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'The wrong summer to go', Klopp the hero and more of the week's best sportswriting

Football’s back and dominating our picks this week.

1. “Michael Thomas’ goal with just 38 seconds remaining took the League crown south to Highbury, drawing the starkest of lines under Liverpool’s season. The squad duly dispersed for summer, most of them broken and emotionally lost.”

In the Independent, Vincent Hogan hails Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool’s drought ends.

2. ‘In that first season of top-flight football Parma did not even have a fixed training location. The players travelled to the club’s Tardini stadium every morning and got changed in the dressing rooms before boarding a bus – sometimes it would take them to facilities owned by another club, sometimes to whatever patch of council-owned land could be found in their home town.’

For The Guardian, Nicky Bandini looks back on the superb Parma side that captured so many imaginations.

3. ‘The students who couldn’t wait to get away from home and who are working in London and Boston for the summer wish that their timing had been better. Every night on their televisions they see a country in carnival, a Dublin city gone mad. In no other June in their memories did people wander around the streets all night beating drums, did guards on point duty ask passing motorists the score, did total strangers embrace each other in crowded pubs. It was the wrong summer to go away.’

30 years on, Maeve Binchy‘s depiction of Ireland in the haze of Italia 90 is just what your Sunday needs. From the Irish Times.

4. ‘I was eight, I think, and just for a cthange, Newcastle United were flailing. They were old-Second-Division bad, beginning a spell of six years in the wilderness, a spell which Kevin Keegan ended, this time — the first time — as a player. It was 1978-79, a season which would conclude with a home game against Wrexham and a gate of 7,134, a post-war low. And so whatever else I was, it was not a glory-hunter.’

A brilliant personal tale of love, loss and football by The Athletic’s George Caulkin.

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    Mute gerrygag
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    Mar 19th 2023, 9:35 AM

    Excellent analysis of all the pieces of the jigsaw of moves leading to great tries

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    Mute Kenneth O Connor
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    Mar 19th 2023, 9:41 AM

    Great analysis as always. What an atmosphere yesterday. Delighted for Sexton and Healy!!! What a Six Nations send off

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    Mute Noel Lynn
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    Mar 19th 2023, 10:47 AM

    @Kenneth O Connor: Healy not getting a run was disappointing and strange

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    Mute Gary
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    Mar 19th 2023, 11:06 AM

    @Noel Lynn: He did… only about 4 minutes but he did play.

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    Mute Gary Donlan
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    Mar 19th 2023, 9:54 AM

    Yesterday(and last week) should put to bed any doubt about Conan’s value. Every bit as effective as Doris imo.

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    Mute Gary Galligan
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    Mar 19th 2023, 11:10 AM

    @Gary Donlan: doris level ahead

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    Mute Bill Smith
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    Mar 19th 2023, 1:23 PM

    @Gary Donlan: I’m a big, big fan of Conan – he’s an outstanding player – but I’d have to acknowledge that Doris is at the very top of the global tree. And he has so much more to grow, being so young. Arguably a future World Player of the Year nominee, if not winner.

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    Mute Cian O'Toole
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    Mar 19th 2023, 11:04 AM

    I see lots of people saying how England really used line speed yesterday to get in Irelands face, that’s not what happened at all. England played a soft drift defence, not putting too much pressure on the first carrier / passer, and not committing too many men to the breakdown, opting to be more disruptive and messy rather than look for turnovers. It was an interesting tactic and one that threw a lot of the Irish players off, particularly Furlong who takes the first pivot option quite often. Ireland will need to learn how to adapt to it by World Cup, I can’t imagine South Africa or France would try it, they would trust their line speed, but I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Scotland or even New Zealand thought about using it.

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    Mute Noel Lynn
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    Mar 19th 2023, 10:22 AM

    Great analysis there. It shows really how intelligent this group are. Dorris, JVF,, Aki, Sexton, Hansen running subplots and dummies lines and how they build a try 3 phases out. To have so many on the same page is extraordinary and as Farrell said, they will get a lot better over the next few months with more time collectively in camp.
    Roll on the WC

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    Mute Eamon Holly
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    Mar 19th 2023, 10:32 AM

    It was squeaky bum time for much of the game. England gave it everything. Ireland found a way to win. Work done with decoy runners is magnificent. Enjoy, upwards and onwards to France

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    Mute Jb Walshe
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    Mar 19th 2023, 4:25 PM

    That was some offload by Conan for sheehans try.

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    Mute Gary Galligan
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    Mar 19th 2023, 1:53 PM

    Sheehan is a pure speed merchant

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    Mute Paul Mcnevin
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    Mar 19th 2023, 11:33 PM

    @Gary Galligan: He’s a 4×4 at full speed.

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    Mute Padraig Fallon
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    Mar 19th 2023, 12:11 PM

    On the strike plays which Ireland use we have seen a few of these in this 6 nations I believe they have only used a small number of these in this 6 nations and there are many more which they had no need to use and they are been reserved for the later stages of the world Cup.

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    Mute Pud
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    Mar 19th 2023, 12:11 PM

    I would imagine when Farrell and his team review this game they will be a little concerned. Obviously the short term gain here, winning a grand slam, is brilliant. But there was a lot of pressure going into the game and we did not handle it well. Ultimately a red card may have won it for Ireland and whether you agree or disagree with the card the nature of it shows it can how easily happen under current rules. (There was at least 1 red card possibility for us that was missed by the ref and TMO). This team will ultimately be judged on how it performs in the World Cup. When they meet Scotland on the 7th of October it will more than likely be a knock out game. The pressure on them will easily be as intense as yesterday, probably more so. They will need to be a lot better. If we don’t make it out of the group, this Grand Slam will lose a lot of it’s shine. Of course hopefully by the time we meet Scotland SA will have 2 losses so it won’t matter :)

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    Mute Bill Smith
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    Mar 19th 2023, 1:35 PM

    @Pud: OTOH, the experience of yesterday, a real pressure cooker, will stand to them. Plus, those guys played a lot of intense rugby over a short period of time. Some were definitely not at their best, following injuries (Furlong, for example, looked rusty; Henshaw wasn’t fully up to speed; Ringrose in and out). Farrell took some risks, playing guys like Porter, VDF, Keenan, Hansen and others to their limits (Keenan looked tired yesterday, as did others). The player management plan for the RWC needs to cater for the interactive effects of physical endurance and how it affects mental/emotional resilience. I’m pretty confident they’re on top of that. And again, all the players will be better for the experience of this 6N.

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    Mute Seamus Kelly
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    Mar 19th 2023, 9:11 PM

    @Pud: South Africa then Scotland…followed by France or New Zealand…three massive banana skins….I don’t think if we are stopped before semi final, yesterday’s outstanding achievement will be diminished….cruel world cup draw.

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    Mute Name can be blank
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    Mar 19th 2023, 3:16 PM

    Herring sealed victory over the All Blacks with a similar try in the third test .. hooker is definitely a position we don’t need to worry about… bench again made the difference yesterday

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    Mute Paul Mcnevin
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    Mar 19th 2023, 11:29 PM

    Murray Kinsella, single handedly helping other teams work out Ireland!!

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