Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Sport
Mirror reporter

Tyrone star Ruairi Canavan's incredible skill goes viral with Neymar comparison

Sunday's Ulster club quarter-final clash between Errigal Ciaran of Tyrone and Derry champions Glen was one of the greatest sporting encounters you are likely to see and it included one moment of sheer magic that has gone global.

Glen eventually progressed to the last four after a classic but they were pushed all the way by the Tyrone side with the Canavan brothers Darragh and Ruairi showing all their class in an epic game.

The siblings - sons of Tyrone icon Peter - put on an exhibition at times with Joe Brolly commenting: "Hilarious from the two Canavan boys. Laughing out loud at their audacity. Imaginative, daring and terrific fun to watch. Cannot remember the last time I enjoyed a game so much."

Read next: Kerry GAA spend almost €850,000 on senior football team on way to All-Ireland win

One moment stood out above all others, with the clip from TG4 sport quickly shared by Colm Parkinson's Smaller Fish GAA podcast social media pages.

With the ball played back to Ruairi Canavan some 30 yards from goal he produces a magnificent dummy solo to elude the despairing dive of Glen's Ryan Dougan before splitting the posts to complete an unbelievable individual score;

The video from the Smaller Fish GAA feed was shared hundreds of times and often by global sporting sites with viewers amazed by the skill on show.

Glen defender Dougan was the committed defender caught out by the moment of magic and even he had to hold his hands up on Twitter.

"Win some, lose some," said Dougan with his club going on to face Cargin of Antrim in the Ulster semi-final.

Fans worldwide were in amazement at the GAA skill even though quite a few were new to the ancient Irish game.

Jessica Bradley Rushing commented: "I’m telling you, Irish football is nasty and so fun to watch, and is the most athletic sport I’ve ever seen played."

"Everything about this is so good. Peak over the shoulder, commitment to the 'shot', close control of the solo to the body. Class," said Ger Dodrill.

"Imagine Neymar could use his hands and feet," said Rakim_Jr on Twitter.

"A Canavan doing Canavan things," said Chris Greer.

The clip came from TG4's live broadcast of the game and the score has been viewed another 40,000 times on their Twitter feed alone.

Unfortunately, it's the last we will see of the Canavan brothers in action this season with their club campaign at an end. They are expected to return to action with Tyrone in early 2023.

READ NEXT:

Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email alerts

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.