There’s no shortage of fine reading in today’s sports pages, but one thing you might not have anticipated featuring is an elephant’s bottom, the owner of which once escaped from Fossett’s Circus and made its way to Kilmallock’s GAA pitch in Limerick. “He decided to scratch his arse against the boundary wall and demolished the whole thing,” Humphrey Kelleher told Seán Moran when they met to chat about his new book, A Place To Play: The people and stories behind 101 GAA Grounds. That anecdote alone makes it a must-buy.
There’s really no way to seamlessly move onto Matt Williams’ column today, although it does reference the rear end of the World Cup which, of course, was a disappointment for Ireland. But, he insists, the future of Irish rugby is bright, not least because of the appointment of David Humphreys as the IRFU’s new performance director, a man he greatly admires. Matt argues, though, that it is impossible for just one person to look after the men’s, women’s, Sevens, club and underage game, that the role should be split into three. John O’Sullivan, meanwhile, talks to Ireland’s Joe McCarthy ahead of his return for Leinster when they take on the Dragons in Sunday’s URC game. John also previews this evening’s meeting of Ulster and Munster in Belfast, Munster buoyed by the news that they have won the race to sign Crusaders tighthead prop Oli Jager.
In soccer, Stephen Kenny insists that he’s not in “purgatory” as he awaits the FAI’s decision on his future, Gavin Cummiskey hearing the Republic of Ireland manager refuse to confirm or deny reports linking him to the Lincoln City job. And Gavin also talks to St Pat’s Joe Redmond ahead of Sunday’s FAI Cup final when the defender will come up against his former Joey’s team-mate, Bohemians striker Jonathan Afolabi.
Back in Gaelic games, Seán hears from Hannah Tyrrell who has been named the Gaelic Writers Association Personality of the Year, the multi-talented sportswoman adding an All-Ireland football medal to her collection back in August when she was player of the match against Kerry.
Despite his latest disgrace, Conor McGregor will be welcomed back with open arms Stateside
Gordon D’Arcy: Ireland have the grit and resilience to improve for the Six Nations
Irish Times journalist wins award for coverage of mental health
Remembering the first time Rory McIlroy played with Tiger Woods on tour
In horse racing, Brian O’Connor writes about the Irish regulatory board’s “unfortunate accuracy when it comes to shooting itself in the foot”, the latest episode, in a long line of them, its “shock announcement that it had no evidence to present after a three-and-a-half-year examination of a controversial claiming race at Dundalk”.
TV Watch: Leona Maguire had a fine opening round at The Annika tournament in Florida on Thursday, shooting a bogey-free 67 - you can catch up on her progress in round two on Sky Sports Golf (3pm-6pm). Later, Ulster host Munster at the Kingspan Stadium in Belfast in round four of the URC (RTÉ 2, BBC 2 and Premier Sports 1, 7.35pm), and 10 minutes later Waterford and Cork City kick-off in their promotion/relegation play-off in Tallaght (Virgin Media Three).
