O'Gara fends off Humphreys challengeSeldom is the day when an Irish team remains unchanged for two games running, but, in the hope that it will prove equally inspired…Thu Mar 02 2000 - 00:00
Heading into Saturday's rugby game against the ItaliansOnce more with feeling thenThu Mar 02 2000 - 00:00
Bevan set for final whistleHe has been there, bought the Tshirt and done it all, having numbered the 1991 World Cup final among his record haul of Tests…Wed Mar 01 2000 - 00:00
More bad luck for TierneyHaving held down the scrumhalf slot for eight successive internationals, from last summer's first Test in Brisbane to the Twickenham…Wed Mar 01 2000 - 00:00
Leinster's future begins to look more promisingAt times during a troubled first half to their season Leinster's future on and off the pitch was shrouded in some doubtWed Mar 01 2000 - 00:00
Italians unlikely to be a pushoverLurching, as ever, from one extreme to the next, from the depths of Twickenham to the highs of last Saturday week, suddenly Irish…Tue Feb 29 2000 - 00:00
Maggs and Davidson ruled outKevin Maggs and Jeremy Davidson were yesterday ruled out of contention for this Saturday's Six Nations encounter against Italy…Tue Feb 29 2000 - 00:00
Pope rues home mistakesCoaches come and go, some of the playing personnel changes, but the script follows such a dog-eared course that ultimately most…Mon Feb 28 2000 - 00:00
Champions in desperate need of winMore a sprint than a marathon, it must be unnerving for the dozen teams concerned that the AIB League first division will technically…Sat Feb 26 2000 - 00:00
Same formatAlthough the organisers of the European Cup have decided to retain this season's format of 24 teams for next season's Heineken…Sat Feb 26 2000 - 00:00
Well-drilled Terenure win rewardTerenure College were never allowed to cut loose by a game Castleknock and while the final score-line flattered them a little…Wed Feb 23 2000 - 00:00
Dempsey out but ready for Italian gameGirvan Dempsey will miss Terenure's AIB League First Division game at home to Dungannon on Saturday but his damaged nose is not…Wed Feb 23 2000 - 00:00
Armstrong lands late penalty as Kilkenny provide upsetIf there has been a better day in Kilkenny College's fledgling rugby story nobody at Donnybrook yesterday could recall itTue Feb 22 2000 - 00:00
Let's give credit where credit is dueAs the players assembled in the home dressing-room over an hour before kick-off, Peter Stringer stood up from his seat, looked…Tue Feb 22 2000 - 00:00
Gatland's gamble pays off as new deck comes up trumpsNormally the Irish management drift surreptitiously and without warning into the car park tent that is used for post-match press…Mon Feb 21 2000 - 00:00
Ireland win big by upping the paceAnd with one bound, Ireland were free. Just like thatMon Feb 21 2000 - 00:00
New boys tackle the old bogeyOnce more with hope, eh? Irish supporters have little else tangible to cling to after the last few days out for the boys in green…Sat Feb 19 2000 - 00:00
Kidney's charges pull it out of fireThe victory was no less nail-biting for the good-sized Donnybrook crowd than the one in Northampton a fortnight ago, although…Sat Feb 19 2000 - 00:00
Horgan cleared for senior debutTeam manager Donal Lenihan confirmed last night that despite reports of an alleged off-the-pitch incident involving the 22-year…Fri Feb 18 2000 - 00:00
Maggs out and Bishop is doubtfulThe Irish management have an injury crisis in the wing positions after Kevin Maggs was ruled out of consideration for Ireland…Tue Feb 15 2000 - 00:00
A bizarre week but all too believableA bizarre week, perhaps even unprecedented, if maybe not quite grotesque and certainly not unbelievableTue Feb 15 2000 - 00:00
Mullins' Munster magic makes all the differenceThe bulk of 29 players played well in awful conditions but one guy was on a different stratosphereMon Feb 14 2000 - 00:00
Irish squad unscathedMuch to Donal Lenihan's relief, as he waited anxiously at the team's base in the Glenview Hotel, Wicklow last night, the 25-man…Mon Feb 14 2000 - 00:00
Keane has the final word with late kickIf ever a game was going to go down to the wire this was it. For the eighth year running there was only a score in itMon Feb 14 2000 - 00:00
UCD out to settle old scoresSometimes you'd wonder about the AIB League's advance planningSat Feb 12 2000 - 00:00
Lenihan enters Lions' denDonal Lenihan's first task as the next manager of the British and Irish Lions will be to recommend a coach as successor to Ian…Sat Feb 12 2000 - 00:00
Rugby player apologises for head-butting criticIrish rugby reserve hooker Frank Sheahan has been fined £2,500, severely reprimanded and warned about future conduct by the Irish…Fri Feb 11 2000 - 00:00
Lenihan favourite to be next Lions managerDonal Lenihan has emerged as favourite to become the next British and Irish Lions manager for the tour of Australia in 2001Fri Feb 11 2000 - 00:00
Selectors wield predictable axeThe Irish management have predictably wielded the selectorial axe in response to last Saturday's 50-18 defeat by England in Twickenham…Fri Feb 11 2000 - 00:00
Lavery guarded on Gatland positionIRFU president Billy Lavery yesterday refused to look beyond Saturday week's visit of Scotland to Lansdowne Road when asked about…Tue Feb 08 2000 - 00:00
Maybe we haven't got the playersBefore the championship started the odds were against Warren Gatland lasting as Irish coach beyond the end of his contractTue Feb 08 2000 - 00:00
Ireland suffer from class divideIt says much about Saturday's latest England-Ireland mismatch that at 38-18 and with 73 minutes gone, the Irish at Twickenham…Mon Feb 07 2000 - 00:00
Ireland dig deep into their reserves for unlikely victoryIrish wins on English soil are becoming a bit like Dublin busesSat Feb 05 2000 - 00:00
Police call time on the craicMuch more of this and the army of Irish supporters who descend on London for the biennial fixture will decrease to a trickleFri Feb 04 2000 - 00:00
Phoney calm before the stormDiplomacy continued to rule yesterday in the run-up to tomorrow's England-Ireland skirmish in TwickenhamFri Feb 04 2000 - 00:00
Casey is rested again but will playFittingly enough, on what is known as Groundhog Day, the Irish squad went through their paces once more at Dr Hickey Park in …Thu Feb 03 2000 - 00:00
Irish selectors still trying the testedThe country may have wanted 15 heads on the block in the immediate aftermath of Lens, but when push came to shove the Irish management…Wed Feb 02 2000 - 00:00
O'Gara is forced to postpone debutAs expected, and with the cruellest of timing, Ronan O'Gara was yesterday denied the chance to make his debut for Ireland at …Tue Feb 01 2000 - 00:00
Cutting edge in hands of centresIn the heel of the hunt, for all the promise of radical change and new blood engendered by the original 25-man squad, the Irish…Tue Feb 01 2000 - 00:00
Skerries put it up to holdersThe feared century of points never materialised, and although a late flurry of tries got the Goliaths halfway there, the Davids…Tue Feb 01 2000 - 00:00
O'Gara injury causes concernRonan O'Gara last night remained Ireland's biggest concern in advance of next Saturday's Six Nations' opener away to England …Mon Jan 31 2000 - 00:00
Mature Terenure guts out victoryIf a week is a long time in rugby, then a year is an ageMon Jan 31 2000 - 00:00
Shannon finish the job earlyFirst quarters rarely tell lies and like so many games this one was effectively done and dusted by the 17th minute when Shannon…Mon Jan 31 2000 - 00:00
Wood gets Ireland's call as captainKeith Wood's second coming as Irish captain was formally ushered in yesterday, and it certainly ought to be a happier tenure …Wed Jan 26 2000 - 00:00
Munster's big three already in troubleIf the clubs thought they were getting the shorter end of the stick when the provinces were in full swing, the onset of the Six…Wed Jan 26 2000 - 00:00
O'Gara injury remains cause for concernRonan O'Gara remained the Irish management's biggest concern after the first day of the 25-man squad's two-day get-together in…Tue Jan 25 2000 - 00:00
New rules and new ideas do workAbout a year ago, this column incurred the wrath of defendants and devotees of the schools' cups with a critical analysis of …Tue Jan 25 2000 - 00:00
