ZACH TUOHY HAS finally matched the record number of appearances by an Irish player in the Australian Football League.
The Laois man made his 264th appearance in Friday night’s clash with Sydney Swans at the famous Sydney Cricket Grounds, which finished as a draw, 54-each.
Tuohy will certainly eclipse Stynes’ record and as a Premiership winner last year with his Geelong Cats, can be considered to have enjoyed a career that ranks among the very finest in the sport after the introduction of ‘The Irish Experiment.’
Friday evening’s game – an institution in the AFL – was a re-run of the Grand Final that Geelong won by an enormous margin. Tuohy’s fellow countryman Mark O’Connor, who recently cross the 100 appearance landmark himself, was ruled out through an adductor muscle injury.
Tuohy initially travelled over after having played for Laois as a minor footballer, and joined Carlton Blues, another club synonymous with Irish talent. He played 120 times for the Blues before joining Geelong in 2016.
Presuming Leinster send a B team to SA. Bulls will be hoping they drop points and bulls will go full out for top spot with pretty much all home games now till the end …would like to see a fully loaded Leinster playing the bulls in the final in Pretoria ..that would be awesome to see….
@Stuart: I say they will send a B side with the Northampton game after the SA tour
@Stuart: I reckon Munster are more than a bit offended that the Bulls couldn’t be bothered playing their strongest team in CC quarter final. Hoping for a cracking match.
@sean o’farrell: send a good mix, start most of the first squad in game 1 and the so called B team in game 2 with a strong bench. Loads of game time and fantastic team building trip.
@chris mcdonnell: they may fly the A team back after the Lions game – I think they did that a few season ago – B team should still be stronger than the team we put out last year when we played the Bulls
This season could work for Leinster. Last year; the URC and Champions Cup Semi finals were all in May This year, URC doesn’t finish until June; so they won’t have to decide which semi final to priortise. They can go full strength for both. So if Leinster are going to do the double; this is the year to do it They won’t get as long a season next year, so managing knockouts of two completions with a trip to SA will be more difficult.