“The most astonishing quarter-hour in Irish football history,” says Ken Early of the closing stages of Sunday’s game in Budapest, when the Republic of Ireland’s astounding victory kept their World Cup qualifying hopes alive. “These are the moments you remember for the rest of your life,” said Heimir Hallgrímsson of the Troy Parrott-inspired win, Gavin Cummiskey tasked with summing up a game that was, frankly, un-summable-up-able - one that might well have Pope Leo XIV certifying it as a miracle.
There are zero prizes for guessing who got full marks in Gordon Manning’s player ratings, although we’re dropping a bit of a hint here by quoting Parrott: “This is why we love football because things like this can happen.”
In his ‘five things’ we learnt from the campaign, Gordon picks out the sheer “desire and belief” the players demonstrated in Budapest, the upshot that the FAI won’t, after all, have to go looking for yet another new manager. Hallgrímsson had, writes Denis Walsh, been “pedalling towards the end of his contract with two flat tyres and the chain off”. Now? A new deal, surely?
Next? The play-offs, the draw for which takes place next Thursday. David Gorman takes you through Ireland’s possible opponents.
Five things we learned from Ireland’s World Cup qualification campaign
Paddy McCarthy delighted after vindicating Farrell’s decision to select him against Australia
‘She told me how proud he would have been’ - Rory McIlroy reveals emotional meeting with Seve Ballesteros’s widow
‘The worst team in Wallabies history’: Australian media show displeasure at Ireland defeat
It was a mighty fine evening too on Saturday for our rugby lads, their 46-19 win over Australia “exactly what was promised and hoped for”, as Gerry Thornley puts it in his match report. “As get-right games go, there wasn’t a lot about this one that could have gone better,” writes Malachy Clerkin, Ireland finally playing “like the team they believe they are”, says Johnny Watterson.
Johnny handed out two nines in his player ratings - hint: one of the recipients is rugby’s hat-trick-hero version of Parrott. Mack Hansen, of course. His “reimagination as a fullback for Ireland was an unadulterated triumph,” writes John O’Sullivan, who heard a chuffed Andy Farrell reveal that “my first thoughts were, ‘you better play well in those two different coloured boots’”.
Paddy McCarthy was a bit on the happy side himself too, Gerry hearing from him after a game in which “he utterly vindicated the faith placed in him by Andy Farrell”. And in his ‘five things’ we learnt, John notes that the outhalf debate might not be settled just yet - both Sam Prendergast and Jack Crowley played well.
In Gaelic games, it was another busy weekend on the club front, Éire Óg and Ballygunner’s hurlers setting up a Munster final meeting, while in Ulster, holders Slaughtneil continue to successfully defend their crown. In football, Maigh Cuilinn are through to the Connacht final, where they will meet St Brigid’s, Paul Keane rounding up the rest of the action.
And in golf, Philip Reid reports on Rory McIlroy sealing a seventh Race to Dubai title, his fourth in succession, despite losing to Matt Fitzpatrick in the playoff at the DP World Tour Championship. That triumph moved him one ahead of the late Seve Ballesteros, McIlroy having an emotional meeting with the Spaniard’s widow Carmen ahead of his final round.
TV Watch: Aside from TG4’s highlights from the GAA club weekend (8pm), there’s not much to recommend by way of telly viewing today - the World Cup qualifier between Northern Ireland and Luxembourg (Virgin Media Two and BBC2, 7.45pm) is effectively a dead rubber - Norn Iron have already booked their slot in the play-offs. The best option would be to replay Ireland’s winner in Budapest on a loop.
