How will Ireland do in the 2019 Rugby World Cup?

Ireland finished third in this year’s Six Nations, however, turned things around in the Rugby
World Cup warm-ups by beating Wales twice to claim the number 1 ranking in the World
Rugby rankings. They have an impressive group of players and will be desperate to go
further than the quarter-finals which is their best ever result at a Rugby World Cup.

In their opening game, Ireland beat second seed Scotland 27-3 in a dominant performance.
Because of this result, Ireland should top their group barring any upset in their upcoming
games. Next up, Ireland will play against hosts Japan before going on to play Russia and
finally Samoa before the group stages end. Since these games are so close together, Ireland
will need to rotate the squad and keep players fresh, otherwise, they could be looking at an
upset.

Japan started their campaign off strong with a win against Russia with winger Kotaro
Matsushima helping himself to three tries. Russia are yet to win a match so far in this World
Cup after losing to both Japan and Samoa, therefore, Ireland will fancy their chances against
the Russians and could decide to rest some players.

If Ireland make it to the knockout stages, they will have to play either one of New Zealand or
South Africa in the quarter-finals. If Ireland top Group A, they’ll play the runner up in Group B
and since New Zealand beat South Africa, this will likely be South Africa. Both of these
teams will require a monumental performance to take any result away, but Joe Schmidt will
fancy his chances against the two southern hemisphere sides.

After the quarter-finals, Ireland could face any one of Australia, Wales or England in the
semi-finals depending on results. If they then beat one of those teams, they would make the
world cup final and could play anyone, but it’ll definitely be an incredibly tough match. If
Ireland are to win the world cup however, they must beat the best teams and a tough
quarter-final opponent will be one small step in achieving that goal

Liverpool vs Newcastle United

After winning four from four, Liverpool are in a pretty good place as a club. They aren’t performing to their elite standard, and the loss of Alisson Becker has had a big impact on their defensive style. However, they have a game against Newcastle United coming up that should pose an interesting challenge. Steve Bruce’s Toon have already been to Spurs and win – could they be the team to break a very, very long unbeaten record at Anfield for the Reds?

Liverpool News

The Reds look set to continue their usual midfield and attacking combination. The only question is who will partner Virgil van Dijk. The increasingly consistent form of Joel Matip, though, should see him come back into the starting line-up. This is interesting, though, as for some time it was expected that it would be Joe Gomez, not Matip, who would play the leading partnership role alongside van Dijk.

However, the attack and the full-backs more or less choose themselves. In midfield, we should see Georginio Wijnaldum – fresh from a fantastic pair of performances for the Netherlands – continue alongside Fabinho and Jordan Henderson.

Newcastle United News

The Toon will likely be going with a contain formation, with the chance of them playing a 5-4-1 again – as they did at Spus – somewhat likely. In midfield, the combative duo of Sean Longstaff and Isaac Hayden should likely continue, while up front they’ll have the aggressive Joelinton. Last time out, Liverpool struggled a little against the combative nature of Ashley Barnes up front; Joelinton will likely try and play a similar role here.

Verdict

Liverpool win. The Merseyside outfit are in good form and while they are conceding goals and chances, they are scoring plenty. We should see them keep the ball a bit better here, which, given Newcastle are likely to sit in and try to soak-up pressure, could mean that Liverpool simply grind them down.

Arsenal vs Spurs

With one of the biggest games in the English football calendar coming up, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur will do battle to be the ruler of North London. The two biggest clubs in the region, this high-intensity derby feels even more important. Having enjoyed lording it over their city rivals for a few years now, Spurs look as weak as they ever have under Mauricio Pochettino. Can Unai Emery put them to the sword and really settle in at Arsenal?

Arsenal News

The Gunners are without a host of important players, including Hector Bellerin, Kieran Tierney, and Mesut Ozil. This should mean that we could see them line up in a standard 4-2-3-1, with the diamond experiment tried out last week at Anfield not likely to be revisited here.

Alexandre Lacazette should return up-front, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Nicola Pepe in the wide areas. There’s lots to be excited about for Arsenal, but a struggling back-line – especially on the left-hand side – leaves plenty to worry about should they get too gung-ho.

Tottenham Hotspur News

Spurs will probably line up in a similar formation, caused in part by their interesting list of injuries. Juan Foyth and Ryan Sessegnon are both out, while Dele Alli, Kyle Walker-Peters, and Tanguy Ndombele are all likely to miss out.

With Jan Vertonghen and Christian Eriksen both fit – though their futures uncertain – we could see both come into the team if they are still at Spurs come the weekend. With transfer rumours floating around about both players, there’s no guarantee.

Verdict

A solid score draw. Both sides are quite porous at the back, but the return to form of some of their attacking talent on both sides could see a high-octane game. We can see both teams scoring a couple, though calling an outright winner is tough when both teams are so plagued by uncertainty and inconsistency in big games.

Whistlestop Tour of Extreme(ly Odd) Sports

If you're like me, you've got a few sports or sporting events that you're mad about and others that you're more of an armchair fan of. For me, I'd certainly be disappointed if I missed a high profile boxing bout, a World Cup match, or say the 100m final in the Olympics. Sporting moments that you can't watch after the event and have to appreciate the highs and lows of live. Some people though, they have a very wayward and off kilter way of viewing sports, and it seems like the more niche something is, the more they can't take their eyes off it. I bring you to, a summary of strange sports and events:

Is it even a sport?

I like a night out at the Casino as much as the next man and am not shy of splashing the cash in either a physical or internet casino. The energised atmosphere and removal of anything that even remotely indicates what the time is, so that you get lost in the games. The thrill of doubling your money on poker perhaps or slots. It's certainly a fun experience. Even watching others play can be entertaining  as everyone has their style, such as the crazy old ladies scattering chips across countless roulette numbers, the person darting here and there, seemingly betting on 20 things at the same time. Typical casino characters!

And of course nowadays we're never far away from a casino online usa, uk or around the world. It's the click of a button away. All of that is lost though if you 'watch' those late night Casino TV channels. As in not even take part in the live roulette game on offer but actually, just watch it live, like a spectator sport. I knew someone that did this, and it took me about half an hour to even understand what they were doing. They don't play along, they just watch the croupier spin a ball and see which number the ball lands in. Very strange and voyeuristic with no skin in the game! What an oddball!

Thumb Favourites

MMA is getting more and more popular year on year. UFC has gone from relative obscurity to mainstream, with some especially younger fans preferring it to boxing. PPV events draw in huge numbers from fans all around the world. For some though, the latest Connor McGregor fight is of little interest, because they much prefer the spectre of.... Thumb Wrestling. A sport you can imagine someone taking up in the midst of a nervous breakdown, in Thumb Wrestling participants place their hands within a 'Thumb Ring', say  “1,2,3,4, I declare a thumb war” and then duke it out (with their thumbs) to see who is the champion. It's a sport with a World Championship and in the UK there's recently been BBC coverage and a even a piece on Good morning Britain about it. We can only hope that it doesn't wing its way to major sports stations anytime soon!

The Ham National

Okay, I'll admit it, I'm torn with this one. The amusingly named Ham National is effectively a low budget Grand National but for pigs instead of horses. It's not on the same scale (in that I can't envisage hundreds of millions of people tuning into the Ham National) as the Grand National, and is more madcap in nature, but it certainly seems to appeal to some. The invent itself  is part of the Royal Norfolk Show in the UK and draws in both crowds and likely confusion for those who stumble upon it. With the likes of Justin Bieboar and Elvis Pigsley taking part, there is at least an overriding comedy component to the proceedings!

Funny Horse Names

Casual racing fans seem to love the idea that they can have a day at the races, hastily scan the race card of that day's issue of the Racing Post and, like a water diviner, instantly locate a couple of 50-1 winners by name alone.

There is a quiet confidence there, totally unearned of course, but it's there. Sometimes people strike lucky and think that by betting on Betty's Boxset, their deceased old aunt Bet and her love of Last of the Summer Wine DVDs are helping their horse strive for the finish line. Other times they lose and then the endless hard luck stories emerge.

When it comes to horse racing, it's not just punters that look to a name though. Horse owners often put a lot of thought into naming their horses Well, I say thought - some of them take a more humour based or mischievous slant to proceedings. In part hey do this for their own personal amusement, but also, there's the thrill of a commentator enthusiastically reeling off nonsensible or funny horse racing names with no choice in he matter. Anyway, enough of me babbling on, here's a list of real and 'real funny' horse racing names:


Neigh Good

Fur Calf

Wear The Fox Hat

(read those three in an Irish accent!) 


Flat Fleet Feet

Maythehorsebewithu 

Arrrrr

Hugh Janus

Hoof Hearted

Pianist
 
Hoarse
 
Horsey McHorseFace

Ha Ha Ha