Frustrated Bowe dwells on positives despite Croker letdown

TOMMY BOWE once dreamed of playing Gaelic football with Monaghan in Croke Park.

He got to GAA headquarters, alright, but suffered the nightmare of watching Ireland’s Championship and Triple Crown hopes going up in smoke.

However, Bowe is convinced the good times will return for Ireland. He made the point that there was a very narrow line between success and failure. There were, he admitted, a couple of turning points in the game, particularly after the first half. “We didn’t get that try (Shane Horgan was held up a couple of inches from the line) early on and it was so close. If it had been scored, we would probably have been 13-0 up at the break and that would have been a huge boost.