February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
By Mark Jones
DUBLIN — After months of speculation, Roy Keane finally put pen to paper last week and pledged his future to Manchester United. Securing himself the most
lucrative deal in the English Premiership, Keane forced Manchester to break
their infamous wage structure and will now earn in the region of £50,000
per week for the next three and a half years.
The Ireland captain’s contract is still well behind pay levels in other top
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European Clubs such as Juventus, Lazio and Barcelona. However, there have
always been suggestions that Keane’s preference was to stay at Manchester
rather than move to either Italy or Spain.
United’s acceptance of Keane’s pay demands could mean that other star
players, such as David Beckham and Ryan Giggs, will now look for improved
contracts.
Munster beat French side
Munster are firmly on track to book themselves a place in the knockout stages of rugby’s European Cup following a magnificent 31-15 victory over top French side Colomiers on Saturday.
It was the first time that an Irish province had ever won a European Cup game in France and it continued Munster’s unbeaten 10 match record in all competitions. Inspired by Keith Wood, Munster scored four tries in all with Ronan O’Gara also kicking 11 points.
The news wasn’t nearly so good for last season’s champions, Ulster, who crashed to yet another defeat. A 29-6 setback at the hands of Welsh club Llanelli in Belfast means that Ulster are effectively out of the competition.
Leinster are also struggling to make the quarterfinals following their
comprehensive 39-6 defeat by Stade Francais in Paris. Leinster conceded six tries and could only manage two penalties from Mark McHugh.
Women’s ref jostled
The women’s All-Ireland club football final replay between Shelmalier of Wexford and Mayo’s Hollymount ended in disarray when the match referee was jostled and verbally abused by a group of Hollymount supporters.
Michael Henry was subjected to over a quarter of an hour of insults before officials and police were able to escort him to safety. Shelmalier had scored 1-2 deep in injury time to claim the title at Portarlington.
The predominantly male group of supporters warned Henry he could be found "in the boot of a car," and one was heard to say he hoped the referee "died before Christmas."