Lauren McCann

Boxing

Carl Frampton announced his retirement from boxing on Saturday as he lost to Jamal Herring in a WBO super featherweight clash in Dubai. Frampton was aiming to become the first Irish fighter to win three world titles at three weights, but he was stopped in the sixth round by his American opponent. Frampton stated beforehand that he would hang up his gloves if he were unable to achieve that feat, citing wanting to spend more time with his family as the driving force behind the decision. The 34-year-old was second best for most of the contests, with his corner throwing in the towel in the sixth round after Herring had knocked him down twice. There was an outpouring of support from across the world for Frampton, who will go down in history as one of Northern Ireland’s finest sports stars after memorable victories in New York, Las Vegas and Belfast.

MMA

Conor McGregor will return to the UFC octagon in July to face Dustin Poirier for the third time. The former two-weight world champion came out of retirement in January for a rematch with the American, who he had stopped inside 106 seconds in their first meeting in 2014. At UFC 257 at the start of this year Poirier got his revenge, sealing a technical knockout two and a half minutes into the second round to stun the Irishman. McGregor will be looking for his first win since January 2020 whilst Poirier has not tasted defeat since 2019 when he lost to Khabib Nurmagomedov. The trilogy fight is set to take place in Las Vegas.

Rugby

Several provincial clubs were in European Challenge Cup action, with varying degrees of success. Leinster were handed a bye into the last eight of the competition after their game with Toulon was called off as the French side were unable to fulfill the fixture. One of their players tested positive for coronavirus before leaving for Dublin, and whilst he did not travel, the governing body ruled that the game could not go ahead as several players were identified as close contacts. Leinster will now meet Exeter Chiefs or Lyon in the next round.

Connacht and Munster were both dumped out of the competition after suffering defeats at the hands of Leicester and Toulouse. Connacht lost 48-32, with Leicester scoring seven tries and withstanding late pressure from the visitors to progress to the quarter finals. Meanwhile in Limerick, Munster went down 40-31, with Toulouse overturning their seven-point lead at the break to triumph by nine points and go through to the next round.

Ulster also booked their place in the final eight after overcoming Harlequins at Twickenham Stoop on Sunday. They cruised to a commanding 57-21 victory, scoring eight tries against a Premiership side who had fielded a young and inexperienced side. Rob Herring and Sean Reidy crossed twice in either half whilst Stuart McCloskey and Michael Lowry also went over in the first period to give Ulster a healthy lead at the break. Billy Burns and Albie Mathewson scored further tries in the second half to complete the scoring. They will take now take on Northampton next Friday night, aiming to reach the final four.

Northern Ireland Women

Kenny Shiels has named his squad for the Green and White Army’s historic two-legged play off games with Ukraine which will take place on April 9 and April 14. Northern Ireland are aiming to reach their first ever major tournament by defeating Ukraine, who are ranked twenty-fourth in the world, 25 places above Shiels’ side. There are recalls for Glentoran trio Danielle Maxwell, Kerry Beattie, and Emma McMaster, who missed the qualifying campaign after a long injury lay off. Brighton defender Laura Rafferty, who has been plagued with injuries recently, is also included along with Sion Swifts forward Kirsty McGuinness. Northern Ireland’s absentee list has grown yet again with Lauren Wade and Abbie Magee sidelined with ankle and knee injuries, respectively. They join Rangers duo Demi Vance and Megan Bell, Caitlin McGuiness, Rachel Newborough and Caragh Milligan as notable exclusions.

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland’s hopes of qualifying for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar are already hanging by a thread after two games as they could only draw 0-0 with Bulgaria at Windsor Park. With Italy and Switzerland already sitting on six points, Northern Ireland knew it was imperative to win against Bulgaria to have any chance of competing for second place in the group. They dominated the game in Belfast, but were unable to fashion many clear-cut opportunities, with Dallas’ effort in the first half, which crashed off the crossbar, they closest they came to scoring. Peacock-Farrell came to the rescue late on for Baraclough’s men, producing a superb save to turn Iliev’s header over the crossbar and preserve a point for Northern Ireland. They now have two friendlies against Turkey and Ukraine to look forward to in June, before resuming their World Cup qualifying campaign in September against Lithuania.

Republic of Ireland

Pressure is mounting on boss Stephen Kenny as he remains winless in his short tenure in charge of the Boys in Green. A much-changed Ireland side were held to a 1-1 draw with Qatar in a friendly in Hungary, after another disappointing performance. James McClean put them ahead after only four minutes with a sweeping finish before Muntari equalised for the hosts just after half time. It capped a frustrating international break for Ireland following defeats at the hands of Serbia and Luxembourg. To address their slide, manager Kenny announced they will have a training camp in Spain in June, including two friendlies against Hungary and Andorra.

Lauren McCann is an English and Spanish student at QUB. Listen to her on The Sporty Scoop every Wednesday.

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