Make 2009 a green year.

Ireland fans may be beginning to wonder if 2009 is going to be a monumental year. On the eve of Saint Patrick's Day, things are looking incredibly rosy for the Emerald Isle. David Gillick's fall in his 400m heats at the European Athletics Championships was a big blow for Ireland's attempts at a golden haul. A blow cushioned, however, by Derval O'Rourke's 60m Hurdles bronze medal and Mary Cullen's gutsy front-running, the latter also taking bronze in the 3000m. Furthermore, the relatively unknown name of Ciara Mageean is being tipped as the next Sonia O'Sullivan; the 17 year old producing numerous notable runs over the country and on track.

In the world of golf, the future is even brighter. Rory McIlroy is rightly receiving high praise across the globe, thanks to a number of stirring performances from the Holywood teenager. Ernie Els and Tiger Woods, for example, think that McIlroy has what it takes to be the next world number one after Woods; no higher praise than from the man himself. Throw into the equation Padraig Harrington's form and the Northern Irish trio of Michael Hoey, Gareth Maybin and Graeme McDowell, and Ireland can be a force for years to come.

Next month's Snooker World Championships has another three Northern Irishmen (Mark Allen, Joe Swail and Gerard Greene) in the main draw. This year's tournament may come a little too soon for the trio, but of the three, Allen seems the most likley to regularly challenge for ranking titles. The current world number 16 might just surprise a few people next month. Swail, on the other hand, may dispute that following his recent run to the final in last month's Welsh Open.

The footballers face a vital period at the end of this month. A victory over Bulgaria would put the Irish in a strong position to finish in the top two. Anything other than defeat against the Italians a few days later in Bari is likely to send the travelling thousands into dreamland. So, you'd agree that 2009 could be a productive year for Ireland? And we haven't even mentioned the rugby yet.

On Saturday evening, Ireland maintained their hopes of a first Grand Slam since 19-God-knows-when with a hard fought victory over a powerful and disciplined Scotland at Murrayfield. The first half of this RBS Six Nations clash was by no means classic, but the Irish class shone through in the second half, lead by the impressive Peter Stringer and the once-again reliable boot of Ronan O'Gara.

One mustn't forget the contributions of Brian O'Driscoll again. The Irish captain wasn't as imperious as he has been in a few previous games, but again underlined his importance to the Grand Slam cause; in particular a bruising challenge on Scotland's Phil Godman. The fly-half was bundled into touch metres away from the try-line as the first half appeared as though it would end disastrously for the Irish. Had that score have materialised, Ireland may well have struggled to recover.

They got the result, and now go to the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on Saturday evening to face Wales. Any defeat of less than 13 points will seal the Six Nations crown. Any win will seal the Grand Slam that has eluded the Irish for so long. Anything else doesn't bear thinking about. So as you stare into your Saint Patrick's Day pint, whether you're Irish or not, you have to wonder what the rest of the year and, indeed, the week will have in store.

Turkish delight for Sir Alex.

What a weekend of sport, eh? It's not over just yet, so here goes with a bumper blog to make up for a relative lack of posts over the last week or so.

Grand disappointment for Wales.

The RBS Six Nations finally sparked into life this weekend, and put a halt to the processionary march of the Irish and Welsh towards a Grand Slam showdown in Cardiff on March 21st. Wales travelled to Paris for the first ever Friday Six Nations match, and although they got off to a great start, France showed much more passion and spirit in levelling things up by half time. This trend continued into the second half, and France had enough in the tank to hold off resurgent waves of red. Scotland also got their campaign running with a comprehensive win over Italy at Murrayfield. Although coach Frank Hadden believes Scotland can cause the Irish some problems, his claim that they are back in the title hunt are a little optimistic, to say the least.

Perhaps the most tense, and definitely the worst, game of this year's championship was saved for last this weekend. For England, discipline is a huge problem. As if giving away penalties for fun wasn't bad enough, continuing the ridiculous trend of needless yellow cards ensured that England's winless run in Dublin will be at least 8 years. Ireland weren't much better, but they were more disciplined, conceded less penalties, and Ronan O'Gara managed to fluke a few kicks, given the fact that he seemed to be wearing flippers. One man stood out, however, and for the second time this year captain Brian O'Driscoll produced a magnificent performance to lead his side home. His drop goal was sublime, and his try proved to be the difference. England will be left to rue the fact that had they kept 15 men on the pitch at all times, their late surge might just have been a winning one.

Premier League, you're having a laugh.

If there is one man who will be delighted with this weekend's footballing action, it is Sir Alex Ferguson. Without having played in the Premier League, Manchester United have tightened their grip on the trophy. Chelsea had to leave it late to keep their remote chances alive, whilst Aston Villa threw away 2 points at Villa Park, but the big news comes from the Riverside Stadium where Liverpool showed the ruthlessness of a Paul Scholes challenge in succumbing to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Middlesbrough.

Liverpool dominated the opening proceedings and had a number of chances after Xabi Alonso's own goal, but the truth is that the winning margin could have been even greater for a Middlesbrough side who wouldn't be half bad at home if they could always attract larger attendances at the Riverside. Liverpool fans may well have taken a 1-0 win in the League rather than their win at Real Madrid, but Europe looks to be the focal point of yet another season. One thing is for sure - those fans longing for a league triumph now appear to have been put out of their misery for another year, thanks to Sanli Tuncay.

Spurs pay the penalty.

Sunday's Carling Cup Final was a brilliant game despite the goalless scoreline. Both teams had a go in an opening and entertaining game and both had chances to win it. Aaron Lennon was inspired for Tottenham Hotspur, and was only denied by a top-class Ben Foster save in the closing stages of normal time at Wembley. Lennon should be disappointed with his end product though, as too many times he worked himself into decent positions and failed to produce one worthy cross.

Cristiano Ronaldo, on the other hand, was nowhere near his best but showed why he is the reigning World Player of the Year in stoppage time, hammering a sweet strike against the post. Extra-time was a predictably dull affair, and whilst penalties is a lottery, United's takers were much more confident, inspired by Ryan Giggs' stunning effort to kick things off. United now have two of a possible five trophies. That is a long way off, of course, but Ferguson will wake up on Monday morning with a smile on his face, and there is no reason why he shouldn't.

Ashes nations face difficult final days.

England's cricketers have endured a terrible weekend at the hands of an assured West Indies display. Ramnarest Sarwan, in the form of his life even before he began his majestic innings at the Kensington Oval in Barbados, was the catalyst in leading the Windies past a first innings target of 600. A stunning 291 for Sarwan was ably backed up by Ramdin (166) and Chanderpaul (70) as England's lack of a strike bowler in the absence of Andrew Flintoff was brutally exposed. England now need to bat through most of the final day to avoid an unlikely defeat, and the West Indies will be confident of going into the final Test needing only a draw to secure the series victory.

I've also been keeping an eye on South Africa v Australia in Johannesburg, an altogether more entertaining and exciting Test Match. South Africa's fielding heroics on day 4 and a solid start from openers Neil McKenzie and Graeme Smith have ensured an enthralling final day on Monday. Set a world record target of 454 to win, South Africa ended the fourth day on 178-2, needing 276 to win. With less than 100 overs to face, the Proteas need to score at an average of just over 2.8 per over for another famous victory in this latest clash between the world's two best (and by quite some distance) Test nations.

Good week, bad week.

The luck of the Irish.

It may not have been plain sailing, but the Republic of Ireland last night secured another vital 3 points in their World Cup 2010 qualifying group, thanks to a debateable (at best) penalty. The Irish are now joint top of the group with Italy, and the World Champions will, most certainly, be looking over their shoulders.

Next up for Ireland is Bulgaria at Croke Park at the end of March. When this group was drawn, many Irish fans looked at this fixture as a must-win if they were to finish second in the group and secure a play-off place. Now, however, beat Bulgaria and Ireland can travel to the south-eastern city of Bari knowing that a point would almost make them favourites to win the group outright and book their (economy class) seats on the plane to South Africa.

It's still a big ask of Trappatoni's men, but after their best ever start to a World Cup qualifying campaign, expectations are beginning to soar. One thing is sure, though - Ireland need to stop conceding silly early or needless late goals, particularly the latter. With a world-class goalkeeper, a potentially solid back four, and ten points out of twelve in the bank, Irish fans can at least begin to dream.

Bad week for England.

Whilst the Irish have enjoyed a great sporting week, the same can not be applied to England. The win over Italy in the Six Nations has been heavily criticised by many, although that performance was as good as a World Cup win in relation to the cricketers' embarassing collapse against the West Indies. The footballers didn't fare much better, with a comprehensive defeat at the hands of European Champions, Spain. On the bright side, the cricket and rugby teams have the opportunity to begin rectifying things this weekend.

First up are the cricketers, who begin their second Test Match tomorrow in Antigua. With the possible exceptions of Andrew Flintoff and the somewhat imperious Kevin Pietersen, England seem to be lacking any sort of inspiration. It will be interesting to see whether Ian Bell keeps his place at number three, with Owais Shah (rightly) breathing down his neck. Since falling one short of a maiden double-century against South Africa at Lord's last summer, Bell has failed spectacularly on a number of occasions. I won't be overly surprised if Bell is named in the team tomorrow, but at least one change will be needed, and it could (perhaps should) be Ian Bell.

On Saturday, England's rugby team travel to Cardiff's Millennium Stadium to take on an impressive Wales team. England won't be heavily fancied for this one, and Martin Johnson said earlier in the week that not much will be expected of them. Try telling that to the tens of thousands who got sucked into World Cup fever in 2003, and again in 2007, Martin. In case Mr. Johnson hasn't realised yet (I'm sure he has, really), England fans are always expectant. After Saturday, England travel to Croke Park two weeks later. With Ireland expected to beat Italy on Sunday, lose against Wales and England's Six Nations campaign for 2009 may well be over.

Not much can really be said about England's footballers' performance last night. They played well in patches, and David Beckham's second-half showing may give England fans belief that he is still capable of performing at the very top level. Quite simply, England were taught a lesson by an admittedly brilliant Spanish team. While England struggle to find a permanent goalkeeper, for example, the Spanish boast Jose Reina, as backup to Iker Casillas. Fabio Capello won't be too worried about last night's defeat, but for the English sporting all-rounder, it brought to an end a frustrating week.

Nadal slams doping rules.

Finally, a word on Rafael Nadal's rant about the stringent anti-doping rules in tennis. For those of you unaware of the process, each player must state where they will be for one hour of every day, so they can be selected for random tests. If a player misses three of these tests in 18 months, they may face a suspension. You may agree with Nadal that these rules are over the top, but with career earnings already surpassing $22 million, and approaching $1.5 million for the year, surely he should be privileged to be in the position that he is. You are a professional Rafa, start acting like it.