Contrasting fortunes for the four provinces as League of Ireland goes down to the wire

Well, that weekend was a touch on the busy side, as evidenced by the amount of reading there is to be done in today’s sports pages. Contrasting fortunes all ‘round, of course, not least for our provinces in the URC, Gerry Thornley rounding up successful outings for Leinster and Connacht, and days to forget for Munster and Ulster.
Leinster saw off the challenge of the Lions at the Aviva Stadium, but Leo Cullen was left a bit peeved that they didn’t pick up a bonus point. Connacht did just that in their 31-7 triumph over Dragons, but Ulster will forever wonder how they lost to Cardiff, having led 19-0. As for Munster – after their 41-24 defeat by Sharks, Graham Rowntree was just left relieved that “it’s not every week we are going to be playing against the Springboks world champions’ tight five”.
There was relief too among the Shamrock Rovers faithful after they scraped their way to a 1-0 win over already-relegated Dundalk, thereby sending the title race down to the final day. Also in soccer, we hear from Marissa Sheva ahead of tomorrow’s meeting with Georgia in Tallaght, while Ken Early looks back at the worst night of Kylian Mbappé’s career in Real Madrid’s 4-0 hammering by Barcelona.
In Gaelic games, the country was awash with county finals over the weekend, Denis Walsh at Páirc Uí Chaoimh to see Castlehaven’s footballers winning back-to-back titles for just the second time in their history. Dr Crokes claimed their 14th Kerry title, more than any other in the Kingdom, while Corofin remain Galway kingpins and Naas are still top dogs in Kildare. Glens, the reigning Ulster and All-Ireland champions, were dethroned, though, by Newbridge in the Derry final.
In hurling, there won’t be a cow milked in Thomastown for a month, Seán Moran at Nowlan Park to witness them beat defending champions O’Loughlin Gaels to win their first title since 1946. Doon’s cows will go unattended for a while too after they won their first Limerick title since their foundation a whole 136 years ago. And spare a thought for Glasnevin’s bovine ladies after Na Fianna retained their Dublin title with a 63rd-minute goal, Gordon Manning at Parnell Park to see them break Kilmacud Crokes’ hearts.
Hiko Tonosa’s heart was jam-packed with joy, though, after he broke the Irish record in the Dublin Marathon on Sunday, with Letterkenny AC’s Ann-Marie McGlynn retaining her national title.
And in his Tipping Point column, Denis Walsh looks at how “sports fanatics belong to the world’s biggest community of easy marks”, habitually being fleeced by exorbitant ticket prices. For the privilege of attending a single day of next year’s Ryder Cup in New York? That will set you back $750. No kiddin’.
TV Watch: It’s the first time since in or around 1876 that Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo haven’t been nominated for the Ballon d’Or, so we’ll have a shiny new name on the trophy today. Virgin Media Three have live coverage of the usually interminable ceremony from 7.45pm. And at 8.0pm, TG4 will bring you the GAA highlights from the weekend.