duineeile

Marley was obvious favourite, had beaten that Pole twice before. Very good display all the same and got the job done, the boxing team badly needed that

All three were strong favourites in the betting odds. Really hope Jack Marley can get the win this evening and stop the rot

It's been an absolute nightmare start for the boxing team, three defeats from three, all in fights where they would have been favourites to win

You always hope it will be different this time round though. And we never seem to pull those completely random unexpected medals out of the bag unlike other countries. But let's not be too negative, its a disappointing defeat but a lot of sport to happen the next couple of weeks and a lot more medal chances. The rugby lads gave it a great go but a bit of composure combined with a poor refereeing decision cost them I'm the end

That's just gutwrenching, 15-7 ahead and with possession of the ball and they found a way to lose it. Its the hope that kills you. Disappointing referee missed knock-on for last Fiji try

Vital win for the sevens team against South Africa even if they made hard work of it in the end after controlling possession. Hopefully they get the job done against Japan this evening and then can have a right cut at New Zealand tomorrow for a chance to top the pool.

I see Bertram Allen is out due to an injury to his horse, he is pur reserve showjumping. Anyone know what happens now, can we pick another reserve?

Yeah and seeing predictions of more medals which is mad. Only medal I would be almost certain of is lightweight mens double, which may not necessarily be gold. Boxing is completely unpredictable and most of our boxers wouldn't be favoured to win a medal bar O'Rourke and Harrington. McClenaghan might be one of the favourites in the pommel but one slip of a hand can end it all. Equestrian, rugby, golf very unpredictable. In athletics only real hope of a medal is Adeleke and that will not be easy either with the competition really upping their game coming into Paris. Other than men's double in rowing, I'm not sure any of the other crews than McCarthy/O'Donovan can medal but I hope I'm wrong. I do think Wiffen will win at least 1 medal, but overall if we ended with only 2 or 3 medals I wouldn't be that shocked to be honest.

Yeah I'd say a daily thread is fine. Not long to go now, 10 days until the men's rugby sevens starts!

There was obviously something going on when Mageean skipped nationals, it's disappointing to see, hopefully she can regain some form and put herself in mix to at least make the final. Has the golf team been officially confirmed?

Did I read that Cillín Greene said he was skipping the European Championships to focus on the Olympics or did that really happen, was he injured? Seems absolutely mental if true.

Ah yeah the system is so convoluted and all national teams including relay teams need to be finalised, and universality quotas allocated and acceoted/rejected before any OCT invites can be officially offered. People probably making educated calculations on OCT invites but might be a but longer before officially confirmed

Given their generally weird behaviour regards selection I reckon they're probably hiding the invites

John Shortt being listed as qualified in 200m backstroke on Wikipedia through OCT, not Shane Ryan in 100m Freestyle though, wonder if this is true

I agree the announcement is very confusing. Although they obviously knew Ferguson was getting an OCT invite, but crazy then he's not listed in individual event on announcement, not sure how that works. Also as far as I know Ellen Walshe didn't get OST in 100m butterfly but she is listed in this, while McSharry didn't get 200m breaststroke time in a designated qualification event yet she is entered in this. So if Ryan (and Ferguson) are going anyway for relays, why not let them swim in events they are qualified for? System in one way seems designed to keep numbers down, then on the other hand reallocated relay spots are accepted, where we basically have no chance of getting out of the heats. Bizarre stuff indeed. And while we're at it, Wiffen is entered in an event he never even swam, not that I'm complaining about that, excited to see it, but again inconsistent

A bit mad that they're not entering Ryan in the 50m Freestyle, sure he's going anyway and got the OST

I'd say more of a sign of good news if anything as if her 200m breaststroke OST is valid then so should his in the 50m Free? Probably could have done with doing better than 8th in final but he beat the time twice in heats and semis so his case is strong and there's nobody else has got OST outside of designated qualification meets either so wouldn't open a can of worms for Swim Ireland on that front

Shane Ryan just dropped a 21.82 NR and OST at the Europeans in the 50 Free, although it's not a designated qualification event by Swim Ireland. They need lads to make up a relay team and Ryan is good in the backstroke too, so will they make an exception here?

Yeah I think Olympic course would be more like a CCI 4 star, it's a strong team anyway. With no discard score in the equestrian events, which I really don't agree with (unless it works in our favour some day!) the team eventing is a bit of a lottery

Strong enough looking teams although I'm a bit disappointed they didn't select Lucy Latta after her 2nd place at Badminton, best Irish result there since 1965.

Yeah would be very interesting if he did do it, you'd have to say he'd be very much an outsider given his lack of experience at competitive open water level but then its the Olympics and mad stuff happens. I'm making a bold prediction of two agonising 4th places in the pool followed by a sensational gold medal in the open water race

Anyone that competes in 800 or 1500m freestyle in pool can compete provided there's not already 2 from their NOC in the open water event.

Sure why not!

Ah that's very disappointing for McDonagh, missed the fight but suspected it would be close as Chaloyan looked very impressive in his bout yesterday too. Its a pity as with his rate of improvement he could have been a real medal hope in Paris, but he's young enough for the division so hopefully will stay amateur for LA by which time he could be one of the top operators in the division. Regards our numbers overall, we'll obviously have 4 golfers and hopefully Conor Ferguson, Shane Ryan and/or Max McCusker get OCT invite which would also confirm mens medley relay team. In athletics I suspect Sophie Becker (400m), Mark English (800m), at least one of the 1500m lads, Eric Favors (Shotput) and Nicola Tuthill (Hammer) will qualify, with possibilities also for Kate O'Connor (Heptathlon), Louise Shanahan (800m), Reese Ademola (Long Jump) and Thomas Barr (400m Hurdles) if he can rediscover some form, and maybe even a third 1500m guy. Other than that not sure we have a huge amount of other qualification prospects but happy to stand corrected on that.

Yeah especially when the only way he could lose going into round 3 was either by receiving a standing count for a 10-8 round or being deducted a point, it was a risky strategy to engage so little and he needs to have a look at this with his coaches. This approach caught him against the Jordanian in the quarter final after taking the first round. I thought yesterday against the Cuban, while not a huge change in style, he boxed to perfection and did enough in terms of landing punches to keep the ref off his back, today he ran the risk of taking it too far again. Anyway fair play to him, job done!