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It’s a day for the couch tomorrow with the amount of sport on the screen and for rugby fans it begins with Ireland’s match against Japan at the Aviva Stadium at 1pm. It’s a mark of just how much Andy Farrell thinks of Japan that he has left any experimentation in his starting lineup for further down the line and gone with what is probably the strongest 15 available to him. “This is a proper Test match for our boys; different group, a diverse group that has got a challenge on their hands at the weekend,” the Ireland head coach said yesterday. One man who will start tomorrow is James Ryan who, Farrell says, has surprised him with the speed of his recovery from an abductor injury. Following Ireland’s opening summer Test the Lions will line up in Johannesburg for their opening tour match against the Emirates Lions and a chance for Stuart Hogg to make a mark as captain. No Irish players have been selected in the starting lineup but in his column this morning Johnny Watterson writes that Conor Murray’s selection as captain will go down as a popular one and can spark fearlessness in this squad. Last night Ireland under-20s’ Six Nations hopes took a major blow as England came through a physical battle in Cardiff to put themselves in the driver’s seat for the title.
In Olympics news, reports emerged overnight that US sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson has tested positive for cannabis and will be banned from competing in the 100m at this month’s Olympics, a race she has been hotly tipped to become the first American woman to win since 1996. Richardson is considered the next big thing in US athletics and she hugely impressed at recent Olympic trials. However, as Dave Hannigan wrote in his column recently, her image is perhaps already sullied by the doping shadow of Dennis Mitchell.
On to GAA and Jackie Tyrrell is looking forward to this weekend’s hurling action in his column this morning, writing that the top teams need the equivalent of a “shutdown corner” from the NFL if they’re going to be successful this year. In particular, this weekend, Tipperary need Cathal Barrett to tail Tony Kelly wherever he goes if they’re going to nullify the threat of the Clare man. “If I was Sheedy, I’d have been ringing Cathal Barrett last Sunday evening at 5.05pm. A very short call, one message. Kelly is yours. For two hours next weekend, if Kelly goes to Nancy Blakes in Limerick for a pint, you are there peeping over his shoulder going, ‘And the bacon fries for me, Tony,’” he writes. Meanwhile, in football, Enda McGinley tells Seán Moran just how much he is relishing the reawakening of sleeping giant Antrim.
Moving on to golf and Séamus Power continued his good form in Detroit last night by firing a round of 66 to get to six under par, three off the lead held by Davis Thompson. At the Irish Open in Mount Juliet, Colm Moriarty is the best of the Irish at four under par, four shots behind first round leader Lucas Herbert while Rory McIlroy admits he has work to do after a slow start which leaves him at level par and with a battle on his hands today to make the cut.
Finally to soccer and Stephen Kenny last night revealed that he came close to death on the way back from Ireland under-21s’ match against Sweden in 2019 when he collapsed in the airport. The Ireland manager said the recent incident with Christian Eriksen brought back memories of his scare which he had not spoken about before.