Sporting predictions for 2013

Our predictions for the season ahead


Mike Finnerty
GAA
Mayo SFC Champions: Ballaghaderreen
Mayo IFC Champions: Burrishoole
Mayo JFC Champions: Ardnaree
Mayo SHC Champions: Ballyhaunis

All-Ireland Football Champions: Dublin
All-Ireland Hurling Champions: Kilkenny
Gaelic Footballer of the Year: Bernard Brogan

RUGBY
Heineken Cup: Ulster
Six Nations: England
RACING
Gold Cup: Bob’s Worth

SOCCER
Champions League: Barcelona
Premier League: Man Utd
Mayo Super League: Westport Utd

Sporting wish for 2013: The usual one. Mayo for Sam!.
Sporting event you’d most like to see live in 2013: European Rugby Cup Final. Just to see what all the fuss is about.
Sportsperson who is going to make biggest impact in 2013: Rory McIlroy. Or his girlfriend.


Séan Rice
GAA
Mayo SFC Champions: Castlebar Mitchels
Mayo IFC Champions: Burrishoole
Mayo JFC Champions:: Ardnaree
Mayo SHC Champions: Ballyhaunis

All-Ireland Football Champions: Donegal
All-Ireland Hurling Champions: Cork
Gaelic Footballer of the Year: Ger Cafferkey

RUGBY
Heineken Cup: Clermont Auvergne
Six Nations: England
RACING
Gold Cup: Flemenstar

SOCCER
Champions League: Barcelona
Premier League: Man Utd
Mayo Super League: Westport Utd

Sporting wish for 2013: A Mayo All-Ireland in any grade.

Edwin McGreal
GAA
Mayo SFC Champions: Ballintubber to bounce back.
Mayo IFC Champions: Burrishoole, fourth time lucky.
Mayo JFC Champions: Ardnaree, third time lucky.
Mayo SHC Champions: Ballyhaunis, nothing to do with luck.
All-Ireland Football Champions: Mayo.
All-Ireland Hurling Champions: Galway.
Gaelic Footballer of the Year: Kevin McLoughlin.

RUGBY
Heineken Cup: Ulster
Six Nations: France
RACING
Gold Cup: Flemenstar

SOCCER
Champions League: Barcelona
Premier League: Manchester United
Mayo Super League: Castlebar Celtic

Sporting wish for 2013: Same wish as every year ...
Sporting event you’d most like to see live in 2013: A Mayo championship match where I’m among the crowd and not working. Party on, Garth.
Sportsperson who is going to make biggest impact in 2013: The referee who gives Mayo a dodgy penalty in injury time of the All-Ireland final when they’re two points down.

Michael Duffy
GAA
Mayo SFC Champions: Ballintubber.
Mayo IFC Champions: Hollymount/Carramore.
Mayo JFC Champions: Ardnaree.
Mayo SHC Champions: Ballyhaunis.

All-Ireland Football Champions: Dublin.
All-Ireland Hurling Champions: Galway.
Gaelic Footballer of the Year: Diarmuid Connolly.

RUGBY
Heineken Cup: Clermont Auvergne
Six Nations: France
RACING
Gold Cup: Last Instalment

SOCCER
Champions League: Borussia Dortmund
Premier League: Man Utd
Mayo Super League: Westport Utd

Sporting wish for 2013: That Spurs get back into the Champions League. It’s going to be tight, as, let’s face it, we never do it the easy way!
Sporting event you’d most like to see live in 2013: Planning to take in the Dubai World Cup Racing Festival in March. The Arabs need a replacement for Frankie Dettori!
Sportsperson who is going to make biggest impact in 2013: Joe Canning. He’s in his prime and can lead Galway to glory.

Austin Garvin
GAA
Mayo SFC Champions: Castlebar.
Mayo IFC Champions: Kiltane
Mayo JFC Champions: Ardnaree
Mayo SHC Champions: Ballyhaunis.

All-Ireland Football Champions: Mayo
All-Ireland Hurling Champions: Galway
Gaelic Footballer of the Year: Aidan Walsh

RUGBY
Heineken Cup: Ulster
Six Nations: Ireland
RACING
Gold Cup: Flemenstar

SOCCER
Champions League: Barcelona
Premier League: Manchester United
Mayo Super League: Westport United

Sporting wish for 2013: That sportsmanship would prevail throughout all sports.
Sporting event you’d most like to see live in 2013: The British Open Golf Championship.
Sportsperson who is going to make biggest impact in 2013: Rory McIlroy.

Daniel Carey
GAA
Mayo SFC Champions: Castlebar to beat Ballina in a reversal of the ‘egg cup final’ of 1947 (look it up).
Mayo IFC Champions: Burrishoole. Surely losing four finals in a row would constitute cruel and unusual punishment?
Mayo JFC Champions: Ardnaree to go where The Neale have gone before.
Mayo SHC Champions: Tooreen. I think Ballyhaunis have to play in the Champions League now that they’ve done five in a row.

All-Ireland Football Champions: The Dubs. How could you go against fans who respond to a Michael McAuley point by chanting ‘Ooh Ah, Paul McGrath’?
All-Ireland Hurling Champions: Galway, Despite the fact that, to quote the delegate of a now-deceased club: “Never, in all my years coming to Galway Hurling Board meetings, have Fohenagh ever got fairity!” (And yes, he really said ‘fairity’.)
Gaelic Footballer of the Year: ‘The Gooch’. By which I mean either Kevin Feerick of Hollymount/Carramore or Kerry’s Colm Cooper.

RUGBY
Heineken Cup: Toulon. Because it’s been toulon (geddit?) since they won it.
Six Nations: France. I recently found myself humming La Marseillaise on the street, only to be met by a man who was loudly reciting the Our Father.

RACING
Gold Cup: Arkle. What do you mean he’s dead?

SOCCER
Champions League: Barcelona, which would please a man I met last year who hitched from Croatia to Catalonia wearing only two t-shirts.
Premier League: Manchester United. Playing like disinterested fops (copyright Paul Flynn 2012) they may be, but they’ll hardly be stopped now.
Mayo Super League: Westport United. Which is surely the kiss of death for them.

Sporting wish for 2013: To recreate Rene Higuita’s famous scorpion kick in a game of Subbuteo. I reckon it’ll take most of the year to perfect.
Sporting event you’d most like to see live in 2013: The African Nations Cup. To see if Ghana are still ‘finding it difficult to impregnate the Cameroon defence’, as Eurosport’s Dave Farrar alleged during the 2008 competition.
Sportsperson who is going to make biggest impact in 2013: Roddy Collins, the new Athlone Town manager. The man who vowed ‘I will manage my country’, shortly before he parted company with Carlisle United.