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Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Grand Slam the high point of great year
By Ger Lawton
There are no prizes for guessing what the highlight of the year from a sporting perspective was, for most people this year, Ireland winning the rugby Grand Slam for the first time since 1948.
We’d been getting closer and closer over the past decade or so and narrowly missed out a couple of times but thankfully it all came together this year under the baton of the maestro that is Declan Kidney.
Like most Irish sports teams and individuals they too didn’t make it easy for themselves or for us the fans and who will ever forget the closing moments of that amazing last game in Cardiff. O’Gara’s drop goal at the death and then that Stephen Jones penalty that seemed to hang in the air for about an hour before it finally dropped just short. Memorable scenes indeed. And of course later that day, Bernard Dunne defied the odds to be crowned world champion in Dublin to cap what must be one of the greatest ever days for Irish sport. Unfortunately Dunne’s reign as world champion was short lived but he will still always be known as a former champion of the world, nice ring to it don’t you think.
Staying on rugby, it was wonderful to see so many Irish players picked to travel with the Lions to South Africa, even if many of them never made down there or made it to the Test team because of injury and suspension. In the end it was a losing series for the Lions but with a bit of luck it could easily have gone their way. There was some bit of consolation in November when Ireland ended the year undefeated by beating the Boks in the mist in Croke Park.
And yes of course I’ll have to mention Leinster winning the Heineken Cup for the first time to cap a truly unforgettable year for Irish rugby.
HAPPY AS LOWRY
Without doubt one of my most abiding sporting memories of the year just gone, was Shane Lowry winning the Irish Open.
For any Irish man to win the Irish Open is a big deal, it was nearly 30 years on when Padraig Harrington succeeded John O’Leary as the last Irish man to do so, but to win it as an amateur was a remarkable achievement and of course, like Harrington in the Majors, he didn’t do it the easy way, eventually winning the play-off with Robert Rock at the third extra hole.
A fantastic achievement and I hope he can now go on and have a great professional career and follow in the illustrious footsteps of some great players who have represented this country in that sport. Another man looking certain to do that is Rory McIlroy. What a year it was for the 20 year old. In the top ten in two of the four majors and a narrowly beaten second in the Race to Dubai and now ninth in the World Rankings. What a talent and what a future ahead for him.
Staying on golf for a moment, without doubt one of my sporting highlights of 2009 was attending my first ever British Open at Turnberry this year.
Unfortunately I didn’t get to see Padraig Harrington make it three in a row, but it was still a memorable experience and one that I would recommend to any fan of the game. Of course it so very nearly was the biggest sporting story of the year as Tom Watson, just weeks short of his 60th birthday, came within a putt of landing his sixth Open Championship. The drama and the tension was fantastic and definitely one of the most gripping days of sport that I’ve ever witnessed.
THE HAND OF HENRY
Definitely one of the most bizarre and most talked about sporting moments of the year was Ireland’s defeat to France in the two legged World Cup playoff, when our hopes of making it to next summer’s finals in South Africa were dashed by the hand of Henry and then of course there was all the carryon that followed with Sepp Blatter and so on, mad stuff.
For me the biggest shambles of all was how the four ‘weaker’ countries allowed FIFA and Mr. Blatter to announce at the last minute that the play-offs would be seeded when this had never been the case before or it had never before been mentioned. Thankfully Slovenia upset the plan by knocking out Russia, even if the other three countries that FIFA wanted (France, Portugal and Greece) and got through. Shameful stuff.
All in all though it was a good year for Irish soccer. Ok, we mightn’t be the most attractive team in the world to watch but we are hard to beat and have improved immeasurably from the days of Stan.
MINOR GLORY
On the GAA front, the unquestioned highlight from a Waterford perspective was the county’s minors winning the Munster title for the first time since 1992 when defeating red-hot favourites, Tipp, in their own back yard of Semple Stadium. It was nearly a great Munster double, ala ’92, with the U-21s going down narrowly to eventual All-Ireland champions, Clare in Fraher Field.
For the seniors it was a mixed bag. They stumbled over Limerick, went down to Tipp in the Munster Final and then knocked out Galway before running the eventual four in a row champs, the Cats, very close in the semifinal.
I’m definitely no fan of moral victories but after what had happened in the All-Ireland final of 2008, it was essential for Waterford to get a crack at the Cats again as soon as possible and put up a good show. That they did this year and now the next time it’s win or nothing. They’ll have to get beaten sometime, so why not let it be Waterford.
Staying on a Waterford theme, one local man who won’t forget ’09 in a hurry is Cappagh jockey Tom Queally who won a host of group one victories on the flat in England as well as a brilliant win on Midday at the Breeders Cup.
Finally, I’d like to say a big well done to the management committee and all at Waterford United. For the last few years it’s been a big struggle to keep a League of Ireland team in this county and they’ve done a wonderful job. That was reflected on the field this year as Stephen Henderson and his team had a great season, with great cup runs and giving their tilt at promotion a right go. With so many clubs going to the wall it’s great to see a bunch of local men and women doing a great job to keep the club alive and doing it by the book. Let’s hope in 2010 the football people of Waterford will get behind the Blues more than ever and help them get back in the top flight of Irish football.......have a great sporting year in 2010.
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