Derek O'Donnell

@mp_horseracing It’s a living legend Bruce McAvaney! You would have seen and heard him at the Melbourne Cup many times.

This is epic. Love the passion from the commentator too

@WestTip1986 @HughRacing Really enjoyed reading through this. Brought back great memories. And how good was Richard Dunwoody!!!!

Forty years ago today West Tip won the Grand National. A magnificent horse who played a big role in my life – this is something of a personal thread but I couldn’t let the anniversary slip by without paying a small tribute to him. 🧵

@AtTheRaces @MCYeeehaaa @PaddyBrennan81 @BoyleSports 1) Ruby 2) Francome 3) AP 4) Dunwoody 5) Geraghty

Who are @MCYeeehaaa & @PaddyBrennan81's top five jockeys of all time? Put your opinions down below ⬇️ #Unbridled @BoyleSports

@SmallerFishGAA Didn’t Nicky English always do this so what are the boys claiming that it was different ‘back in the day’ ???

"It's like a pan frying an egg, for that split second they hold it on the bass" Brian and Cyril think some free takers are fouling the ball and getting away with it. Why have referees stopped pulling it?

@JamieWall2 @NewYorkNixon Your post shows a real lack of understanding as to what is being celebrated re the 6N. It’s not about the number of tries at all. It’s the quality of the competition from the perspective of so many unpredictable results each week.

I mean that was a great test match, no doubt about that. But seriously, the fact that so many people are ready to venerate this as the greatest 6N of all time? Its key component has been high scoring matches and a kit clash, making a lot of what you’ve said about Super Rugby since like, forever, feel just a tad two faced right now. But hey, keep blaming NZ and Aus for trying to make stuff like this happen on a more regular basis! And this isn’t just a dumbass social media thing, either. This perception literally manifested itself into a situation at World Rugby level just last month, so like maybe put away the partisan perceptions and just admit you like watching tries get scored?

@ColinBoden7 @GLynchRacing I wonder if any starter could solve the challenges as the course setup(coming around the bend) is surely the biggest issue, which makes you wonder why the course didn’t address this after similar challenges last year?

@GLynchRacing What's your opinion on the performance of Robbie Supple Gavin? I appreciate that in quite a few of the races they came in too quick but felt on a couple of occasions at least he could have let them go. I think Ruby mentioned starting on a bend doesn't help either.

I’m not saying this is the answer to the starting problems that have blighted so many races this week but something along these lines might help. Wouldn’t work on heavy ground. A moving start of some description might improve things. The current system needs changing 🤔

@MCYeeehaaa @PaddyBrennan81 @AtTheRaces @benpauling1 @gavincromwell1 You have been top class this week Matt. A series of top class interviews and the beaten jockeys interviews add real value. Ignore the begrudgers.

This is it! Gold Cup 🏆 Unbridled is out with @PaddyBrennan81 ready for you all to enjoy @AtTheRaces 🏆🏇💪 Contributions from @benpauling1 and @gavincromwell1 Yeeehaaa!

@frankhickey81 The stress for the starter must be phenomenal to be fair as he is getting heat from the jockeys and knows it’s a big media storm. Is it the starter himself or the setup of the course causing the issues?

I think Igor Tudor is doing a better job as manager of Spurs, than Robbie Supple is doing as the starter at Cheltenham.

@ARugbyReferee @ChrisSru880101 This is where we have over complicated rugby for the ‘average’ viewer. A ball that travels forward that far simply looks forward to most people, and trying to justify it on the nuance of hands and momentum needlessly confuses people about the game….

@ChrisSru880101 Whilst this pass may have been forwards (I’d need to see the arms move), these two screen shots do not prove it, as the trajectory of the ball relative to the ground isn’t what determines whether it’s forwards or not.

That is fucking outrageous 🤣🤣🤣 And people were saying the ref gave the game to Scotland. Behave. Menoncello must feel sick looking at that. His was way more marginal.

@patmccarry If he was playing with any province except Leinster he would not be in the Irish jersey.

Absolutely zero coincidence that France keep finding Sam Prendergast when attacking, no matter where they put him Himself and JGP have missed 8 tackles between them, so far

@Tomptin The fact that you have 27.5k followers and he has 140 should give you enough assurance to ignore his comments and realise that you have a majority of people following you who understand horse racing and the vagaries of tipping…

Tweets like this are the downside of doing the job I love. Wake up to this rubbish regularly. ‘Couldn’t tip a wheelbarrow’ - that cliched phrase. 3 winners from my last 6 on ‘Tipping Tom’ and in overall profit after 9 months covering the hardest races. Not to mention US (6 winners from last 9 and a huge 3-year ROI) + Saudi stats. ‘Sounds like a robot’ - apparently being fluent and informative is bad now. People prefer blithering idiots. There are enough of them. ‘Wasted Christmas Day studying’ - In the first 20 seconds of this video, I clearly state I didn’t do any on Xmas day, not that it even matters. Doesn’t even listen. Crazy.

@OBBY001 100% but debate about d law changes is valid & encourages balance to ensure the pursuit of speed is not at the cost of the fundamentals of what makes RU a great sport. While one country can recommend changes, in a global sport others are entitled to explore & assess b4 committing

@DerekODon It’s a competitive environment. Any measures to speed the game up & have more ball in play is a good thing.

Former Irish referees boss Owen Doyle has warned World Rugby that the Southern Hemisphere’s law tweaks could ruin the 2027 Rugby World Cup. “He warned the governing body that the World Cup could turn into something more rugby league-like” Heaven forbid 🙄 planetrugby.com/news/ex-irish-…

@Brendennel The fact that u suggest any mitigation in ur tweet for an eye gouge says a lot about the mindset.It’s simply wrong & unacceptable and needs no justification. Every YC and RC for a Bok doesn’t have to be argued against on X. It’s ok to accept the ref can be right…

No excuse for Eben Etzebeth I'm afraid. That is straight red and lengthy ban. Whatever set him off may provide mitigation but can't see anything but a long ban for that. Unnecessary. Red card deserved

@Globalgallop The Steven Bradbury of horse racing….

Golden Ace now with a habit of turning up when the other’s don’t.

@Clibo01 Is Sam starting to look as slow as Ross Byrne????

Sam Prendergast could never #IREvRSA

@scrumming_ten Surely after a series of incidents, it’s simply a case of the Boks been taken as a squad to tackle school to help them understand how to tackle within the laws… or Rassie could do one of his great videos to teach his team how to tackle. #Springboks #Learnhowtotackle

Just a friendly reminder - World Rugby's offices are based in Dublin IRFU corruption exposed

@Oom_Rugby Surely after a series of incidents like this, it’s simply a case of the Boks been taken as a squad to tackle school to help them understand how to tackle within the laws… or Rassie could do one of his great videos to teach his team how to tackle. #Springboks #Learnhowtotackle

in the Lood and Franco red card cases , I think it is quite simple to “untangle” and to hold it up to the light we got more than enough video footage to go over , and we got World Rugby own protocol’s to see how they arrive at that decisions and if the decisions was correct. and there is maybe another conclusion we can draw at the end of it all… first , Lood went in with no arm. Ramos level change so he took the shoulder to the head. 1) clear head contact 2) Lood always reckless so no mitigation 3) red card. fine ✅ then Franco , also went in with no arm. 1) but no head contact 2) so the protocols doesn’t come into play 3) should have been a yellow. adjudication error ❌ the issues i take away is obviously that World Rugby is failing at making the right calls within own framework. and also that they “over cooking” the constant use of TMO in the flow of play. it is like my mother in law in my ear all the time over December holiday and it mean we just can not have a lekker time and enjoy ourself. but i also take away that in both cases the Springboks did not wrap… we can’t escape this guys it wil be easy for the Boks to look outward and purely be victims. but it is also worth to look inward and ask if they doing things in the right way. weather we got treated unfairly or not , the fact remain if you go in with a shoulder you opening yourself up to messy situations 🤷🏻‍♂️

@Tomptin Liberty hunter, L’eau de sud, Matata. 5L and 2L

Let’s get some action going! Who will finish 1-2-3 in the Shloer today (2.55 Cheltenham)? 2 people will get a month’s free subscription to my US tipping service as a prize. Please include a winning margin (nose, 1/2L, 2L etc) in your reply incase a tie-breaker is needed.

@bernardjackman @Rugby_Scoop @WorldRugby Interested if u think the 20 min red card system actually allowed the red card to be given. In the perm red card system previously,it may have been more likely the ref would have simply given a yellow and all move on,as would have been obvious it didn’t meet a red card threshold?

@Rugby_Scoop @WorldRugby Yes I have to admit I was anti the 20 minute red but in situations like this it is very useful.

If players can use common sense, what about referees? This is a poor reflection on @WorldRugby | Plus, thank god for 20 minute red card - see how it helps in situations like this??