Darragh Ó Sé pens his observations about the initial rounds of the championship, opining that the audience is easily won over at this stage. He was initially blown away by Cork’s performance in the first 20 minutes of the match in Killarney that took place last Saturday. Yet, he felt their enthusiasm waned as the game progressed, much like a ship losing its sail and simply drifting. Darragh was left perplexed as to why they didn’t show the same spirit throughout the match, expressing his doubt about Cork’s self-belief in their winning chances.
Despite Kerry coming out on top in that game, David Clifford saw it as a low point by his usually high standards. In conversation with Ian O’Riordan, David asserts he doesn’t let either victories or defeats affect his daily routine, as he believes such an approach would make life unbearably tedious.
Turning to Gaelic games, Seán Moran suggests that despite complaints about the current scheduling, the new formats undeniably improved the championship experience for both players and audience. He confidently says a look back in history would support his point.
Moving forward, Gordon Manning engages in a conversation with TJ Ryan, Tipperary selector, prior to their championship kick-off against Limerick, which he portrays as a significant challenge right from the starting line for Tipperary.
In rugby discussions, Gordon D’Arcy takes on the debate about Ireland’s central contract distribution being biased towards certain provinces while others are neglected, with Gerry Thornley interviewing Scott Bemand, women’s team coach, before the Six Nations close by facing Scotland in Belfast on Saturday.
As for the Munster team, they are in high spirits after a victorious match against Bulls the previous weekend, gearing up for their next match against Lions in Johannesburg. Linley MacKenzie has a chat with Connacht defense coach Scott Fardy about life in Galway after living in Ballsbridge. Gerry has a catch-up with James Taylor of Cork Constitution ahead of the All-Ireland League final against Terenure on Sunday.
Television Alert: The high-stakes Merseyside derby, where Everton fights to avoid dropping a division and Liverpool is in the race for the championship, is set for this evening (Sky Sports Premier League, 20:00). The key moments from the match will be featured later in the night on Match of the Day (BBC 2, 23:15), which will also cover the trio of additional matches taking place tonight.