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Thompson on Jordan, Kimmage on Kimmage and more of the week's best sportswriting

Plus, absorbing pieces with Lee Hendrie and tracking Evan Tanner’s last steps.

1. “‘I vaguely remember bits of the ambulance ride. It was very blurred. But one thing that really stood out was waking up. It was horrible. I didn’t like the fact I was still alive. There were lots of worries. ‘Am I going to a psychiatric ward because I’ve done this?’ But, most of all, I was thinking: ‘I’m going to do this again. I want to be free of everything.’

“My wife went through an awful lot…’”

Former Aston Villa favourite Lee Hendrie opens up to Donald McRae in The Guardian.

2. “Gay was a fan, and had often spoken well of my columns in The Sunday Tribune, but he hadn’t become the greatest Irish broadcaster in history by tickling bellies. And the chair was hardly warm when he stopped tickling mine:

“You have spat in the soup, a vulgar French expression meaning you’ve spilled the beans . . . let the cat out of the bag . . . given the game away . . . you’re a turncoat. And you talk about the drugs in the cycling scene.”

Paul Kimmage writes about his move from the saddle to sportswriting  30 years on, in the Sunday Independent.

paul-kimmage-1986 Kimmage on 1986 Tour. ©INPHO ©INPHO

3.

That was due to run on Saturday, May 25, but the Times thought that Kimmage might well give his piece to the Independent’s daily newspaper.“So they ran Keane on the Thursday. The fall-out led to one of the biggest stories in Irish sporting history. And it left Kimmage reeling.“I think the Times had a very poor grasp of our relationship with the daily. We fucking hated the daily,” said Kimmage.”

In The Star, Kieran Cunnigham speaks with Kimmage as he outlines regret over a Roy Keane interview that never quite made the splash it ought to have.

4. “There were woods all around Jordan’s house. That means he knows the wild pleasure of playing beneath their shade, of inventing whole worlds, becoming a cowboy or a cavalryman, his brother the sworn enemy. Mike and his brother Larry had BB guns. They shot them out in the country at their grandparents’ place and in the small patches of trees that pass for wilderness inside the city limits, always feeling bigger than they were, like farm kids who call a nearby ditch something grand like The Canyon.”

Wright Thompson’s Michael Jordan story is set long before The Last Dance, for ESPN.

5. “Over the next eight hours, Tanner headed back toward where he began the day, getting to within a mile of the campsite before shutting down after midnight due to the darkness and the physical toll claimed by the environment.

“Text messages indicate Tanner’s awareness that a dire situation was becoming increasingly dangerous.

“One text he wrote that was not sent: “I need help.”

Josh Gross retraces the last known steps of former UFC champion Evan Tanner, for The Athletic (paywall).

6. “I still don’t know what the free is for. Then he said he’d book me for being cheeky!’ O’Sullivan says.

‘I worked it out afterwards that he didn’t realise I was reared in London and that I was talking in my accent. He thought I was putting on an accent.’”

In The Southern Star, Kieran McCarthy catches up with a former Arsenal trainee who made his mark on the Beara Peninsula.

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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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