Anglo-Welsh Cup plan sets off alarm bellsRugby News: News that the Welsh RFU and their four regions are entering negotiations with their English counterparts over an…Tue Apr 19 2005 - 01:00
Lansdowne face relegation play-offAll-Ireland League: The last full day of the AIB All-Ireland League wouldn't be complete without some traditional last-day dramatics…Mon Apr 18 2005 - 01:00
Getting tougher with each passing yearOn Rugby: The post-match meal for the teams after Sunday's quarter-final was located in a building about 200 yards from the …Tue Apr 05 2005 - 01:00
Lima set to start for MunsterEuropean Cup, Munster v Biarritz: If Brian Lima does turn out to be the coup of the season, then Alan Quinlan will be looking…Wed Mar 30 2005 - 01:00
Lions-Tigers clash has classic ingredientsOn Rugby: Follow that? In times past, that's rarely been a problem for the Heineken European Cup, and despite the unforgettable…Tue Mar 29 2005 - 01:00
Ireland should be given licence to thrillGerry Thornley On Rugby: An antic-climactic tournament for Ireland, undoubtedly.On RugbyTue Mar 22 2005 - 00:00
Welsh show way forward for IrelandHe may not appeal to the old traditionalists, he may be too Beckhamesque in his image and celebrity profile, right down to the…Mon Mar 21 2005 - 00:00
Temptation to tinker is resistedRugby/Six Nations Championship : Consistent to some, conservative to othersWed Mar 16 2005 - 00:00
Ireland can justify the rising hopesRugby/Six Nations : The penultimate step to the promised land can often be the trickiest oneSat Mar 12 2005 - 00:00
D'Arcy fails to win fitness raceRUGBY Six Nations Championship: One steps out, another steps back in againWed Mar 09 2005 - 00:00
D'Arcy and Gleeson set for returnLeinster v Ospreys, Tomorrow, Donnybrook. On TV: Setanta 4Sat Mar 05 2005 - 00:00
Referee-bashing a dangerous new trendOn Rugby: Okay, let's pretend for a moment that the shoe was on the other foot; that Ireland had lost 19-13 to England at Twickenham…Tue Mar 01 2005 - 00:00
O'Driscoll adds to well of experienceRugby/Six Nations Championship: As with England the day before, Ireland have made one change for the clash at Lansdowne Road…Thu Feb 24 2005 - 00:00
D'Arcy doubtful as England opt for Stevens at propSix Nations Championship: On the day when there was contrasting news on the recuperating Irish centres Brian O'Driscoll and …Wed Feb 23 2005 - 00:00
O'Driscoll, D'Arcy likely to be fitRugby Six Nations Championship: The Irish management were yesterday making cautiously optimistic noises about the recuperation…Tue Feb 22 2005 - 00:00
It's time to reinvent the Lansdowne roarOn Rugby: Wistfully recalling halcyon days of yore probably goes with the territory of sports columns, but accompanying those…Tue Feb 22 2005 - 00:00
Weakened Leinster likely to fall again on the roadEdinburgh v Leinster Murrayfield: The news that Simon Taylor returns to the Edinburgh team for the first time since January …Sat Feb 19 2005 - 00:00
Late try is Connacht's only saving graceCeltic League: A spirited late rally - totally out of sync with much of the first hour - culminated in a trademark try from …Sat Feb 19 2005 - 00:00
Munster clear for Spanish invasionThe ERC have confirmed that the European Cup will break new ground at the quarter-final stages this season after approval was…Fri Feb 18 2005 - 00:00
Ulster in the form to tame Dragons in lairCELTIC LEAGUE Dragons v Ulster, Rodney Parade, 7Fri Feb 18 2005 - 00:00
England take the Goode optionThe uncapped Leicester outhalf Andy Goode has been called in to an expanded 30-man English squad in preparation for their meeting…Fri Feb 18 2005 - 00:00
League offers Bradley best route to EuropeConnacht v Llanelli Dubarry Park, 7.30p.mFri Feb 18 2005 - 00:00
No conflict of interest on stadium says IRFU presidentBarry Keogh, the president of the IRFU, and the Lansdowne Road Stadium Development Company have both strongly asserted that there…Fri Feb 11 2005 - 00:00
O'Sullivan's thoughts will centre on his optionsTo lose one world-class, game-breaking, low-sense-of-gravity, line-straightening, try-scoring Lions midfield shoo-in might be…Tue Feb 08 2005 - 00:00
'I want to win the Six Nations'Italy v Ireland/Interview with John Kirwan: Strange times in Italian rugbySat Feb 05 2005 - 00:00
O'Sullivan defers difficult decisionsFaced with some of the most difficult - if welcome - selectorial posers he's possibly ever encountered in his time as Irish coach…Thu Jan 27 2005 - 00:00
Ireland regarded as real contendersRUGBY/Six Nations: The sense of anticipation was acute at yesterday's Six Nations' launch, and so too the palpable feeling amongst…Thu Jan 27 2005 - 00:00
More than league at stake for ConnachtConnacht v Cardiff: At first glance eighth against 10th in the Celtic League wouldn't appear to have much cache in a European…Sat Jan 22 2005 - 00:00
Depleted Leinster braced for tough Borders testThe Borders v Leinster: On paper, this might at first glance seem like the most lob-sided match of the season given the top …Sat Jan 22 2005 - 00:00
Provinces draw the short strawsThey were probably the quarter-final pairings the Irish provinces least favoured going into the weekend's final round of the …Mon Jan 17 2005 - 00:00
Provinces draw the short strawsThey were probably the quarter-final pairings the Irish provinces least favoured going into the weekend's final round of the …Mon Jan 17 2005 - 00:00
Provinces draw the short strawsRUGBY: They were probably the quarter-final pairings the Irish provinces least favoured going into the weekend's final round…Mon Jan 17 2005 - 00:00
Lack of pace out wide a worryRUGBY: There was nothing particularly new in Harlequins coach Mark Evans citing Munster's lack of pace out wide as the main …Mon Jan 17 2005 - 00:00
Munster home in on the necessaryRUGBY/Harlequins v Munster : Yet another moment of truth for MunsterSat Jan 15 2005 - 00:00
Once Munster, always MunsterGerry Thornley hears a contentedly-retired Keith Wood pledge allegiance to his province even against old club HarlequinsSat Jan 15 2005 - 00:00
Only certainty is that nothing is for certainEuropean Cup pool-by-pool permutations: Even by the convoluted standards at this stage of the Heineken European Cup, the permutations…Fri Jan 14 2005 - 00:00
Refreshed French advance on EuropeOn Rugby: So, who said the French aren't interested in the European Cup? And the French don't like to travel? And the expanded…Tue Jan 11 2005 - 00:00
Munster still haven't shown full handEuropean Cup Pool Four: As ever, the palpable mood of another Thomond Park capacity crowd mirrored that of their teamMon Jan 10 2005 - 00:00
Munster maul too much for OspreysRUGBY Munster v N-S Ospreys, Thomond Park, 5.15: So here we go againSat Jan 08 2005 - 00:00
IRB pitches in for aid effortThe International Rugby Board (IRB) has announced a contribution of US$187,000 (141,860) to its humanitarian aid partner, the…Fri Jan 07 2005 - 00:00
Ulster need a big oneRUGBY European Cup/Ulster v Gloucester: By rights, this shouldn't be a contestFri Jan 07 2005 - 00:00
All the indications point to a photo finishEuropean Cup Overview: The Heineken European Cup resumes with the penultimate round of pool matches this weekend and all the…Fri Jan 07 2005 - 00:00
Ireland must face up to prop problemOn Rugby: This is, traditionally, a time for crystal ball gazing, but it wouldn't require a soothsayer to forecast that one …Tue Jan 04 2005 - 00:00
After much deliberation . . . this is the year aheadOn account of a pact with an evil-looking gentleman with cloven feet, a large fork, a sheepskin overcoat and a hip flask, this…Tue Dec 28 2004 - 00:00
Very few teams can afford to relaxAnd then there were 18? Two-thirds of the way through the Heineken European Cup pool stages, 48 matches having been played, and…Tue Dec 14 2004 - 00:00
