The Longshot: Plenty of reasons to visit Paris with no quarter given

WELL there we have it. Everything was motoring along nicely at the World Cup and what do Aer Lingus do but put the kibosh on the whole thing.

“A temporary Cork-to-Paris route will operate until October 30, and is aimed at providing rugby supporters from the Munster area easier access to the games,” it announced this week.

October 30 being the Monday after the World Cup final is held in the French capital. Sure, every match that Ireland might play between now and the end of next month would take place at the Stade de France in the northern suburbs of the city.

But Scottish boss Gregor Townsend wasn’t alone in pointing out that we might be getting ahead of ourselves.

Tommy Bowe on the BBC didn’t help things by discussing an Ireland-New Zealand quarter-final in the immediate aftermath of the South Africa win last Saturday.

We are ahead of the Tartans in head-to-head history, 69-66, and this is skewed by us not getting our act together and winning only five of the first 30 fixtures before 1907.

We have won all bar two of the past 14 in the past decade. And indeed, we hammered them in Japan four years ago. And let’s just state it here: We really should win the final pool game, when you compare the starting XVs and the squads.

But despite the hoopla that followed last week’s win (that came mostly thanks to the Springboks not having someone who could bisect the posts), a defeat tomorrow week would probably mean a short flight home for Andy Farrell’s side.

If we get two losing bonus points (stay within seven points of the Scots and score four tries) we will still go through top and face the All Blacks in the quarters.

Lose with a bonus point for either staying within seven or scoring four tries and if Scotland get a bonus point for four tries then we will be out if South Africa have a better points difference (they need to beat Tonga by 30+). How’d you like those plums?

There are, of course, other reasons to travel to the city of lights and love, other than sporting occasions, as my wife keeps trying to explain to me. But if you do plan excursions around such events, there is a reason to head there on this weekend off for the boys in green.

The Prix de L’Arc de Triomphe is being held in Longchamps on Sunday. Double Derby winner and Champions Stakes champ Auguste Rodin is giving the last big flat race in Europe a swerve and Aidan O’Brien says November’s Breeders’ Cup in California is likely to be his final outing now.

Alpinista was first past the post last year, but she will not be back to defend her crown after being retired to stud.

French star Ace Impact is the 5/2 favourite as the home side look for their first winner since 2020, however a three-year-old has not landed the spoils since Enable in 2017.

Big bucks set to roll in for Croke Park turf accountants

CROKE PARK has announced it is willing to sell some of its specially prepared turf to clubs across the country. Not that you would want to kit out your full pitch with it as four rolls of the stuff costs over €2,000.

At that price you nearly wouldn’t be surprised if you heard it was being smuggled in on bulk cargo vessels from South America.

Rolls measure 1.25m x 7m with a depth of 45mm and four of them are said to be enough to cover a goalmouth. But isn’t the disappearance of an ever-expanding and deepening muddy realm patrolled by the goalie already a major loss to the club game? Has anyone even consulted the custodians on their opinion about renovations to their homestead?

Anyway, the whole thing reminds me of when an old flame purchased me a square foot of land in Roscommon many birthdays ago. It was one of those ‘Groupon’ purchases that were popular circa 2010. I still have the certificate of ownership somewhere, but have never visited my sod.

“Own land in the beautiful, timeless Irish countryside and receive stunning land ownership documents and photographs. This is the perfect gift for those who have dreamed of visiting or owning land in Ireland, perhaps from historical family connections, or simply a love of the rich natural and cultural diversity of the Emerald Isle.” I explained to my benefactor (who wasn’t Irish) the history of absentee landlordism, that I would have preferred booze or socks, and that this gift would probably have been more suitable for a member of the American diaspora, who didn’t already own a house on this island, which she took as me being ungrateful.

I won’t say I wasn’t impressed by the high-quality parchment paper the Personalised Certificate of Ownership was printed on or the gold foil detailing on a faint shamrock background, but I also flat out refused to get it framed, and although we didn’t break up because of this incident, the timing was fairly adjacent.

Stars, the most powerful source of energy in a solar system, could have been named after me for a similar outlay to the same company and she fobbed me off on what, a parcel of dirt, possibly dust? In Roscommon.

I did contact the company to see if I could use the parcel of land as a burial plot (I’d have to be buried feet first because there wouldn’t be enough room in a square foot to plant a coffin horizontally.) but didn’t get a reply. A strip of turf from GAA headquarters might be a suitable covering for a burial plot for stalwarts of the game. I wouldn’t count myself as among that number as my involvement at grassroots is limited to grumbling about having to pay €5 to attend a Girls’ U12 ‘E’ final this Saturday.

I’ve already told my nieces and nephews that if I have to get soaked on sidelines watching them run around aimlessly, they will some day, many years from now I hope, have to scatter my remains off cliffs in Kerry, Clare, Galway and Donegal. I have yet to tell them I don’t want to be cremated. But one of them better get it done if they want to inherit a square metre of Connacht.

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THE Ryder Cup got underway in Italy in the early hours of this morning so any tips offered here would be a bit moot.

But in-play betting is worth considering, as last week the European ladies’ odds lengthened considerably following a 4-0 whitewash in the Friday morning foursomes.

Europe actually entered the fray today as even money favourites ahead of 11/10 for the visitors, which is pretty amazing considering they were as long as 2/1 before Luke Donald named his team a few weeks back.

Shane Lowry is 28/1 to put up the winning half- or full-point come Sunday and considering he is more likely to be further down the schedule than some of the higher players in the rankings that might not be too bad a shout.

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LIVERPOOL and Spurs have had better starts to their season than their fans probably hoped for, and their battling-from-behind qualities suggest they are made of sterner stuff than last season at least.

They will meet in tomorrow’s late encounter at the Tottenham Stadium (can’t they just call it White Hart Lane already?) and it could prove to be a bit of a goal fest.

The home side are 2/1 outsiders, but both teams to score is as short as 4/11. Diego Jota scored an injury-time winner in the 4-3 game at Anfield the last time they met.

A 3-2 win for Spurs does seem rather short at 20/1 this time.

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THERE will be Irish interest in the AFL Grand Final again in the early hours of tomorrow morning.

Zac Tuohy and Mark O’Connor became the first former GAA players since Tadhg Kennelly to win a medal Down Under last year with Geelong, and now Conor McKenna is hoping to have one hung around his neck.

If his Brisbane Lions (11/10) overcome Collingwood (4/5) he will also join the Listowel man in winning an All-Ireland as well as an AFL title (albeit the Tyrone man got his Celtic Cross first, whereas Kennelly returned to win with Kerry in 2009).

The Lions mounted an incredible comeback in their second preliminary final against Carlton. Down by 30 points early in the game, they roared back to life and that perseverance could see them secure their first final victory since 2004.

The Bet

THOSE backing the outsiders might have prospered in 2011 (20/1), 2012 (33/1), 2019 (14/1) and 2021 (80/1), and each-way betting can come into play in over the 12 furlongs. Japan have never won the Arc, but in five-year-old Through Seven Seas they have a contender with name that suggeststhe forecast rain might not be much or an obstacle.