Conor McKenna eyes Grand Final prize as Munster and Connact hit the road in URC

Brian Murtagh, the chairman of Tyrone GAA club Eglish St Patrick’s, can remember Conor McKenna “sauntering through the gates of the ground on match days with the easy air of a man out for an unhurried ramble”. He is, he tells Gordon Manning, “one of the most easy going lads you’d ever meet”. Whether he’ll be that relaxed in Melbourne on Saturday remains to be seen. He will, after all, have the small matter of an AFL Grand Final to take on, McKenna aiming to become just the second Irish man, after Kerry’s Tadhg Kennelly, to win both an All-Ireland title and an AFL Premiership. Gordon takes us through his journey from Tyrone to the Brisbane Lions who face Sydney Swans at the MCG in Melbourne.
In rugby, the provinces are limbering up for their second round of URC matches, Connacht preparing for the visit of recently-crowned Currie Cup champions the Sharks on Saturday. With major work being done on their Dexcom Stadium, there will be a reduced capacity for now, but coach Pete Wilkins tells Gerry Thornley that he has no worries about the atmosphere being diluted.
After their narrow 35-33 victory over Connacht at Thomond Park at the weekend, after which they were left with “a hotchpotch of emotions – relief, pride, disappointment and delight”, Munster are off to Italy to take on Zebre, John O’Sullivan talking to forwards coach Andi Kyriacou about their preparations for the game.
Ulster have a somewhat longer commute – they’re in South Africa for rounds two and three of the URC, starting with the Lions in Johannesburg on Saturday and the Pretoria-based Bulls seven days later. Michael Sadlier brings news that John Cooney is back in action, returning to full training this week after having no game time so far due to an injury niggle.
In horse racing, Brian O’Connor previews today’s Kerry National at Listowel where teenage jockey Danny Gilligan will hope to maintain his knack for winning big handicaps. He’s on board Gordon Elliott’s Duffle Coat in the €200,000 feature. And Brian looks ahead to the decidedly more lucrative pair of races at the Curragh on Saturday, between them the Goffs Million and the Goffs 500 offering €1.5 million in prize money.
TV Watch: Having already won gold in the time trial at the World Championships in Zurich, Katie-George Dunlevy and Linda Kelly are back in their saddles for today’s road race, as are Josephine Healion and Eve McCrystal – Eurosport’s coverage (12.50-5.0) should pick up the tail-end of the 84.7km challenge. TG4 continues its coverage of the Listowel races (1.50-6.0), with the Kerry National setting off at 4.20. Arsenal v Bolton (7.45) and Liverpool v West Ham (8.0) are Sky Sports’ League Cup offerings this evening, while Premier Sports 1 and TNT Sports 1 have live coverage of Manchester United’s Europa League meeting with FC Twente (8.0).