Talented Murphy should have too much for McGuigan

DAVID MURPHY will be hot favourite when he faces Ulster champion Conor McGuigan in Sunday’s All-Ireland senior bowling final on the Markethill Road in Tassagh, Co Armagh.

McGuigan contested last year’s intermediate All-Ireland final against Patrick O’Donoghue over Sunday’s course and while he put it up to the Munster champion he did not have the bowling to put him away.

Winning the Ulster intermediate title put him into the senior ranks this year and he settled in well. He comprehensively defeated Brian O’Reilly in the Ulster final at Knappagh, a fine achievement and confirmed he is a strong bowler.

Beating Murphy though is a different challenge. Murphy has more talent than almost any bowler since the days of Mick Barry. There are no certainties in sport, but it is unlikely that McGuigan can pull this one off.

It will be a very big weekend for both the Murphys and the Raffertys of Armagh. David Murphy’s father John contests the Veteran (Over-50) final against Oliver Gribben and his first-cousin Kieran plays Ethan Rafferty in the U18 final. Rafferty’s brother Colm also contests the U16 final against Neil Crowley.

The U18 final could potentially be the score of the weekend. While Munster fans will be convinced of the invincibility of Kieran Murphy after his mesmeric opening five bowls in the Munster final at Baile Mhuirne, they should add caution to their optimism.

There is no question that Murphy is an exceptional U18 champion but he will be facing a bigger player in Rafferty than he has at any time in championship 2011. Rafferty blew John O’Sullivan away in last year’s U16 final. Like Murphy he comes with a lot of pedigree, being a member of the famous Toal family. For many Ulster bowling fans he is the heir apparent to his uncle Michael Toal’s vacant throne.

Killian Kingston will be confident of beating Tyrone’s Donal Daly in Saturday’s Junior B final. This is a major achievement for Kingston, who won the Junior C last year. Daly will be up for the challenge, but Kingston might just have too much bowling for him.

Cathriona Murphy will be bidding for a second All-Ireland title in 2011 when she takes on Hayley O’Neill-Morgan in the intermediate final. She beat Carly Grimley in a thrilling U18 final at Dunmanway earlier this month and looks to have too much bowling for her Ulster opponent. John Murphy, although he came through the novice half of the Munster championship, would look to have the measure of Oliver Gribben in the Veteran final. Home venue may give Gribben some benefit, but not enough to beat Murphy. The opening score of the weekend is the U16 final between Neil Crowley and Colm Rafferty while Ciara Buckley and Sinead Kiernan contest the girls U16 final.

* All-Ireland Bowling Championships: Tassagh (Markethill Road), Armagh. Saturday: Boys U16: Neil Crowley v Colm Rafferty; Girls U16: Ciara Buckley v Sinead Kiernan; Wayne Kingston v Donal Daly; Veteran (Over-50): John Murphy v Oliver Gribben. Sunday: Boys U18: Kieran Murphy v Ethan Rafferty; Intermediate Women: Cathriona Murphy v Haley O’Neill-Morgan; Senior: David Murphy v Conor McGuigan.