The Morning Take

No love lost in Down

Love is in the air, apparently. It's the time of the year when couples who are in love celebrate their union. Those that aren't in a relationship may develop a yearning for one and those in an unhappy relationship might feel the Valentine's day spotlight could be the signal to end it. When a relationship disintegrates there is no easy way to fix it or end it. Looks like there is some lovin needed in Down GAA circles. Hard to believe that last September Down's 1991 Sam Maguire win was celebrated at Croke Park when captain Paddy O'Rourke and his fellow team mates were introduced to the crowd before the All Ireland Final, and months later the county is at at such a low ebb. The Down senior footballers lost their opening 2 Allianz League fixtures by a total of 15 points and Sundays 2-11 to 0-11 point defeat to Clare in Ennis made it 14 straight defeats for Down in League and Championship.

As an indicator of where things are at Down GAA's official twitter account endorsed a tweet from a club PRO calling for manager Eamonn Burns to resign. There is talk of player walkouts and boycotts. Sounds like a relationship counsellor is needed.

Get well soon Rob

Never good to hear that any player is injured at a time of year they have been training months for. It seems the participation of County Louths international full back Rob Kearney in the rest of the Six Nations could be in doubt.

The Leinster man damaged his bicep towards the end of Saturdays 63-10 win over Italy in Rome and there are fears the arm injury could require surgery in the cominig days. We'll keep the fingers crossed for him.

Great honour for ROG

Good to see Irelands rugby hero Ronan O'Gara being honoured by his own. The legendary No 10 is the sixth most-capped player in rugby history and is also Ireland and Munster’s record points scorer. Will that record ever be broken?

Raised on Leeside, he lived on the city’s southside before his move to Paris to take up a coaching role with Racing 92 and was suitably gracious on hearing the news. Well done ROG!

Thanks to the people of Cork who have always backed me. Proud of where I come from. Very humbled and honoured. ⚪️🔴⚪️🔴🇮🇪.

— Ronan O Gara (@RonanOGara10) 13 February 2017