by Here are your rugby afternoon headlines for Sunday, May 19.
Falcons chief responds to Hogg rumours
Newcastle Falcons rugby advisory director Steve Diamond has responded to reports that Stuart Hogg is in talks about a dramatic return to rugby with the club.
The Test midfielder retired from rugby with immediate effect last July ahead of the World Cup in France. Since his sudden retirement, the 31-year-old has been dogged by legal problems and negative headlines.
The Scotland try scorer faces trial in July after pleading not guilty to a domestic charge of acting in an abusive manner towards the mother of his four children. He also denied a charge of stalking.
In recent weeks, the three-time British and Irish Lions international also revealed in a statement that he remained in rehabilitation. RugbyPass reported that Hogg had held initial talks with Newcastle, but Diamond now has his own take on the matter.
Asked if Hogg was set to return to rugby with the Falcons, Diamond said there was “no truth whatsoever” to the reports.
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Ireland and the Lions die a great death
A tribute to Ireland and British and Irish Lion Tony O’Reilly, who has died aged 88.
O’Reilly died at St Vincent’s Hospital in Dublin on Saturday.
In a statement, the O’Reilly family said: “In the coming days, Tony O’Reilly’s unique and remarkable achievements in the fields of business and sport will be well-deserved tributes.
“As well as his extraordinary philanthropic vision which was best seen when Irish Funds was established at a dark time in the history of this island. But, to us, he was a much-loved dad and grandpa. a wonderful life and we were lucky enough to spend time with him in recent weeks as that wonderful life drew to a close.”
Born in Dublin in 1936, O’Reilly made his rugby international debut for Ireland in 1955 and soon became the youngest player to be selected for the Lions. The winger played in two Lions tours and still holds the record for most tries scored with 37. He also played 29 games for Ireland.
Taoiseach of Ireland Simon Harris paid tribute to O’Reilly, saying: “I am very sorry to learn of the death of Tony O’Reilly.
“Mr O’Reilly was a sports, business and media buff and left a lasting legacy in all three. He was a roving activist with a strong focus on international business.”
The late Queen Elizabeth II knighted O’Reilly in the 2001 New Year’s Honors “for long and distinguished service to Northern Ireland”.
In his business life he was a pioneer of the dairy brand Kerrygold, which is one of Ireland’s most famous global consumer brands.
He later became chairman of the food giant Heinz and in 1973 took control of Independent Newspapers, publisher of the Irish Independent, the Sunday Independent and the Evening Herald.
He was also known for his philanthropy, establishing The Ireland Funds, which gave money from US donors to reconciliation projects around the Irish border.
Exeter too emotional after the tragedy of the captain’s family
At PA Sports Team
Exeter’s director of rugby, Rob Baxter felt that his players may have been too emotional in the 40-22 win against Leicester which left them hoping for promotion to the Gallagher Premiership.
In truth, results elsewhere meant it was an academic result at Welford Road, although Exeter did not help themselves with an ill-disciplined and unstructured display.
Leicester, on the other hand, produced an impressive performance that ended a trying season on a high, with a red card for Jasper Wiese in his final game for the club the only negative.
Baxter said: “We went up here with a very emotional drive, we threw a lot of energy into the early part of the game, but did we really have cast iron direction and accuracy?
“We threw a lot of emotion into the game and things like that happened with him [the death of] Jack Yeandle’s dad this morning, and the players were aware of that, it meant a lot to them to try and put in a big performance on the pitch.
“I just said to them ‘I know you’re very interested in what’s happened, I know you’ve been really emotional about it, I know this is hurting you, but let’s do it sure we learn this lesson’.
“One of the best ways for me to describe our performance was that at one stage it was like we were 15 guys on the field all trying to win the game by themselves.”
Club boss pays tribute to retiring Lions star
Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall has paid tribute to Sean Maitland after the Scotland international announced his retirement at the end of the season.
The 2013 Lions tourer has become a huge hit with fans at the StoneX Stadium, having won three Premier League titles and two European trophies in his time there.
Speaking about his impact ahead of his final return to Sarries, McCall called him a “top-notch competitor”.
“We are lucky to have shared the last eight years with Seán. He was a great competitor on the field and a great teammate off here,” he said.
“Seán is loyal, humble, fun and in his own quiet way played a key role in driving the values we want. He is loved by all and will be greatly missed by us all.
“We would like to thank him for the great work he has done for the club and we wish him, Nava, Lucy, Lilly and Louis all the best for the future.”
