots to par at his fifth and sixth holes, found himself behind the eight-ball. A second round 74 left him on five over, the same mark as Graeme McDowell, who carded 70, a nine-shot improvement on his costly opening 79. On the LPGA Tour, Leona Maguire is tied sixth in the Drive On Championship in Ocala, Florida after rounds of 69 and 71.
THE Lions board have delayed their final decision on this summer’s series against the Springboks — although they have ruled out a tour to Australia.
Rugby’s powerbrokers hoped to conclude talks in yesterday’s meeting but are still waiting to hear if the British government will underwrite fixtures in the UK and Ireland.
It is understood the UK government are reluctant to underwrite a home ‘tour’, having shown no indication they would grant rugby any help in this week’s Budget.
The saga will now rumble on into next week, with the board desperate to salvage rugby’s showpiece event. While a home ‘tour’ presents the most lucrative option, they cannot afford to commit without an insurance package, which would cover the risk of lost revenue due to further crowd restrictions.
Australia had intervened with an offer to host the series, but that option was yesterday ruled out because they cannot meet the minimum financial requirements.
Traditionalists have called for the tour to be postponed until 2022. However key figures such as England head coach Eddie Jones and his Ireland counterpart Andy Farrell will push back on any proposal that interferes with their preparations for the 2023 World Cup.