Munster wait on HickeyRUGBY/News: Willie Anderson and Brian Hickey remain the front-runners to become the assistant coaches in Leinster and Munster…Wed May 8 2002 - 01:00
Leinster's sums to add upLeinster can end Munster's three-year reign as Guinness Interprovincial champions in Galway this evening (kick-off 6Wed May 8 2002 - 01:00
Shannon again the standardShannon - 21 Cork Constitution - 17 All-Ireland League Division One and Two finals : Shannon are the standardbearers of the …Mon May 6 2002 - 01:00
CONSTITUTION V SHANNON Lansdowne Road (kick-off 4.00) Live on Network 2.Form is temporary, class is permanent? In the case of Cork Constitution and Shannon both seem fairly constant commoditiesSat May 4 2002 - 01:00
Harlequins not ready to settle downAndre Bester, Belfast Harlequins' talkative and ultra-positive South African coach, is something of a Kevin Keegan figure within…Fri May 3 2002 - 01:00
Book early to beat the rush for CardiffPrivately, pretty much all ERC and Heineken officials bar the French were dreading Castres making the finalMon Apr 29 2002 - 01:00
Clohessy all fired up to go out in a blaze of Munster gloryFar from ending his career prematurely, or even leaving his career hinging on the outcome of this weekend's European Cup semi…Fri Apr 26 2002 - 01:00
Williams to miss clash with CastresRUGBY: A scan on Jim Williams' damaged calf yesterday confirmed that he has suffered a muscle tear which definitely rules the…Tue Apr 23 2002 - 01:00
All black day for New ZealandThe very public and sometimes nasty spat between New Zealand and Australian rugby, with the International Board either caught…Fri Apr 19 2002 - 01:00
Connacht well capable of upsetting UlsterUntil recent times this game had some serious bite: Connacht sometimes pushed Ulster to the wire for what was once a cherished…Fri Apr 19 2002 - 01:00
Munster to fine tune for CastresInterprovincial previews: In this ever-changing crazy world of rugby we live in, not so long ago the once dreary Guinness Interprovincials…Fri Apr 19 2002 - 01:00
Munster get their man at lastAs expected, Munster yesterday confirmed that Alan Gaffney will succeed Declan Kidney on June 1st as the province's new director…Thu Apr 18 2002 - 01:00
Henderson edges out MullinsIn what looks to have been the most difficult choice for coach Declan Kidney, Rob Henderson has been chosen ahead of Mike Mullins…Thu Apr 18 2002 - 01:00
Munster expect Gaffney to come on boardAlan Gaffney looks set to be confirmed as the next Munster coach, in succession to Declan Kidney, during the weekWed Apr 17 2002 - 01:00
Still a glimmer of hope for NZ2003 World Cup: Hopes of a resolution to the rift between Australia and New Zealand have increased marginally in light of the…Wed Apr 17 2002 - 01:00
Club of the year in western outpostOn Rugby: The Rugby Writers of Ireland, in our perceived wisdom, select a Club of the Year at the end of each seasonTue Apr 16 2002 - 01:00
Gaffney veers in Munster's directionAlan Gaffney, the well-respected and popular assistant coach to Matt Williams at Leinster for the past two seasons, has been …Tue Apr 16 2002 - 01:00
Clohessy exits in a shy wayIn a darkened tunnel at the back of the Stade de France the engine was purring gently in the Irish team busMon Apr 8 2002 - 01:00
Captain returns for painful truthSix Nations Championship: In the aftermath of what proved to be Warren Gatland's last match in charge in the defeat to New Zealand…Mon Apr 8 2002 - 01:00
Late scare to Hickie no cause for concernRUGBY/News: Denis Hickie remains confident his latest back spasm will not prevent him from playing against France tomorrowFri Apr 5 2002 - 01:00
Laporte angry over O'Driscoll misquotesBrian O' Driscoll is in the eye of a storm, albeit of the teacup variety, as a result of quotes which were misleadingly attributed…Thu Apr 4 2002 - 01:00
Earl puts students to flightAll Ireland League/Division One; Garryowen 42; UCD 24: The weather was set fair, Michael Noonan and Peter Sutherland led a posse…Mon Apr 1 2002 - 01:00
French have got their act togetherNotions of Ireland winning the championship certainly look a bit fanciful nowTue Mar 26 2002 - 00:00
Munster to warm up with game against LeinsterAs expected, Munster will play host to their Celtic League final conquerors Leinster the week before their European Cup semi-…Tue Mar 26 2002 - 00:00
Williams in final round of talksNews: Matt Williams will decide on Wednesday whether to stay on as Leinster coach or accept a lucrative offer from Saracens' …Mon Mar 25 2002 - 00:00
Italians frustrate Irish patternsIt says something for Ireland's current standards that they can string together three below-par performances and win two of them…Mon Mar 25 2002 - 00:00
Humphreys to lead Ireland as Kelly startsSIX NATIONS: In the wake of the Twickenham hammering the Irish management elected to retain faith in the starting team save …Wed Mar 20 2002 - 00:00
Wood in need of startRUGBY/Six Nations Championship: Keith Wood and the rest of the Irish players involved in weekend club games all came through…Tue Mar 19 2002 - 00:00
Arranged marriage now very unstableON RUGBY: So the Azzurri arrive this week on a long losing streak and riddled by infighting and intrigue, with both the Italian…Tue Mar 19 2002 - 00:00
UCD's success story continuesNot so much a game of two halves at Belfield on Saturday as one of 55 minutes and then 25 minutesMon Mar 18 2002 - 00:00
Cregan pilots Shannon homeALL-IRELAND LEAGUE - DIVISION ONE/Garryowen...15 Shannon..Mon Mar 11 2002 - 00:00
A blow to lose MaggsRUGBY/NEWS: Mel Deane, the ex-Connacht centre now with Sale, and another forgotten figure, Justin Bishop of London Irish, have…Mon Mar 11 2002 - 00:00
Wood looks set to return against ItalyRUGBY : Keith Wood's chances of returning to the Ireland team for the game against Italy next Saturday fortnight are improving…Wed Mar 6 2002 - 00:00
Discontented New Zealand drag feetRUGBY : Next Tuesday's planned World Cup draw, which would outline the entire schedule for the tournament to be held by Australia…Wed Mar 6 2002 - 00:00
Abbotstown would put sport in its placeRUGBY COLUMN: So, as election time nears, the PDs, in their customary, po-faced manner, have again adopted the high moral ground…Tue Mar 5 2002 - 00:00
Ireland primed to deliver a backlashA bruised and battered Ireland seek redemption today as unnerving 1 to 6 favourites against the old bugbears from Scotland, a…Sat Mar 2 2002 - 00:00
Selectors give players vote of confidenceRUGBY/Six Nations Championship: Ultimately there would be no public hangings, no sops to a disgruntled public and most of all…Wed Feb 27 2002 - 00:00
Dental woe spells kick in teeth for O'ConnellPaul O' Connell went under the dentist's knife yesterday, his hopes of a recall to the Irish team to play Scotland at the weekend…Tue Feb 26 2002 - 00:00
Horgan passes the testLandsdowne - 20 Buccaneers - 0: Moments after the full-time whistle, Shane Horgan and Brian O'Brien chatted quietly and shared…Mon Feb 25 2002 - 00:00
Final three decision deferredRUGBY/Six Nations Championship: The Irish management have deferred some difficult decisions, most notably it would seem the …Fri Feb 22 2002 - 00:00
Munster must go to BeziersThe ERC yesterday confirmed that they "were pleased to announce that Stade de la Mediterranée, Beziers, will host the Heineken…Tue Feb 19 2002 - 00:00
Ireland set fair for place in sunThe sun is set fair, the turf is firm, there are fewer finer backdrops in world rugby than a resplendent Twickenham and, at virtually…Sat Feb 16 2002 - 00:00
Shannon dig deepest to survive trench warfareCLONTARF - 6 SHANNON - 14: These are the kind of gritty, gutsy wins which make the journey home all the more enjoyableMon Feb 11 2002 - 00:00
Munster draw no comfort as die is castSod's law decreed that Munster would invariably be drawn against Castres in ParisWed Feb 6 2002 - 00:00
O'Connell out due to head injurySIX NATIONS: Paul O'Connell will have even more mixed feelings about his try-scoring debut now that he has been ruled out of…Tue Feb 5 2002 - 00:00
Reasons for worry amidst the good cheerSomehow it didn't quite feel real, did it? In the aftermath of Sunday's record win over Wales there was delight, definitely, …Tue Feb 5 2002 - 00:00
Ireland sharp and ruthless Lansdowne RoadIreland 54, Wales 10: Notions of it being a tight one, which even Eddie O'Sullivan had genuinely harboured, lasted until, well…Mon Feb 4 2002 - 00:00
Ireland go on the rampage Six NationsAs bloodless coups go, this one was virtually devoid of tomato ketchupMon Feb 4 2002 - 00:00
Ireland to deliver in new eraThe honeymoon is over. The world's foremost rugby tournament resumes and expectations have rarely been raised so highSat Feb 2 2002 - 00:00
Munster earn huge respectSo the Heineken Cup runneth over to four countries until late April and sponsors and organisers alike will have been high-fiving…Tue Jan 29 2002 - 00:00