Taylor Takes Up Northern Ireland Coaching Role

 Maik Taylor has taken up the role as Northern Ireland’s goalkeeping coach for the remainder of the 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign.  The 41 year old, who is Northern Ireland’s second most capped goalkeeper, takes over the role from Tommy Wright, who stepped down from the role in June after being appointed St Johnstone manager.

 Taylor, who has played 88 times for Northern Ireland, recently completed his UEFA B Licence and UEFA A Licence in Belfast. He was delighted to take up his new role and said “I am thrilled to be given this opportunity to become involved with the squad. I always enjoyed playing for Northern Ireland and to now have the chance to come in and work with the goalkeepers for the remaining five games in the World Cup qualifying campaign is just fantastic”. However despite gaining his first coaching role Taylor has no intentions on giving up playing just yet. He added “I am actively looking to play for another season, however nothing has come about at the moment and getting the opportunity to become involved with the Northern Ireland squad is one I didn’t want to miss out on”.

 Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neil was also pleased with the appointment of Taylor. O’Neil told reporters “I am delighted that Maik has agreed to take on the role of goalkeeping coach for the senior squad for the remained of the World Cup qualifying campaign. He is a truly excellent professional and his experience will be invaluable in ensuring that our goalkeepers are well prepared and in the right frame of mind. Maik has been a great servant for Northern Ireland and I know he has the drive and initiative to really make a big contribution to the squad”.

Ireland in Pool B for 2015 Cricket World Cup

 The pool stage draw for the 2015 Cricket World Cup, which will be hosted in Australia and New Zealand, saw Ireland placed in Pool B. They will be joined in Pool B by defending champions India, who triumphed over Sri Lanka in the 2011 final, and India’s fierce rivals Pakistan, who won the 1992 World Cup, the last time the competition was hosted in Australia and New Zealand. Also confirmed in the group are South Africa, the West Indies and Zimbabwe. The final spot in the seven team group will be filled by a qualifier.

 Meanwhile Pool A features Ashes rivals England and Australia. They are joined by Australia’s co-hosts New Zealand, as well as Sri Lanka, who lost the 2011 final. There will also be two qualifiers in the group.

 Ireland will begin their campaign against the West Indies on 16^th February at the Saxton Oval in Nelson. Ireland will then travel across the Tasman Sea for a match against the qualifier at the Gabba on 25^th February, before heading to the Canberra for a match against South Africa on 3^rd March. After the match against the Proteas they will return to New Zealand for a match in Hobart against Zimbabwe on 7^th March. Three days later Ireland will face defending champions India in Hamilton. They will then conclude their pool stage with a match against Pakistan at the Adelaide Oval on 15^th March. The top four teams in each pool will advance to the quarter finals which take place between 18^th and 21^st March before the quarter final winners play the semi-finals on 24^th and 26^th March. The two teams who emerge victorious from the semi-finals will travel to Melbourne Cricket Ground for the final where the 2015 Cricket World Cup champions will be crowned.

Ireland’s Pool B Fixtures

Ireland v West Indies – 16^th February 2015 – Saxton Oval, Nelson, New Zealand

Ireland v Qualifier – 25^th February 2015 – The Gabba, Melbourne, Australia

Ireland v South Africa – 3^rd March 2015 – Manuka Oval, Canberra, Australia

Ireland v Zimbabwe – 7^th March 2015 – Bellerive Oval, Hobart, New Zealand

Ireland v India – 10^th March 2015 – Seddon Park, Hamilton, New Zealand

Ireland v Pakistan – 15^th March 2015 – Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, Australia

Hoey Holds On For Glory

 Northern Ireland’s Michael Hoey secured victory at the Russian Open following a two under par final round. The golfer from Belfast finished four shots clear of France’s Alexandre Kaleka and England’s Matthew Nixon to secure his fifth European Tour title.

  Hoey went into the final round with a five shot lead after shooting a seven under par 65 during the penultimate round at the Tseleevo Golf and Polo Club. However despite taking a large lead into the final round it was not all plain sailing for the Ulsterman who saw his lead cut to only two shots at one point during his final round. However Hoey held his nerve, achieving a birdie at the 17^th to effectively secure his first win on the European Tour since claiming the Hassan Trophy over a year ago.

Hoey was delighted with his victory and stated “I have absolutely loved the golf course this week.  It's pretty amazing to think that I have won five European Tour titles. It is a great feeling to win and every time you do it you just want more and more. It has given me a great boost. I am not the most consistent player in the world but when I get into these positions I usually do okay”. He also credited the importance of his putting, saying "the putting was the key for me. I have been working hard on that a lot recently and the improvement is really showing because I made a lot of birdies. That is the main difference at this level. You have to be able to make a lot of putts because the standard is so high these days that it usually comes down to who makes the most putts”. 

Tigers First Up For Ulster

 Ulster will start their 2013-14 Heineken Cup campaign with a home game against Leicester Tigers on Friday 11^th October. The match against the Aviva Premiership champions promises to be a tough start to a difficult group for Ulster, however they will be hoping for a similar result to the 41-7 thumping they gave their English opponents when the sides last met in Europe’s premier competition back during the 2011-12 competition. Eight days after playing the Tigers Ulster will travel to France to face last season’s quarter finalists Montpellier. The match at the Stade Yves-du-Manoir will be the first time the two sides have met in the Heineken Cup.

 Rounds three and four see Ulster face Italian and fellow Rabo-Direct Pro 12 side Treviso in back to back matches. The first of these will be on Saturday 7^th December at Ravenhill before the Ulstermen travel to Italy for the reverse fixture a week later.  

 The final two rounds of fixtures will see Ulster welcome Montpellier to Belfast on the weekend of 10/11/12 January, a match which will see former Ulster wing Timoci Nagusa return to Ravenhill. Ulster will then conclude their pool stage with a visit to Welford Road to face Leicester Tigers, a match which could potentially prove crucially to the outcome of the pool.

Fixtures

Friday 11th October 20:00 – Ulster Rugby v Leicester Tigers

Saturday 19th October 16:40 – Montpellier Herault Rugby v Ulster Rugby

Saturday 7th December 18:00 – Ulster Rugby v Benetton Treviso

Saturday 14th December 14:35 – Benetton Treviso v Ulster Rugby

10/11/12 January 2014 – Ulster Rugby v Montpellier Herault Rugby

17/18/19 January 2014 – Leicester Tigers v Ulster Rugby

Lafferty's Italian Job

 Northern Ireland striker Kyle Lafferty has moved to Italy after joining Serie B side Palermo. Lafferty, who has scored 9 international goals, leaves Swiss side FC Sion to head to Sicily. The Enniskillen born forward will team up with new Palermo manager Gennaro Gattuso, who he worked with previously in Switzerland.

 Lafferty only moved to Switzerland a year ago after he left Rangers following the financial turmoil at Ibrox. During his season in Switzerland he scored 8 goals, helping the club to 6^th place in the league and a cup semi-final.  Previously Lafferty had scored 31 goals during his four year spell in Scotland.

 Lafferty told the press that he was pleased to move to Italy and had been close to joining Palermo during the January transfer window. He said “I'm delighted to be here. Palermo tried to sign me in January but unfortunately we couldn't close the deal. Now I can't wait to get started. When I was younger I watched a lot of Italian football and I know there's a very passionate fan base here at Palermo”. He also credited his new manager saying "Obviously it was Gattuso who played a big part in persuading me to move to Palermo, he spoke to me about a few things where they want to be and hopefully I can go over there and score a few goals and help them win the league and put them back into Serie A. He has been brilliant for myself, he was one of the best players in the world and just his attitude in training and off the pitch he always wants to win. When he wanted me sign it was definitely a yes from me and I can't wait to get started and work under him".

McDowell Triumphs at Open de France

 Graeme McDowell won the Open de France by four shots ahead of South African Richard Sterne. The Portrush born golfer shot at final round of 67 to claim the title at Le Golf National, the host venue for the 2018 Ryder Cup.

 McDowell went into the final round as joint overnight leader having been tied with Sterne on 5 under par. Much of the round was a direct battle between the two but McDowell secured the victory after he pulled from the South African who struggled on the closing holes.  

 McDowell was pleased with the win, particularly due to his previous form which has seen him miss his last three cuts, including the US Open. "It's very special after the last couple of months. It's been a bit of a battle. It's been a funny year. My game has not felt far away most weeks but I have missed a lot more cuts than normal and missing cuts hurts. It certainly motivated me a lot the last few weeks. The US Open was a tough one to take and missing the cut in Ireland last week, it made me more hungry to want to be in positions like I was this afternoon”.

Lions Make History

 The Lions made history in Sydney after securing their first series win in 16 years. For the first time since the 1997 tour of South Africa the Lions achieved test series victory after an emphatic 41-16 win over Australia.

 Ulster wing Tommy Bowe started for the Lions, who got off to the perfect start with prop Alex Corbisiero scoring a try in the second minute. The Lions continued their early dominance with the scrum putting Australia under severe pressure and Leigh Halfpenny converting the penalties to give the Lions a 19-3 lead. However Australia responded with James O’Connor touching down on the stroke of half time. The conversion from Christian Lealiifano meant at half time the score was 19-10 to the Lions.

 The Lions were unable to repeat their fast start as it was Australia who started the better after the interval. Six points in the first six minutes of the second half brought Australia to within three points of the Lions however tries from Jonathon Sexton and George North put the tourists back in control and on the verge of their first series victory this century. Then Jamie Roberts crashed over to seal the victory for the Lions. This meant that when the final whistle went it was the men in red who celebrated their first series victory in 16 years.

Bowe Keeps Place For Lions Decider

 

 Ulster winger Tommy Bowe has kept his place on the wing for the Lions final test match despite Warren Gatland making a number of changes as the Lions bid to win their first test series since 1997. Bowe, who recovered from injury to play in the second test defeat, will make his fifth Lions appearance in Sydney.

 Gatland made a number of changes after defeat in the second test, the most notable of which saw Brian O’Driscoll dropped from the squad. The legendary centre was denied was denied the chance to end his Lions career in the perfect way. He was replaced by Jamie Roberts, who recovered from injury, to join his Welsh centre partner Jonathon Davies, who shifts to outside centre. O’Driscoll was expected to captain the side in the absence of tour captain Sam Warburton but his omission sees Welsh second row Alun Wyn Jones take the role. Alex Corbisiero also recovered from injury to take his spot in the front row, replacing Mako Vunipola. Alongside Corbisiero at hooker Richard Hibbard comes in for Tom Youngs, who can count himself as unlucky after performing well in the first two tests. The back row also experiences a number of changes with Sean O’Brien replacing the injured captain Sam Warburton on the openside while Toby Faletau replaces Jamie Heaslip at Number 8. Meanwhile behind the scrum Mike Phillips returns after missing the second test replacing Ben Youngs.

Full Team: 15 Leigh Halfpenny. 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 George North, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Mike Phillips, 1 Alex Corbisiero, 2 Richard Hibbard, 3 Adam Jones, 4 Alun-Wyn Jones (capt), 5 Geoff Parling, 6 Dan Lydiate, 7 Sean O'Brien, 8 Toby Faletau
Replacements: 16 Mako Vunipola, 17 Tom Youngs, 18 Dan Cole, 19 Richie Gray, 20 Justin Tipuric, 21 Conor Murray, 22 Owen Farrell, 23 Manu Tuilagi