Our Pumas?

Yes indeed. Those are our Pumas! Or at least they will be. From next year(thats 2010, foo!) our Six Nations champions will defend their title wearing in Puma gear. No national team that I know of is currently supplied by Ze Germanz but French club Biarritz are and they look alright. This is good on several fronts. The ugly template(Us, Scots, Sprinboks, Aussies) Canterbury use to will be a thing of the past and secondly if you liked it.....it will be cheap CHEAP. Saw them in Maher's of Cork for only 35 sheets. Get in there!
This is a positive move on the IRFU's part who, like Munster, are awaking to the possiblities offered by a sportswear brand thats doing good things right now. Canterbury need a serious shake up after their failed attempt at 'edginess'. Its pretty pathetic for Canterbury Of New Zealand to not be able to have their national team wear their tat.

Return to form

The few readers of this blog(thank you) have asked me on nights out where have I gone and where is Spurting Ireland going? Well........I'm back and subsequently is Spurting Ireland. Lots to catch up on :D
2009 has so far been an excellent year for Irish spurt with, in case you hadn't noticed, a GRAND-FREAKING SLAM in the Six Nations. Quite the title. Still talking pigskin, Munster continue to rampage in the Heineken Cup with, yesterday, a 43-9 curbstomping of the Ospreys. This sets up a dream(for Munster fans) tie with eternal women *ahem* rivals Leinster at Croke Park. I laughed when Brent Pope, usually correct bless him, said that there would be no Munster Fans getting tickets at Leinster fans expense. Munster fans are the masters at ticket nabbing and most hardcore fans are registered fans of other teams in the Heineken Cup in a bid to get a ticket. I would also put it out there that there are more Munster fans then real Leinster fans registered at their fan club. My bid to get tickets for this clash has begun and I would loove if some helped :D

Soccer is........not so fun to talk about right now with Trapp's men stumbling over Bulgaria and leaving our chances of going to South Africa in further doubt.

Also, the Cork GAA scandal bullshit is over and good riddance. The player's should be wearing Minor Level sized jerseys to reflect their mental age.

Love life, love Spurt Ireland!

2009: A year of spurting goodness?

Its been a while, and even I continue to blog to myself essentially I will persevere, lest I begin mumbling to myself in the corner instead.


WARNING: SPOILER PICTURE FOR 2009 SPURTING SUCCESS

Rugby.......So far in 2009 I have questioned my pride in Munster after they were turned into paté by Ulster at Thomond no less(not to mention losing to Connacht) :( Then we beat the hilarious welsh, almost as satisfying as beating Leinster :) So Munster's hangover appears to be on the way out and a solid victory over Sale will banish it forever.
Looking further, the Six Nations is fast approaching and while Declan Kidney has done alright in the Autumn, he needs to work the same wonders he did down here in Munster. A runners up or 3rd place would be something.
HOPES for 2009: Heineken and Magnier's(Yummy!) league double for Munster, Felipe Contepomi stops being such a bastard, Rob Kearney defects to Munster. Ireland beat Wales, Shane Williams forced to retire.

Football......Jeez I don't know what to make of Ireland anymore. Are we good, are we bad? Giovanni seems extraordinarily blinkered in his squad selection and it could be an issue with 'useful' players like Andy Ried(who I now resemble after an indulgent Chrismuss) being not called up at all. The jury on Steven Ireland is still out with commoner newspapers regularly reporting that their hero and bad taste guru is wanting in to the Ireland squad again. I am all for it so long as he doesn't speak. Ever. One more premiership player will boost the profile of the team a bit. Alarmingly, qualification for South Africa2010 has got off to a good start with 7 points from 3 games. A clean sheet against Italy best we can hope for and I will support a 10-man back line exclusively for that game. The others are do-able provided Trap keeps things steady.
HOPES for 2009: Qualification for SA2010 at all costs, most likely a play off but we'll take it and by God we'll be on the plane!

NOT FAKE: REAL

Motorsport......YES motorsport! Not one of you may know this but an Irish team and an Irish driver go into 2009 ON TOP of the A1GP world championship. For those who don't know, A1GP is a poor man's Formula One and is growing in popularity as its a bit more normal than the pantomime that F1 is fast becoming. The cars are quick, look ok depending on your country's colours and the championship is quite competitive. You've never heard of our driver, his name is Adam Carroll and he is Portadown which in Rugby terms is still Ireland. Not a guy to be sniffed at either. Been around and well thought of. After six races(out of 20), Team Ireland are on top and long may it continue.
HOPES for 2009: A1GP Team Ireland keep doing well. Team Munster established with a David Wallace as a propulsion source.

ANOTHER 2009 SPOILER:


GAA........oh God. I admit I know little about GAA so I'll scrounge off others here and pretend to have an opinion(unlike every other blogger in the world). Starting with ladies GAA I will quote from the much admir'd PRC and say: "Ladies sports in Cork don't get enough press but its hard when the camogie and football victors become so predictable: Cork and Cork. " Lovely :)
For the mens....Kilkenny for the Hurling is a no brainer what with the Cork Hurling team being whiney bitches and for the Football it can only be Kerry. Kerry........
HOPES for 2009: Cork Hurling debacle finishes, Cork women win both Football and Camogie.

Anyway, whatever makes you spurt, may your 2009 be a mighty fine one.

Spurting Christmas Appeal; Rafael- Liverpool, England

12 days.......what little has happened in Irish spurt. Across the sea, John has been spoilt with spurtings to talk about yet the spurting front has been so sparse on this little green rock of ours. Munster lost, then beat the miserable frogs of Clermont with a few friendly fists in the face for good measure, lest the surrendering garlic chompers forget who is the best rugerby team in europe.
But this is not what I ramble on about today, for I must tell you of someone who will be suffering this Christmas.

Rafael is a middle-aged Spaniard living in Liverpool. He is employed with a local football team of some reputation. He has brought success to this football team and has recently signed a new deal. Life is good for Rafa however he can't enjoy himself because he has kidney stones. Just this week he had as many as possible zapped with a lazer yet one remains. It can't be destroyed because to some, it is worth money and can't be removed from poor Rafael's system until January when a complex transfer can be undertaken pending the finding of a suitable host....
His suffering is unbearable as the stone runs around inside his system yet unlike the 10 others needed for Rafael to function every weekend, this one can't do his job.
The stone in question is thought to be roughly 28 years old and about 5,8 in height, have a unique celebration and is reckoned to be of Irish origin, hence the mention here.

Will someone please help poor suffering Rafael this January?

Was worth a shot like: Managing Sunderland

Roy........gotta say I'm disappointed. This morning it was announced that Roy Keane was to leave Sunderland after 2 seasons of success and a few months of.........this:

I don't know exactly how much of Niall Quinn's buddie's cash he spent this summer but the names will suffice in ramming home the point that the money was simply wasted. Diouf? Chopra? The only decent signing made this summer was Djibril Cissé and that was a loan.
2 wins in 10 is a poor return on a significant investment and despite showing signs of tactical astuteness(Totally outfoxed Arsene Wenger in October), the form was lacking any consistency and Roy the Boy just couldn't get anymore out of his crap signings.

So there ends the latest chapter in Roy Keane's footballing career but surely not the last. Adieu for now Keano....now please shave that beard.

Rugger

8th in the world....sweet! While as a Munsterman and subsequently an Irishman, 8th place is akin to being a big loser, its something the Irish rugby fan must be greatful for as it means we are not seeded as 'Shitty filler material' when the draw is made for the Rugby World Cup sometime whenever.
In yesterday's big fight, Ireland and Argentina beat the tar out of each other in what is now becoming a tradition in world rugby. Screw watching that Ricky Hatton jesse prance around a ring with a padded helmet on, Croke Park was where the action was.
In between the scuffles, handbags and punches, Ireland scored more points than Argentina and according to the rules won the game. We added a bit of sheen to the score with 2 tries but this was far from attractive rugby. We shan't moan as we have the win we needed and we get to shout even more abuse at Felipe Contepomi whenever he looks at a Rugby ball.
In what was a good day for an Irish rugby fan, the comical Welsh lost with their usual bad grace to the All Blacks, fans boo-ing Dan Carter as he lined up penalties and conversions. Bad form.
Enger-land where just short of atomised by South Africa in a welcome return to form for the World Champions.
Scots beat Canada well done and I am delighted to say that Australia beat the frogs in Paris last night so I'm pretty damn content.
While the Six Nations is still far away, I am pleased with Declan Kidney's start as Irish manager and I hope he can bring to Ireland some of what he brought to Munster.

Back from the honeymoon

I have a confession....I didn't watch it. Much as I love supporting Ireland at anything mildly competitive the soccer team fails to ignite my passion enough to go to the pub to watch it(Mr. Murdoch wants me to pay to see them). Not a bad game but not a classic either from what I've read and heard.
Croke Park is usually a home venue for Ireland but with the estimated 150-300 thousand Polish folk living in Ireland, this fixture was going to be neutral at best. Old Piotr at the bar served the sausage rolls and beers with an air of smugness at half time as Ireland went in behind and Sascha at the parking let Irish fans out beeming from ear to ear as those in green trudged home.
If those wearing red and white worked anywhere as hard as the Poles do on serving us breakfast rolls and building our houses, we were going to have our work cut out.
Damien Duff was once again hard at it and Keith Andrews made his debut with a goal. In the end we still lost and we can be greatful it was not world cup qualifier.
Kudos to the FAI for showing some sort of thought in their choice of friendly opponents. Filling a stadium the size of Croker for a friendly game is impressive and will be sure to do the coffers some good in these uncertain times.