There wont be much in this Test match either way, but buoyed by the home support and armed | Forum

The 2016 Summer Olympics came to an end Sunday night with a closing ceremony in Rio that had a little of everything: samba dancers, giant parrots, Simone Biles carrying the American flag, an encore from Tongas greased-up flag-bearer Pita Nikolas Taufatofua, and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe emerging from a huge green warp pipe dressed as Super Mario. Adidas Esa Lindell Jersey .Team USA marched with extra swagger, winning the medal count for the sixth straight Summer Games. The Americans not only led the way with 121 medals, they also led in every medal category -- gold, silver and bronze -- for the seventh time in Olympic history and first since 1948.Doing a great deal of the heavy lifting for America, once again, were the women, accounting for 61 of the countrys medals. The men won 55, and five were won in mixed events. That the American women out--earned the men for a second straight Games is particularly impressive considering that just 44 percent of the medals given out in Rio were in womens events.From Biles and Katie Ledecky to Claressa Shields and Kim Rhode, the U.S. women absolutely dominated. In fact, if Team USA were divided into separate mens and womens teams, the ladies 61 medals would be third overall at the Games, behind only the combined mens and womens efforts of Great Britain and China. Their 27 golds would be tied for first with Great Britain.The success of Americas female Olympians is due, in part, to the passing of Title IX in 1972. The law barred discrimination in education, greatly impacting athletic programs for women and girls from collegiate levels on down.Title IX paved the way and created so many opportunities for women in sport, nine--time Olympic medalist Allyson Felix told the United States Olympic Committee. I feel so proud and so inspired by the strong women on our team. Its such an amazing group to be a part of and I think about all the images of successful women reaching young girls back at home --- those are the things that last.Indeed, the Olympics are a rare time when viewers take in nearly as many images of female athletes as male. A time when the accomplishments of female athletes are given the same weight as those of their male counterparts. America seemed particularly enchanted with the achievements of the female gymnasts, swimmers and runners, who captured countless headlines and tons of airtime. And if fans wanted to watch events that might not make primetime --say, womens wrestling or weightlifting ?they could live stream them online. It was the most access viewers have had to Olympic events.With each medal won, the U.S. women demanded more and more of the spotlight. Yes, sometimes the coverage they received wasnt as winning as their athletic achievements, but even in those moments of misogyny, some progress could be found. Caitlin Kelly, managing editor of Vice Sports, spoke on my podcast about how the strong reaction to the sexist coverage is a win.One thing that was ... encouraging was seeing that people are pointing it out, Kelly said. I think more and more people have the language now to be able to point it out and to be able to discuss why its problematic and why portraying female athletes in the same way that male athletes have always been portrayed is so important.I think theres definitely progress being made, Kelly continued. People are more aware, maybe, of what we want our sports world to look like. And feel more empowered through social media and have a platform to say what we think people should be focusing on when they talk about women in sports.On Sunday night, in a sea of Olympians, Biles stood out, despite her 4-foot-9 frame. She was inundated with photo requests from American teammates and athletes from other countries, as well. In a stadium full of literal and figurative giants, a small but powerful female athlete was the star, and the respect her fellow competitors showed her should be an example for fans and media. Adidas Bobby Smith Jersey . Cote was eligible to become a free agent Feb. 15. Cote helped running back Jon Cornish run for a league-high 1,813 rushing yards en route to being named the leagues most outstanding player. Adidas Jiri Hudler Jersey . Thats about all he can do right now, so hes trying not to think about when he might be able to play again for the Los Angeles Lakers. http://www.starshockeypro.com/adidas+dino+ciccarelli+stars+jersey . There are some early surprises in the race for the Hart Trophy, but two of the contenders are the leagues biggest stars over the past decade. There are many more players in contention for the awards than just the three that Ive named, and a good or bad week can easily alter the landscape, but through the first 20 or so games of the NHL season, this is how the awards races look to me. Saturday, kick-off 17:30Aviva StadiumIt will be a contrast in personnel when Ireland and Australia meet in Dublin this weekend. For the hosts, much of this week has been about recuperating and monitoring the injury ward following last Saturdays brutal showdown with the All Blacks. The Wallabies, meanwhile, were able to rest a host of first-choice players - or at least start them from the bench - as they escaped Paris with a second narrow win in as many weeks.Michael Cheikas rejuvenated outfit are three from three in Europe, with their horror domestic season starting to drift a little further from the memory with each win. With a new-look front five and some different faces in the backs, the Wallabies were able to maintain their shape in attack and did just enough in defence to edge Les Bleus. The scrum was certainly an issue in Paris, though a return to the regular front-row of Scott Sio, Stephen Moore and Sekope Kepu should help matters at the Aviva.Ireland may have finished up on the wrong side of the ledger last week, but they were far from disgraced in what was a hugely physical Test match. Had it been for a little more poise in their finishing, the Irish could well have notched back-to-back win over the All Blacks. A win over another top southern hemisphere nation will surely ease the pain.Team newsJoe Schmidt has made four changes to the side that lost to the All Blacks, with Garry Ringrose, Keith Earls, Paddy Jackson and Iain Henderson coming into the starting lineup. Johnny Sexton [hamstring], Robbie Henshaw [concussion], Donnacha Ryan [fatigue] and Simon Zebo miss out as Ireland face Australia for the first time since defeating the Wallabies in 2014. Josh van der Flier returns to the bench having come in for CJ Stander after the latter was replaced after suffering a concussion last week.?Having rung the changes against France, Michael Cheika has gone for the strongest fifteen available to him. There are two changes to the side that defeated Scotland two weeks ago. Adam Coleman went off injured, five minutes into the win, replaced by Rob Simmons. Simmons lines up alongside Rory Arnold, while Dean Mumm comes into the team at flanker, with Pocock moving to No. 8.?Ireland: Kearney, Trimble, Payne, Ringrose, Earls, Jackson, Murray; McGrath, Best, Furlong, Henderson, Toner, Stander, OBrien, Heaslip.Replacements: Cronin, Healy, Bealham, Dillane, van der Flier, Marmion, Carbery, Zebo.Australia: Folau, Haylett-Petty, Kuridrani, Hodge, Speight, Foley, Genia; Sio, Moore, Kepu, Arnold, Simmons, Mumm, Hooper, Pocock.Replacements: Latu, Slipper, Alaalatoa, Douglas, Timani, McMahon, Phipps, Cooper, Naivalu (one to be omitted).Key matchup: Sean OBrien vs Michael HooperSean OBrien knows how to get it done against Australia. At the 2011 World Cup, OBrien played a critical role in the Pool victory over the Wallabies, his tackling and work at the breakdown key in exposing Australias lack of a true fetcher after David Pocock had been injured earlier in the tournament. The Irish openside has had his fair share of injuries since then but a workmanlike outing against New Zealand last week suggests hes back to his best, albeit a little weary after the physical encounter. Adidas Brian Bellows Jersey. If OBrien is feeling the pinch of last weeks test, the Michael Hooper is in the complete opposite camp given he watched last weeks win over France from the Stade de France sidelines. While Hooper admitted it was tough viewing, particularly the final few minutes, the value of a weeks break cannot be underestimated for a player whose Super Rugby and Test workload would trump just about any other for 2016. David Pocock was superb in Hoopers absence, but the duo will need to be at their best against a formidable Ireland back-row in Dublin.Key stats- Ireland and Australia have met 18 times in the Emerald Isle, the Wallabies winning on 11 occasion, Ireland six and there has been one draw.- Since the rebuild of Landsdowne Road, the teams have split their two clashes at the Aviva one apiece.- Tevita Kuridrani has scored a try in each of Australias victories in Europe this autumn.WeatherIt will be no great surprise that Dublin is expecting a showery day in the lead-up to kick-off, though most of the rain should have fallen before the opening whistle. The mercury should hover around 8 degrees Celsius for the 80 minutes.What they saidNot having Johnny (Sexton) didnt quite give us the same kind of organisation. Not that Paddy Jackson cant do that, we saw in South Africa in the summer that he can, but he hadnt had nearly as much time in the saddle recently as Johnny. So what were hoping is that theyve had a bit of game time together last week, and weve had training since, and hopefully those guys can get a bit of confidence from that. Ireland coach Joe Schmidt.I wouldnt say they had a week off deluxe. They didnt have the feet up at the hotel relaxing. However, they had some time off and some time working and training. All of them have had big loads this year. But at the same time, I think were just starting to get to our proper fitness. Last week was not just about breaking guys, it was also about giving other guys an opportunity. Australia coach Michael Cheika.VerdictIreland have been weakened somewhat by the injuries to Johnny Sexton and Robbie Henshaw but in Paddy Jackson and Garry Ringrose they have two fine replacements. The bigger issue is perhaps the toll that last weekends physical showdown against New Zealand has taken on Joe Schmidts men. In the Australian camp, the likes of Hooper, Folau, Kepu and Sio will have all benefited from last weeks spell while Dean Mumms return to No.6 shows theyre wary of Irelands lineout strength. The Wallabies, too, are perhaps a little lucky to still have their grand slam dreams alive after a narrow win over Scotland a fortnight ago. There wont be much in this Test match either way, but buoyed by the home support and armed with the coaching nous of Schmidt, it will be the home side smiling come Saturday night.Ireland by three. Cheap NFL JerseysCheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From ChinaCheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys China NFL Cheap Jerseys' ' '