Noughties have been nice to Irish Rugby IncIRISH RUGBY ends the decade on an all-time high, with the rude health made all the more remarkable because the previous one, …Tue Dec 29 2009 - 00:00
Visitors braced for daunting assignmentPerpignan v Munster : MUNSTER STEP into the Catalonian cauldron that is the Stade Aimé Giral tomorrow afternoon with a whiff…Sat Dec 19 2009 - 00:00
Connacht aiming to consolidate positionEUROPEAN CHALLENGE CUP - Connacht v Worcester Warriors: CONNACHT HAVE arguably never been better placed at the halfway point…Fri Dec 18 2009 - 00:00
Munster can handle bit of dramaMunster v Perpignan: EVER THE Drama Kings, it wouldn’t be a Heineken Cup campaign without Munster facing a moment of crisis, …Fri Dec 11 2009 - 00:00
Berne likely to start at outhalf for LeinsterRUGBY: AS EXPECTED, Michael Cheika has recalled 16 players involved in last month’s international window who were rested against…Wed Dec 09 2009 - 00:00
Time for IRB to lend a hand in freeing up some spaceLET’S FACE it, rugby union has a problemTue Dec 08 2009 - 00:00
Provinces look to their frontline playersNEWS ROUND-UP: LEINSTER, ESPECIALLY, and Munster will both welcome back frontline players who were missing from Ireland’s blank…Tue Dec 08 2009 - 00:00
Cardiff are seeking revengeCardiff v Connacht: IN A meeting of the League’s bottom two, Cardiff will be seeking revenge for their defeat to Connacht in…Sat Dec 05 2009 - 00:00
Forecast cool but Leinster to feel heatRUGBY: THE FORECAST is for a drop in temperature from the mid-20s to the high teens, with a better than 50-50 chance of rain…Sat Dec 05 2009 - 00:00
Munster determined to lay down a markerRUGBY MAGNERS LEAGUE: Ospreys v Munster IN ONE of those distinctly curious quirks of the league programme, Munster are the first…Sat Dec 05 2009 - 00:00
Inexperienced Leinster look ill-equipped in Dragons' denMAGNERS LEAGUE: Newport v Leinster THERE’S NO right way, and there’s no wrong, admits Michael Cheika, but for better or for …Sat Dec 05 2009 - 00:00
Barnes to referee key tie for MunsterMUNSTER MAY be less than thrilled to hear that Wayne Barnes will take charge of their critical Heineken Cup Pool One match at…Wed Dec 02 2009 - 00:00
Humphreys insists Ulster expect Botha to honour contract with provinceULSTER HAVE seemingly dug their heels in with regard to their South African tighthead Brendon “BJ” Botha by reiterating that …Wed Dec 02 2009 - 00:00
McCaw's best player award is a bad jokeOPINION : WILL GREENWOOD, Gavin Hastings, Raphaël Ibanez, Francois Pienaar, Agustin Pichot, Scott Quinnell, Tana Umaga, Paul…Mon Nov 30 2009 - 00:00
Sexton gets Kidney nod over O'GaraRUGBY: ALTHOUGH THE initial reaction appears almost to have registered on the Richter scale, in actual fact selecting Jonathan…Wed Nov 25 2009 - 00:00
Long past time for football to embrace videoON RUGBY: Why on earth have it so that the only people in the dark are the ones who actually make the decisions?Tue Nov 24 2009 - 00:00
O'Driscoll plays the diplomat firmly in the centreTHERE'S ONLY one subject in the air and even yesterday's pre-match press conference before the Ireland-Fiji game was dominated…Sat Nov 21 2009 - 00:00
Gaffney says Ireland will look to play heads-up gameIRELAND’S SLIGHTLY more liberated approach faces something of a litmus test tomorrow, for the Fijians would love nothing more…Fri Nov 20 2009 - 00:00
Healy new ingredient in winning formulaRUGBY/IRELAND v AUSTRALIA: AS EXPECTED, Declan Kidney and his Irish think tank have pretty much stuck to a winning formula, …Thu Nov 12 2009 - 00:00
Giteau relishing chance to face new oppositionIRELAND v AUSTRALIA: MATT GITEAU yesterday spoke about the aura Brian O’Driscoll brings to a game of rugby, and though modesty…Wed Nov 11 2009 - 00:00
Travelling Wallabies might catch Ireland out coldAUSTRALIA NEEDED that win over England, and it won’t have done any harm for next Sunday’s rendezvous at Croke ParkTue Nov 10 2009 - 00:00
Bradley leaving Connacht at the end of the seasonRUGBY : MICHAEL BRADLEY will seek to remain in coaching after Connacht yesterday confirmed their director of rugby will be leaving…Wed Nov 04 2009 - 00:00
Connacht can finish with some home comfortMAGNERS LEAGUE/Connacht v Scarlets: THE PSYCHOLOGICAL impact of a team’s last result before the November Test window and their…Fri Oct 30 2009 - 00:00
Wallace's absence to curb UlsterRUGBY MAGNERS LEAGUE: Ulster v Leinster: LATE YESTERDAY afternoon, about 100 Ulster fans gathered outside Ravenhill to buy the…Sat Oct 24 2009 - 01:00
Munster must rejig as Leinster look to strengthsMAGNERS LEAGUE: THOSE UGLY beasts of the frontrow grow more valuable with each year, such is the high rate of attrition in the…Wed Oct 21 2009 - 01:00
Campaigns back on even keelRUGBY/ HEINEKEN CUP : THE HEAVYWEIGHT collisions were elsewhere on the European map, but the last two Irish winners of the Heineken…Mon Oct 19 2009 - 01:00
Valley holds no fears for LeinsterRUGBY HEINEKEN CUP Brive v Leinster : FITTINGLY ENOUGH, perhaps, Leinster’s do-or-die European mission takes them to a town …Sat Oct 17 2009 - 01:00
Plenty to work on but plenty to work withIt was a bad start, but Munster and Leinster have been here before and know they can turn things aroundTue Oct 13 2009 - 01:00
'Tactical decisions were costly'COMPARED TO a week before, at least Munster had a performance to talk ofMon Oct 12 2009 - 01:00
Munster to struggle playing catch-upNorthampton v Munster : ANOTHER HEINEKEN Cup campaign and, already, another defining moment for MunsterSat Oct 10 2009 - 01:00
Two in-form teams who are capable of turning on the styleRUGBY HEINEKEN CUP POOL SIX: LEINSTER V LONDON IRISH : THE THEORY goes that a seeded draw diminishes the pool stagesFri Oct 09 2009 - 01:00
Ireland to play Springboks in new Aviva StadiumRUGBY NEWS THE IRFU yesterday confirmed that reigning World Champions South Africa will be the first international opposition…Fri Oct 09 2009 - 01:00
Cup arrives to refresh and revive seasonOVERVIEW: IT'S BACK, the best club tournament in the world, reaching the parts that others cannot reach, taking in the European…Wed Oct 07 2009 - 01:00
Hayes facing IRFU suspensionTHE IRFU will confirm today when they will convene a disciplinary hearing into the 55th-minute red card which John Hayes sustained…Mon Oct 05 2009 - 01:00
Subplots add more intrigue to power playRUGBY/Leinster v Munster: SKIN AND hair will surely fly and, most likely, there will be bloodSat Oct 03 2009 - 01:00
Bradley is anxious to bounce backNewport Dragons v Connacht: IT SEEMED like the end of the world for the home supporters last Friday night, or at any rate the…Sat Oct 03 2009 - 01:00
Munster and Leinster to go into battle at full strengthA SLOW burner of a season goes up a few gears this week with the latest instalment in the Leinster-Munster rivalryWed Sept 30 2009 - 01:00
Settled Dragons to prove a real test for MunsterMAGNERS LEAGUE: Munster v N-G Dragons ON THE fourth Sunday of last season a bedraggled Dragons side arrived in Cork for their…Sat Sept 26 2009 - 01:00
Connacht target these neighbours as weakest linkMAGNERS LEAGUE: THE FIRST derby of the season may not have the cache of next Friday’s renewal of hostilities between the European…Fri Sept 25 2009 - 01:00
Big guns return to provincial firing lineTHEY’RE BACK. A sure sign that the 2009-10 rugby season is entering into the first of its meatier stages came with yesterday’…Wed Sept 23 2009 - 01:00
IRB should take Magners League to task on disciplineRUGBY HAS issues, but it’s hardly alone in thatTue Sept 22 2009 - 01:00
Connacht need a good performanceMAGNERS LEAGUE Connacht v Cardiff Blues: THE EMBARRASSMENT heaped upon Connacht last week in Edinburgh makes this game even …Fri Sept 18 2009 - 01:00
Ulster must find and maintain some consistencyMAGNERS LEAGUE Ulster v Edinburgh: THE ULSTER supporters who arrive at Ravenhill this evening for their side’s first home game…Fri Sept 18 2009 - 01:00
Dempsey, O'Kelly and Jackman back for LeinsterRUGBY MAGNERS LEAGUE: GIRVAN DEMPSEY returns to the Leinster squad as one of five players Michael Cheika has added to the 22…Wed Sept 16 2009 - 01:00
O'Connell sees the funny side of Ireland's lucrative kit dealAS BEFITS their status as European kingpins, Grand Slam champions and the fourth-ranked side in the world – behind the Southern…Wed Sept 16 2009 - 01:00
Leinster do enough to get the job doneMAGNERS LEAGUE/Leinster 23 Dragons 14: THE PROVINCES, and especially the big two, are left struggling in these formative, teething…Mon Sept 14 2009 - 01:00
It may be unlucky for some but not for Sherwin and MunsterMUNSTER ACADEMY: EYEBROWS WERE undoubtedly raised in Munster when it was revealed their provincial academy only had 13 players…Sat Sept 12 2009 - 01:00
Decision not to debar Harlequins from cup defies beliefRUGBY: There is ample reason to prevent the London club's particpation in this season's Heineken Cup and failure to do so leaves…Tue Sept 08 2009 - 01:00
Munster face tough test as defence begins at WarriorsPREVIEWS: Glasgow Warriors v Munster : AS OPENING defences go, Friday nights in Firhill constitute something of a litmus test…Fri Sept 04 2009 - 01:00
Ospreys bring big names to GalwayConnacht v Ospreys : CONNACHT HAVE sometimes punched above their weight against the Ospreys but the Welshmen have still won …Fri Sept 04 2009 - 01:00
