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Off The Record: five stories you may have missed this weekend

MacGyver is back with a bang, Thierry being Thierry and the brilliance of Thomas Tyner.

UNLESS YOU’VE BEEN glued to the internet all weekend, there’s a chance that some weird and wonderful sporting tidbits might have slipped through the cracks. Here’s a run-down of some of our favourites…

1. #CHEEKY Every so often, goalkeepers like to remind the world that they are footballers too. This week’s evidence is presented by Manuel Neuer, who took it upon himself to give team-mate Toni Kroos the equivalent of a friendly dig as he lay on the turf injured.

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H/T Who ate all the pies?

2. #DROP-GOAL DRAMA We’re not quite sure why. But when Irish provinces head for Italy, our broadcasters often turn weak at the knees and impose a coverage black-out. This week it was Leinster’s turn to opt out of a live game by crossing the Alps. And while TG4 did attempt an online stream, it seems this was a game they’ll be sorry to have missed.

The first half wasn’t much use, but a little bit of stardust from Brian O’Driscoll and Jonathan Sexton were enough for the entrance fee (if not the license fee) alone.

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3. #THE OLD CROSS-RUCK FOREARM SMASH We’ll stick with the oval ball for now to find South Africa’s Dean Greyling taking a cheap shot at New Zealand captain Richie McCaw.

Now, we know McCaw can be infuriating, but you have to respect the guy. First he takes a blow from a Bok head as he is cleared from the ruck and then all 128 kilos of Greyling (who has apparently had his first name changed to MacGyver) flopped in from the side and onto McCaw’s jaw. Ouch.

McGyver has been banned for two weeks for this particular piece of ingenuity.

YouTube credit: Frank Jason

4. #REMEMBER THE NAME Thomas Tyner pushed his way into the record books at the weekend by rushing for 644 yards in an Oregon high school football game. Not only that, he racked up 10 touchdowns. Ten!

And wait, there’s more. This wasn’t just against some beaten docket: Tyner’s Aloha High School won the game 84-63, so as the nice man from ESPN points out “they needed most of those touchdowns’. Seven of ‘em, anyway.

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H/T Business Insider

5. YEAH, HE MEANT IT We’ve missed the little nonchalant pieces of magic Thierry Henry’s right boot used to provide. So this snippet from the New York Energy Drink’s recent MLS win warmed the cockles of our heart.

With the Red Bulls leading 2-1 in injury time, Henry spotted the back post unguarded. Now, in his Arsenal days Henry would probably have taken the corner short and played one-twos with Bobby Pires to run the clock down.

But, hey, he’s in New York, he’s livin’ the life. With nothing to lose, he guides the audacious set-piece towards the back stick. That’s that whole hand-ball business forgiven, right?

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Up and running: Kearney, D’Arcy back in contention for Leinster