QUADE COOPER WILL be available for the 2015 Rugby World Cup after signing on with the Australian Rugby Union for another year.
Cooper, 26, is a 53-cap veteran and could add to that next year, having impressed for the Wallabies on their disappointing Autumn Tour.
The Queensland Reds star said he was excited by what Australia could achieve in 2015.
“I really enjoyed the Spring Tour, even though some of the results weren’t what we wanted,” Cooper said in a statement.
“We’re working hard to improve and I’m confident we’ve got a great group of players going into 2015.
“I love being at the Reds and playing rugby for Australia, and am looking forward to the opportunities next year.”
Wallabies coach Michael Cheika was understandably delighted with Cooper’s decision.
“I’ve really enjoyed coaching Quade on the Spring Tour. He brings a lot to the team on and off the field,” he said.
“He’s clearly a quality player and has proven himself at a state and national level for many seasons.
“From watching him play in Super Rugby, and during recent weeks, it’s clear he has a lot to offer and I’m glad he’s chosen to continue his future with Australian rugby.”
It is believed former Leinster coach Cheika has been negotiating a deal with Kurtley Beale, who only a couple of months back was facing the sack over offensive text messages he sent to then Wallabies manager Di Patstson.
“It’s on the way, we’re very close to getting that deal done now,” Cheika told News Corp.
“Everything is agreed, it’s just a matter of the final papers being drawn up by the ARU.”
Australia begin their World Cup campaign against Fiji at Millennium Stadium, Cardiff on 23 September.
Originally published 09.03.
‘You’ve got to believe’ – O’Mahony backs Munster for Clermont trip‘I’ll be tucking into my turkey’ – Connacht’s Faloon on striking a balance over Christmas
Larry “The Axe” Hennig, the father of the late Curt “Mr. Perfect” Hennig and grandfather of WWE Superstar Curtis Axel, passed away today at the age of 82. The news was announced by The Post and Courier’s Mike Mooneyham.
Hennig made his professional wrestling debut in 1956 and worked for the American Wrestling Association starting from the early 1960s. He is best known for his tag team work with Harley Race, a tag team that won the AWA World Tag Team titles on multiple occasions.
Larry also teamed with his son Curt and before his retirement in 1985, the father-and-son duo won the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team championship.
Hennig was married to Irene and the two had five children together.
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WWE is saddened to learn that Larry “The Axe” Hennig passed away today at the age of 82.
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THERE IS CONCERN for Johnny Sexton as a report in France suggests the Ireland out-half will be sidelined until mid-February with the after effects of a head injury he sustained against Australia last November.
French sports daily L’Équipe is reporting that Sexton has been suffering headaches and nausea since clashing heads with Rob Kearney late on in Ireland’s November win over the Wallabies and will not return to action until 14 February.
Having been contacted by TheScore.ie, Sexton’s French club Racing Métro said their medical team had no statement to make regarding how long the player will be sidelined for, although they did confirm that the 29-year-old was dealing with a head injury.
Sexton has not played for the Top 14 club since returning from Ireland duty last month, and has been ruled out of this weekend’s league clash with La Rochelle.
Speaking at a press conference in Paris earlier today, Racing coach Laurent Labit said: “As long as Johnny Sexton doesn’t feel 100%, we cannot take any risks. He’s not ready to play yet.”
L’Équipe’s article on Sexton states that he has visited a neurologist in Paris several times in recent weeks. The result of those visits is that Sexton has been ordered not to play rugby again until the 14 February, says the French sports newspaper.
Sexton, the article continues, will still be free to take part in non-contact training in the meantime.
Contacted by TheScore.ie this afternoon, the IRFU said it had no statement to make on the issue, with their medical team not currently in camp.
Should Sexton be absent until mid-February, he would miss Ireland’s opening game of the 2015 Six Nations against Italy in Rome on 7 February. However, that timeframe would give him some chance of returning for the clash versus France in Dublin on 14 February.
Connacht spread a little Christmas cheer around GalwayIreland have automatically qualified for the 2017 Women’s Rugby World Cup
But what about [insert your county here]? Don’t worry, we’ll be producing a series of articles that will cover every county in Ireland – even yours – over the next few weeks. See the ones we’ve already covered here.
1. Donegal on the double
Source: Jacksonsmediatv/YouTube
Donegal Town rocked into the early hours as Jim McGuinness’s seniors lifted the Ulster SFC in Clones, while Declan Bonner oversaw victory in the provincial MFC — it was the first time the county managed to win both titles in the one year.
2. Top Marks for English
Mark English is congratulated by his sisters Michelle and Joanne after winning Bronze in the Men’s 800m Final Source: Morgan Treacy/INPHO
Mark English won Ireland’s only medal with 800m bronze at the European Track and Field Championships in Zurich. His sisters Michelle and Joanne were at trackside to start the celebrations.
3. Given’s back on board
Shay Given returned from his 27-month international exile to win his 126th and 127th caps in the friendly wins over Oman and the United States with Martin O’Neill’s Ireland
4. Parental guidance for McGinley
Source: Cathal Noonan/INPHO
Paul McGinley might strictly be a Dubliner but with his father Mick a native of Dunfanaghy and mother Julia from Rathmullan, Europe’s Ryder Cup victory at Gleneagles meant plenty of glasses were clinked in the north-west
5. Stand up for the Donegal girls
Source: Dan Sheridan/INPHO
Larissa Muldoon touched down Ireland’s try at Twickenham in the RBS Women’s Six Nations and Nora Stapleton was part of the team who produced a magnificent 17-14 win over the All Blacks on the girls in green’s way to fourth place at the Rugby World Cup
6. Coleman is sweet as a Toffee
Seamus Coleman capped a fine season at Everton by winning the right-back spot on the PFA team of the season as the Goodison Park club finished the 2013/14 campaign in fifth place.
7. Oscar’s Golden Boy Quigley
Source: boxingfan3334/YouTube
Having won the AIBA World Amateur Boxing Championships at European level and winning silver at the 2013 Worlds, Jason Quigley signed a pro contract with Oscar De La Hoya’s with Golden Boy Promotions. So far, the Ballybofey man is three from three …
8. Comeback king Harley
What’s the best way to re-announce yourself on the horse racing circuit after breaking a T1 vertebrae in your neck? Well, by winning a treble on your first afternoon of course — as jokey Martin Harley managed at Newcastle in June.
9. Sky’s the limit for Deignan
Source: Dan Sheridan/INPHO
Almost five years had passed since Philip Deignan’s stage win during the Vuelta a España. This year, in the colours of Team Sky, the now 31-year-old was back to his best, with the third place finish into Rifugio Panarotta on stage 18 of the Giro d’Italia the highlight.
10. Strumming the Harps
Finn Harps might be stranded in the middle of the SSE Airtricity League First Division but did upset the odds to reach the semi-finals of the FAI Cup, only to go down 6-1 to eventual winners St Patrick’s Athletic.
11. Boyles reclaim title
Cousins Declan and Brendan Boyle reclaimed the Dunlop National Rally Championship as well as giving home followers a rare local success in the Donegal International in June.
12 . Captain Marvel Murphy
Source: Cathal Noonan/INPHO
Michael Murphy was again the man entrusted with the Irish captaincy for the International Rules Test in Perth. However, Australia won the one-off Test 56-46.
13. Donegal beat the ‘unbeatables’
With Dublin raging hot favourties to reclaim Sam Maguire, Dublin produced the shock of the summer as Jim McGuinness’s side left Croke Park in raptures following a 3-14 to 0-17 semi-final win. However, like the minors, Donegal failed to find that form in the final and it was Kerry who claimed both titles.
14. ‘Jimmy’s winning matches … Rory’s in charge …’
Source: Cathal Noonan/INPHO
After his four-year term of office concluded, there wasn’t a dry eye in Donegal as Jim McGuinness stepped aside, having been promoted to first team sports psychologist at Celtic FC. His former assistant Rory Gallagher is now the man entrusted with winning matches.
15 – The Race – Ireland’s Ultimate Endurance Event
Donegal played host to Ireland’s first 24-hour endurance event, simply titled ‘The Race’. Competitors ran, in total, 67km, kayaked 15km, cycled 175km as well as ran, walked or scrambled the 5km 500-metre vertical metres up and down Muckish Mountain. Canadian Bill Wells was first home in 15 hours and 22 minutes. Phew!
16 – The maroon and white are dynamite
Source: Ryan Byrne/INPHO
Geraldine McLaughlin scored 3-8 – a record in an All-Ireland football final – as Termon ladies sealed a dramatic comeback win against Mourneabbey from Cork to become the first ever Donegal team to win a national senior title.
What have we forgotten?
25 years old today: 7 times when The Simpsons was perfect sporting TVThere are some absolute rockets in the top 5 goals of the 2014 Football Championship
During the latest episode of Being The Elite which was filmed before and after the NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 13 show, a big hint was given as to where Kenny Omega would ultimately end up.
With the former champ confirming that he is leaving New Japan Pro Wrestling, the obvious choice would be a big run in the WWE. But with all his friends off to run and be part of All Elite Wrestling, the odds of Omega joining WWE don’t look that good.
During this episode of Being The Elite, Omega tells Marty Scurll that he lost his phone and he would be seeing him later. The end of the episode comes with someone lurking around a TGIF restaurant outside the Tokyo Dome and Omega’s phone is there on the grass, face down with a ticking timer heard in the background. The group has already used mobile phones to reveal the AEW logo in a previous episode of Being The Elite.
During the same 23-minute episode, Cody, Brandi, The Young Bucks, and Page all sign their All Elite Wrestling contracts. You can see the episode below.Click Here: Cardiff Blues Store
THE FEELING WITHIN the Leinster group all season has been that the attacking performance they know they are capable of is within touching distance.
An accurate pass here, an aggressive rucking contribution there, a slightly more understanding support line; get those details right and the flow will follow.
Despite many outside their circle increasingly losing faith, the coaches and players remain positive about their prospects of clicking into top form. The evidence on the pitch might suggest that those thoughts are misguided, but Leinster plow on in search of their attacking zenith.
“The accuracy probably hasn’t been there,” admits kicking and skills coach Richie Murphy. “The ball carrier needs to work that little bit harder when he has the ball, our cleanout has to be accurate.
“It’s amazing if you can be 1% or 2% better there, these guys can be 2% better somewhere else, all of a sudden the ball is a little bit quicker and the opportunities will present themselves a lot easier.
Back row Kevin McLaughlin has stated his belief that Leinster have been forcing passes at times in attack, “getting over-excited and trying to force it a little bit.” The 30-year-old admits those errors have “an impact on confidence when you’re on the pitch.”
Other players have expressed similar sentiments around Leinster’s stuttering form too, underlining that once those passes start to stick, there will be notable improvements in terms of breaking the opposition down.
Murphy [left] and O’Connor want their players to make better decisions on the pitch. Source: Dan Sheridan/INPHO
That said, Leinster’s coaching staff were disappointed by ignored opportunities against Munster, when chances to move the ball into potentially advantageous wide channels were spurned in favour of lower-risk inside passes or switch plays.
For skills guru Murphy, the key for Leinster is making the ideal decisions in attack.
“Some people say they’re forcing the pass, then there’s other opportunities when we actually can pass and we don’t. So it’s about making the right decisions really.
“We’ve a certain way that we try to play, especially when we’re getting into the opposition’s 22, but we just need to focus on exactly what their role is. You need to earn the right to actually move the ball into those areas.
“We’ll be focusing back to the process of what we’re actually trying to achieve in those areas, it’ll be up to the players then to try and focus on that, rather than not passing or throwing the pass and turning over the ball.”
Mention of the players themselves is apt there, from a Leinster point of view especially. Luke Fitzgerald yesterday said he and his teammates owe head coach Matt O’Connor a performance, a notion McLaughlin also expressed last week.
Much has been made of how Leinster’s style of play has altered in the last two seasons under the Australian’s rule, but Murphy stresses that there really hasn’t been too much difference to what has gone before in terms of philosophy and approach.
Leinster conceded three tries in Limerick. Source: Inpho/Billy Stickland
“Not massively,” says Murphy, “Matt’s asking the guys to see what’s in front of them and play it a little bit, but I don’t see it as being massively different to where it has been before.”
Echoing Fitzgerald and McLaughlin’s words, Murphy points out that the onus is on the players on the pitch at any one time to deliver.
“At the end of the day, we can’t play the game for the guys,” outlines Murphy.
“They have to deliver and believe in what we’ve given them, and deliver at the weekend.”
That Leinster’s injury issues are beginning to ease means competition for places in the starting XV should become a little fiercer in the coming weeks. That in turn is likely to spike individual performance levels.
Rugby is a team game, but Murphy underlines that improvements in the component parts of Leinster’s XV will naturally mean a better performance collectively.
“The individual has a role to play, where he is on the park,” says the former Leinster out-half. “He needs to focus on his role and not worry about anyone else’s role. If everyone has that, the team focus will look after itself.”
Jimmy Gopperth and Ian Madigan provide the options at 10. Source: Inpho/Billy Stickland
Ben Te’o’s recovery from injury adds a formidable option in the centre and perhaps frees up Ian Madigan to play at out-half more often.
O’Connor himself has indicated that Madigan’s deployment in the centre and at fullback is something that has been somewhat forced upon him by injuries. Murphy backs up that suggestion.
“He’s [Madigan] been moved around in order to accommodate putting all our best players on the pitch.
“I thought Ian did quite well [against Munster last weekend]. Some stuff was very good and then there were one or two mistakes as well. That can be expected, he hasn’t played much at 10 this year.
“I think it was only his third start there, including the one he had for Ireland, so he’ll be a lot better for that moving forward. Hopefully we can get him more game time at 10.”
Henshaw set for Connacht return in sold-out New Year’s Day Munster tieWorld Cup with Ireland is ‘top of the pile’ for Luke Fitzgerald
AFTER THREE SEASONS with London Irish, it looks like Tomás O’Leary is on his way back to Munster.
O’Leary’s contract with the Exiles expires at the end of the current campaign, and Gerry Thornley reports in today’s Irish Times that the scrum-half will be back in a Munster jersey next season.
With Conor Murray likely to be unavailable to the province for the early part of next season due to his World Cup commitments with Ireland, the experienced O’Leary could provide adequate cover in the number nine shirt.
The 31-year-old left Munster to sign a three-year deal with London Irish in 2012, despite also being linked with a switch to Perpignan at the time.
But O’Leary’s time in England has been hampered by injuries, which have restricted him to eight appearances this season and 42 in total since joining London Irish, who are currently third-from-bottom in the Aviva Premiership.
O’Leary made 127 appearances over his seven seasons with Munster, during which he won Heineken Cup medals in 2006 and ’08. He also earned a Lions call-up in 2009 but missed the tour of South Africa after suffering a broken ankle.
A return to Munster may give O’Leary a chance to force his way back in to the international set-up. Capped 24 times, the Corkman hasn’t played for Ireland since March 2012.
Munster have ‘a point to prove’ away to Zebre — Zebo‘The intensity is at ridiculous levels under Schmidt and it’s 24/7′
Liam Miller is back in Cork. Source: Dan Sheridan/INPHO
HomeAll-Ireland winning midfielder Rory Kavanagh is retiring from inter-county football with Donegal.Jamie Heaslip has declared himself fit for Leinster’s Champions Cup meeting with Castres on Saturday, joking that he is “like Benjamin Button”.Cork City have announced the signing of former Ireland international Liam Miller.World number one Rory McIlroy carded a five under part 67 during the first round of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship this morning.Connacht will be without Bundee Aki for eight to ten weeks as the centre will require surgery on his knee.The GPA will seek an increase in funding from the GAA when negotiations begin later this year.We chatted to Irish UFC fighter Cathal Pendred ahead of his bout in Boston on Sunday night.AwayRonnie O’Sullivan broke Stephen Hendry’s century break record with his 776th career century in the quarter-final of the Masters this afternoon.Italy have named the 30-man squad which will take on defending champions Ireland in the Six Nations opener on 7 February. France have also named theirs.Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquaio are close to agreeing a multi-million dollar deal to fight in Las Vegas on 2 May.Fernando Torres has scored his first goals for Atletico Madrid in the Copa del Rey tie against Real Madrid tonight.The best thing we shared
Australian international Tim Cahill shows unbelievable accuracy to play the ball into the arms of his son at the Asia Cup. https://vine.co/v/ODYvMQdn3uL
On the record
Where we were today
Murray Kinsella was out on UCD as Matt O’Connor and Jamie Heaslip spoke at Leinster’s press conference.
Source: James Crombie/INPHO
The fixture list
Leicester Tigers face Scarlets in Pool 3 of the European Champions Cup (7.45pm).
Showbiz, baby!
Miguel Angel Jimenez hits a hole-in-one in Abu Dhabi. Then celebrates with a little dance by the bunker.
Source: European Tour/YouTube
‘I didn’t want to go into pre-season not knowing where I’d end it’ – Patterson quits DerryMajor blow for Connacht as Bundee Aki ruled out for up to 10 weeks
MILS MULIAINA WILL captain Connacht for the first time as they bid to book their place in the Challenge Cup quarter-finals.
Pat Lam’s side can secure one of the three runner-up spots with a win in La Rochelle on Saturday evening (5.30pm Irish).
There are four changes in the pack with Ronan Loughney, Nathan White, Andrew Browne and Eoin McKeon all starting. For only the third time this season, John Muldoon does not start and is named among the replacements instead.
In the backs, Robbie Henshaw is ruled out through injury so Danie Poolman shifts across to start at 13 outside Conor Finn, while Darragh Leader is given the nod on the right wing.
“With the rotation of John [Muldoon] and Nathan [White] just coming back from injury, Mils was the clear choice to lead the side tomorrow,” Lam said.
“This is knock-out football already and we have prepared accordingly with a simple focus of getting the job done and reaching the last eight.”
Connacht team to face La Rochelle
15. Mils Muliaina (c) 14. Darragh Leader 13. Danie Poolman 12. Conor Finn 11. Matt Healy 10. Jack Carty 9. Kieran Marmion
1. Ronan Louhgney 2. Tom McCartney 3. Nathan White 4. Quinn Roux 5. Andrew Browne 6. Eoin McKeon 7. Willie Faloon 8. George Naoupu
Replacements
16. Dave Heffernan 17. JP Cooney 18. Finlay Bealham 19. Danny Qualter 20. John Muldoon 21. Caolin Blade 22. Miah Nikora 23. Niyi Adeolokun
‘It’s easy to be negative, what you have to do is find solutions’ – ROG on Munster’s Champions Cup exit
IT’S LONG SINCE passed into the realm of cliché that Jamie Heaslip isn’t a man who likes to fill his spare time with rugby.
Sure, that initially sounds bad. Especially to fans who often base their weekend around watching the number eight and his team-mates going about his business. But when you consider the amount of time devoted to analysis in the modern game, then maybe the benefits of getting the head out of the game for a few hours every day become clear.
Besides, it’s not as if he is just rushing home to play FIFA and watch The Big Bang Theory. Heaslip is a man constantly seeking a sharper edge for his own performance. Let Leinster and the IRFU take care of the rugby side preparations, Heaslip is finding out about the rest of the world for himself.
He’s made a habit of retweeting motivational lines from The Rock, but they’re mere bite-sized snippets. It’s a longer form of inspiration that demands most of his time.
“The Rock, he’s just pure entertainment,” Heaslip laughs before heading off for his MaxiNutrition photo-shoot.
“I don’t think Stone Cold Steve Austin is on Twitter*, but he’s another one I’d be a big fan of.”
Heaslip’s last outing for the nutrition brand was overshadowed by a man who starred in two sports and inspired men and women in many more walks of life, Jim Stynes.
Source: Jamie Heaslip/Twitter
Stynes’ message, written on an Ikon Talent (who represent Heaslip) wall, is a moving one and is obviously easily transferred to any scenario. The 31-year-old Leinster captain just chews up advice like that.
“Tim Ferriss is a fascinating character too – the best way to sum him up is that he looks for life hacks. He talks to people in all walks of life, experts in their field, be it a chess prodigy, or head of Google… all sorts of people who are high performers in their area.
“He then takes those golden nuggets and lays them out. He performs experiments on himself as well to back stuff up.”
Another direction
Learning from outside sources isn’t exactly a brand new idea. Heaslip is the latest in a long line of sportsmen who have sought to cross-pollinate skill-sets from one area to another.
Retired players in many codes have long boosted their pensions with after-dinner speeches about motivation and leadership – with an extra helping of jargon to show how the idea might apply to a room full of cut-throat business men and women.
Yet every sport is developing at a rapid rate and it’s vital to keep up with the neighbours.
It’s more than just mindset and psychology that cross codes, there are a plethora of examples when techniques are shared too.
It’s notable that the best defensive team in the NFL have employed a rugby-style tackle into parts their game (rumour has it that Cian Healy was presented as a perfect case study for the Seattle Seahawks, though we haven’t seen the footage) and now Irish rugby players could be picking up pointers from another direction altogether – MMA, GAA and any other sporting acronym you care to name.
MaxiNutrition helps Jamie Heaslip to be at his best Source: Morgan Treacy/INPHO
“I always think kids should play everything when they’re young and you’ll get a mesh and feel for everything when they’re young and you might be lucky to excel in one of them.”
Through all the words of wisdom that in all the reading material Heaslip gobbles up in the world of business or sport, the one source he appears to hold above all others is the most dominant Olympian of all time. Not because his 18 golds stand unparalleled, but because of the way he prepared to make the incredible achievements happen.
“Probably one of the biggest influences, book-wise, that I’ve read was probably Michael Phelps,” Heaslip says reverentially.
“I mean if you want to see how a guy breaks down what appears to be a massive mountain to climb in terms of how many medals he wanted to win [eight golds in Beijing 2008]… it seemed like an impossible task, but when he breaks it down and the way he broke it down is so interesting. It’s a great book that anyone should read.”
Source: AP/Press Association Images
A quick search for Phelps’ book post-interview brings a quote that must surely resonate with Heaslip – the man who says rugby is just his job, but has a seemingly irrepressible drive to be consistently excellent at it.
“Words are words,” says the Baltimore Bullet, “explanations are explanations, promises are promises, but only performance is reality.”
Just because one athlete is in the water and the other is wearing long studs doesn’t mean there’s not a whole heap they can learn from each other.
As the Kildare man says: “You’ve got to take [as examples] people in other sports, other walks of life or businesses as such.
Ireland’s leading sports nutrition brand, MaxiNutrition is supporting Jamie Heaslip to be at his best in 2015 #MyGoal. Set your goal at www.maxishop.com
After long rehab and amateur mechanics, Henderson’s ready to smash back into Ireland teamArchive>>> Analysis: What does Jamie Heaslip do for Ireland?
*Stone Cold Steve Austin IS on Twitter, @SteveAustinBSR