Ruby Walsh (right) and Ray Houghton (left) (Picture: Getty Images)
MANY people consider it to be the greatest moment in Irish sporting history, not Ruby!
During RTE's new programme Ireland’s Greatest Sporting Moments last night, the programme began looking at the 1990s and all of the wonderful sporting moments of that decade.
A longlist of 10 was cut to a five-strong shortlist yesterday afternoon and with, Des Cahill and Evanne Ni Chuillin presenting, Ruby Walsh, Derval O’Rourke and Ronan O’Gara debated the merits of each.
During one point in the night, Ruby Walsh — one of the finest jockeys this country has ever produced — took umbrage with the fact that Ray Houghton’s goal against Italy at the 1994 World Cup had been included.
“I don’t think it should be in it, I don’t think it should be there,” Walsh said. “We won the first game in our group, it’s like winning a heat. That’s all we did.
That’s what we do in Ireland — jump up and down about mediocrity,’ the jockey said during last night’s episode of the show.
Strong views and, strangely, he didn’t apply the same reasoning to Ireland’s exploits at the 1990 World Cup, where Jack Charlton’s side drew their group games before going through to the quarter-finals after a penalty shootout with Romania.
