Hat-tricks at Croker and Murrayfield but not Ardee

Saturday was a good day for hat-tricks. Con O’Callaghan got one at Croke Park, while Duhan van der Merwe sprinted his way to one at Murrayfield.

Pity Sam Mulroy didn’t come in with another the following day. The Louth sharpshooter got two goals and, like O’Callaghan, added points, but good as his contribution was, it wasn’t enough to give his Louth side a victory in a match dealt with elsewhere on these pages.

O’Callaghan was, as you would expect, the main contributor as Dublin put down an early marker in their 2024 joust with Kerry. There may not, however, be another joust. If there is, it will almost certainly be in the championship.

Derry are making swift progress in Division One of the league, odds-on to contest the final. And right now they look the best bet to make the championship more than a two-horse race.

If they do go one better than last year, they’ll be in the final. Anyone who thinks the big teams don’t take the league seriously wouldn’t have been at Croke Park, or, indeed, looking in on television last Saturday night.

The game’s keenest of rivals did all they could to win the points, though you wouldn’t think that of Kerry in the opening half. Unable to curb the O’Callaghan threat, in particular, the Munster men were in deficit for the entire 35 minutes.

The Dublin lead stood at 11 points in the second half, but far from packing it in, Kerry came thundering back to trail by just three points. Dublin steadied the ship with the third of O’Callaghan’s goals, and in the end were well clear.

Croke Park hostilities began soon after Scotland won the Calcutta Cup for the fourth year in succession, coming from ten points down to beat the auld enemy. Van der Merwe was majestic, showing the pace of an Olympic sprinter to cross the line three times.

If Scotland win their next game and Ireland beat England, the stage will be set for a mouth-watering finale, a meeting of the Celtic cousins going ahead at The Aviva. Ireland kept themselves on course by beating Wales on Saturday.

There was a big difference on The Aviva scoreboard at the finish, yet, the pundits – and, indeed, head coach, Andy Farrell – weren’t particularly happy with the home team’s performance.

If the expected improvement comes in the concluding matches, you’d expect history to be made, back-to-back Grand Slam wins coming this way for the first time. And all the time we wonder what might have been in Paris last year.

Duhan van der Merwe, as you could guess from his name, wasn’t born in The Gorbals, or anywhere near it. He’s South African, and qualifies under the same rule that allows the bang-in-form Bundee Aki to play for Ireland.

And where was that other Ireland player with the strange-sounding name, Josh van der Flier, born? In Wicklow town, to Dutch parents. There’s no record of him having ever played Gaelic football, unlike another rugby International born in the Garden County, Paul McNaughton.

The one-time manager – as distinct from head coach – of the Ireland team played minor hurling with his native county before successfully mixing Gaelic football, soccer and rugby at adult level.

He was on the Shelbourne team beaten in the 1973 FAI Cup final, and a few months later lined out against Louth in a Leinster Championship first round match at Croke Park. He would again experience a Cup final defeat with Shelbourne before concentrating on a rugby career, during which he won 15 caps.

Galway City didn’t need a hat-trick hero at Oriel Park on Friday night. A goal each from McCarthy and Dervin were enough to give them victory, taking the shine of Dundalk’s workmanlike draw with Shamrock Rovers the previous week. There are some testing games coming up for Stephen O’Donnell’s side.