Category News

Rugby World Cup

Leinster (7) 14

Kelleher and Penny Cons: Prendergast 2

Munster (21) 31

Fuelled by returning captain Tadhg Beirne’s superb performance, Munster made it four wins from four in the Rugby World Cup with a stirring and deserved win over rivals Leinster at Croke Park.

Beirne led Munster’s ferocious defensive display in his first game since being named the series’ British and Irish Lions player of the series, which was watched by 51, 859 spectators at Croke Park.

After Ronan Kelleher’s early try was wiped out by Brian Gleeson, Tom Farrell, and Ethan Coughlan, Munster took the lead at half-time with a 21-7 lead.

After Ciaran Frawley was found to have illegally stopped Farrell at the tryline, earning the Leinster back a yellow card, the visitors were awarded the bonus-point score.

Leinster fell to the Stormers and Bulls in their third game of the season, falling to the Stormers and Bulls, and Scott Penny added a late try in the closing moments.

As the New Zealand game in Chicago approaches, Munster’s blue scrumcap-wearing flanker Beirne will have most pleased national team head coach Andy Farrell. Beirne will have impressed the most in a game that was billed as the intriguing first match-up between Ireland fly-half contenders Jack Crowley and Sam Prendergast.

Crowley undoubtedly contributed to Munster’s victory. After Kelleher’s opening try for Leinster, Crowley’s deft crossfield kick to Thaakir Abrahams earned Gleeson to score the penalty for Munster.

Without Craig Casey, Crowley, who was not his usual half-back partner, then put Farrell under the posts with a delightful chip.

When Leinster were shaken by a strong Munster response, the visitors took advantage when scrum-half Ethan Coughlan ran nearly the entire field to score and give his team a 21-4 lead at the break.

The second half was a close fight despite the low scoring, as Beirne’s defiant Munster defense prevented the home side from scoring any points for the home side for sustained periods of Leinster possession.

When Frawley was penalized after Farrell was held up short, Munster erupted after absorbing a remarkable amount of Leinster pressure.

Before Leinster had the final say when Penny crossed the stage, Munster’s Gavin Coombes was sin-binned in the final few plays.

The iconic Gaelic games venue’s players roared back after they defeated Scarlets, Cardiff, and Edinburgh in a heartfelt victory over their closest rivals, but it did not dampen their celebrations.

D Sheehan, A Porter, T Clarkson, B Deeny, S Penny, F Gunne, C Frawley, J O’Brien, and D Sheehan.

Sin-bin: Frawley (77)

S. Daly, A. Smith, T. Farrell, T. Kelly, T. Abrahams, J. Crowley, J. Coughlan, M. Milne, D. Barron, J. Ryan, E. Edogbo, F. Wycherley, T. Beirne (capt), J. O’Donoghue, and B. Gleeson are present.

Replacements: L. Barron, J. Loughman, R. Foxe, J. Kleyn, G. Coombes, P. Patterson, J. J. Hanrahan, and A. Nankivell.

Sin-bin: Coombes (80)

Rugby World Cup

Leinster (7) 14

Kelleher and Penny Cons: Prendergast 2

Munster (21) 31

Fuelled by returning captain Tadhg Beirne’s superb performance, Munster made it four wins from four in the Rugby World Cup with a stirring and deserved win over rivals Leinster.

Beirne led Munster’s ferocious defensive display in his first game since being named the series’ British and Irish Lions player of the series, which was watched by 51, 859 spectators at Croke Park.

After Ronan Kelleher’s early try was wiped out by Brian Gleeson, Tom Farrell, and Ethan Coughlan, Munster took the lead at half-time with a 21-7 lead.

After Ciaran Frawley was found to have illegally stopped Farrell at the tryline, earning the Leinster back a yellow card, the visitors were awarded the bonus-point score.

Leinster fell to the Stormers and Bulls in their third game of the season, falling to the Stormers and Bulls, and Scott Penny added a late try in the closing moments.

As the New Zealand game in Chicago approaches, Munster’s blue scrumcap-wearing flanker Beirne will have most pleased national team head coach Andy Farrell. Beirne will have impressed the most in a game that was billed as the intriguing first match-up between Ireland fly-half contenders Jack Crowley and Sam Prendergast.

Crowley undoubtedly contributed to Munster’s victory. After Kelleher’s opening try for Leinster, Crowley’s deft crossfield kick to Thaakir Abrahams earned Gleeson to score the penalty for Munster.

Without Craig Casey, Crowley, who was not his usual half-back partner, then put Farrell under the posts with a delightful chip. Crowley also made 18 tackles off the tee, which helped his team defend well.

When Leinster were shaken by a strong Munster response, the visitors took advantage when scrum-half Ethan Coughlan ran nearly the entire field to score and give his team a 21-4 lead at the break.

The second half was a close fight despite the low scoring, as Beirne’s defiant Munster defense prevented the home side from scoring any points for the home side for sustained periods of Leinster possession.

When Frawley was penalized after Farrell was held up short, Munster erupted after absorbing a remarkable amount of Leinster pressure.

Before Leinster had the final say when Penny crossed the stage, Munster’s Gavin Coombes was sin-binned in the final few plays.

The iconic Gaelic games venue’s players roared back after they defeated Scarlets, Cardiff, and Edinburgh in a heartfelt victory over their closest rivals, but it did not dampen their celebrations.

D Sheehan, A Porter, T Clarkson, B Deeny, S Penny, F Gunne, C Frawley, J O’Brien, and D Sheehan.

Sin-bin: Frawley (77)

S. Daly, A. Smith, T. Farrell, T. Kelly, T. Abrahams, J. Crowley, J. Coughlan, M. Milne, D. Barron, J. Ryan, E. Edogbo, F. Wycherley, T. Beirne (capt), J. O’Donoghue, and B. Gleeson are present.

Replacements: L. Barron, J. Loughman, R. Foxe, J. Kleyn, G. Coombes, P. Patterson, J. J. Hanrahan, and A. Nankivell.

Sin-bin: Coombes (80)

Another Erling Haaland masterclass is on the horizon.

Only three Premier League players have made double figures in their eighth appearance of the season.

Erling Haaland in 2022-23

Erling Haaland in 2024-25

Erling Haaland in 2025-26

Manchester City placed second in the Premier League on Saturday thanks to the 25-year-old’s relentless double against Everton, which brings his total to 11 league goals in just eight games so far this season.

After failing to score an effort in the first half, Haaland came alive after the break by heading in from Nico O’Reilly’s cross and getting the conversion through Savinho’s cutback.

When asked what the topic of the conversation was, Toffees manager David Moyes responded, “I wish he had been somewhere else! ” When asked what the conversation was about, the Scot replied, “I wish he had been somewhere else! The majority of managers will have similar thoughts.

He continued, “I thought we did a really good job in general. How then can that be said? He added two goals. We didn’t give him too many opportunities, so the second one was a little scruffy.

I give our goalkeeper a lot of credit later in the game for how he defended Haaland one-versus-one because we had opened up in search of a goal.

Sergio Aguero has scored a lot of goals with his head, but Erling’s stature is incredible. City manager Pep Guardiola also praised his record-breaking striker.

“I’m really pleased that we found him much more than the first half, not just because of the incredible threat to the opponent. That is extremely crucial because you must use these players when using them.

Haaland’s numbers this season are astounding, but it’s difficult to find new things to say about him and his goalscoring prowess at times.

He has appeared in 13 club and country games, helping his nation, which is on the verge of reaching the tournament next year, score 23 goals, including eight for Norway in the World Cup qualifying period.

By mid-October, Haaland had scored 14 goals for City in the Champions League and the league, surpassing only his previous best performance against Tottenham in August.

To surpass Dixie Dean’s record 63 goals in all competitions from almost a century ago, which is an all-time high for an English top-flight player, he will need to keep scoring at this rate.

In his first season, he nearly broke that record, scoring 52 goals and assisting City to a treble of trophies before scoring 38 and 34 in the previous two campaigns.

Former Chelsea winger Pat Nevin remarked on BBC Radio 5 Live that “the man is an absolute phenomenon.”

He appeared to be fairly disinterested in the game and was “walking around.” We had hardly ever mentioned his name. You don’t believe the ball will land in the goal, even though it has twice landed it.

When you watch Haaland at his best, you just see him playing with kids, which is what makes him so appealing. Hasn’t he recovered that, hasn’t he? He appears incredible, moves very quickly, and appears to be a man of extraordinary strength. He is returning to life.

Glenn Murray, a former Premier League striker, stated on Final Score: “The scary thing is that he has become more complete this season.

City will be wary of relying too heavily on their prolific striker, who has already scored 13 of their 17 league goals so far this year.

The others who managed to score one goal each time are Rayan Cherki, Matheus Nunes, Tijjani Reijnders, and Phil Foden.

Due to injuries to other key players like Rodri, Haaland missed a significant portion of the previous season due to an ankle issue.

Guardiola now requests that others step up and assist with the task of distributing goals.

Guardiola expressed disappointment that he did not score four or five on the BBC Match of the Day. We need other players [to score], so we need other players, jokes aside, but we’re really pleased. “Wingers, attacking midfielders.

He continued, “They have to make a step up and score goals,” referring to missed opportunities by other players. We play to give quality and passing to Erling, but other players must step up. They must score in order to win. They must make themselves a priority at this level.

They must score, according to Savinho, Jeremy, and Tijjani, “Reijnders.” They must carry out their duties otherwise we won’t be able to accomplish our goals.

Before City beat Fulham, Guardiola said his team will “sleep in the Champions League position this weekend so it is good” before the club briefly climbed to the top.