Germany’s Tommy Mueller extended his overall lead in the Brewin Dolphin Dragon Gold Cup at Kinsale yesterday as a third place for the day and upset amongst his nearest rivals set the stage for the second half of the series.

Denis Pritchard will be particularly interested in how Ireland’s women fare for their clubs in this weekend’s final round of the Irish Hockey League, after he was this week appointed interim national coach.

MELVIN BEAMISH’S quick hands earned Bandon a famous 3-2 Irish Junior Cup victory over Cork Harlequins on Saturday.

CORK Church of Ireland will look to a clutch of youngsters to help in their bid to reclaim the men’s Irish Junior Cup when they welcome Mossley to Garryduff tomorrow (2pm).

Sam Waley-Cohen will bid to become the first amateur jockey to ride the winner of the John Smith’s Grand National in over 20 years when he partners Oscar Time at Aintree tomorrow.

THE semi-final picture should become clearer in the Irish Hockey League as a number of interprovincial rivalries are reprised this weekend.

ANOTHER chapter in Irish hockey’s most enduring club rivalry will be written this weekend when Dublin powerhouses Pembroke Wanderers and Glenanne lock horns in round two of the men’s Irish Senior Cup at Serpentine Avenue (3pm).

CORK HARLEQUINS andUCC got their ESB Irish Hockey League campaigns off to the perfect start as both picked up bonus-point wins on Saturday to lead the way after round one.

MISMATCHES were the order of the opening day of the hockey season in Munster, with the province’s heavy hitters all recording big wins on Saturday.

The Examiner’s football correspondent Liam Mackey likes a good argument when he hears it, and he’s got strong views of his own. Today, and every Tuesday, he will be acting as referee on your opinions on the Premiership. Let him know what you think and he’ll argue the toss with you. We’ll be offering a free sports prize to the star contribution each week.