Hansen chooses perfect blendIN AN intriguing, and slightly ominous selection for Saturday’s first test, new All Blacks’ head coach Steve Hansen has dipped…Thu Jun 07 2012 - 01:00
Vito relishing the chance to inflict pain on IrelandAS WITH the start of any new four-year World Cup cycle, opportunity knocks for a number of players and even the world champions…Wed Jun 06 2012 - 01:00
Ireland management to give Ross as much time as possibleTIME WAS when Mike Ross was considered superfluous even to the Irish provincial circuit as he cut his teeth with Harlequins for…Wed Jun 06 2012 - 01:00
Playing nine always more than just a passing phase for thoughtful ReddanUNLESS YOU’RE as indispensable as Dimitri Yachvili is at Biarritz – where he dictates the play, kicks (admittedly ad nauseam), …Tue Jun 05 2012 - 01:00
Kiss hoping for a happy return to Eden ParkIRELAND HAVE fond memories of their last visit to Eden Park but if Ireland’s record against the All Blacks is a bleak one – one…Tue Jun 05 2012 - 01:00
Hansen opts for the familiar in AucklandTHE THEORY that the All Blacks are often at their most vulnerable in their first Test of the year has been underlined by history…Mon Jun 04 2012 - 01:00
Awards pit stop for the season that never endsON RUGBY: Yes, Ireland misfired in the Six Nations, but any campaign with a first win over a Tri-Nations team at a World Cup…Tue May 29 2012 - 01:00
No dulling the pain as opportunity is lostRUGBY: THIS WAS no way to end another fantastic seasonMon May 28 2012 - 01:00
Ospreys spoil the Leinster partyLeinster 30 Ospreys 31: THE OSPREYS certainly know how to poop a partyMon May 28 2012 - 01:00
Leinster have that double visionEVEN IN the midst of making history last Saturday, Leinster players were already talking about today’s finalSat May 26 2012 - 01:00
Kidney keeps 'small eye' on futureRUGBY/IRELAND TOUR OF NEW ZEALAND: WITH A precarious world ranking of eight in a year of a World Cup draw and an unprecedented…Tue May 22 2012 - 01:00
Kearney the European player of yearFOLLOWING on from his award as the Irish players’ player of the year and winning the Heineken Cup with Leinster, Rob Kearney …Tue May 22 2012 - 01:00
Alone they stand in EuropeRUGBY : A RECORD final crowd, a record final margin, a record five tries in the final, back-to-back Heineken Cups and an unprecedented…Mon May 21 2012 - 01:00
Leinster are true giants of EuropeLeinster 42 Ulster 14 : SIMPLY THE best, better than all the rest for another yearMon May 21 2012 - 01:00
Commanding Leinster the masters of all they surveyRugby: It’s funny how the best team in the tournament invariably wins the Heineken CupSat May 19 2012 - 01:00
Pretenders seem more at ease with themselvesTHE CONTRAST could hardly have been starkerSat May 19 2012 - 01:00
Laid-back until it's time for the angry hatThe Kiwi tighthead John Afoa, a World Cup winner last November, has been a huge ingredient in Ulster’s Heineken Cup progress …Sat May 19 2012 - 01:00
80 minutes to decide whether it's blue heaven or a red-letter dayFOR THE first time in the history of rugby’s European Cup, or, as it’s more commonly known, the Heineken Cup, English rugby’s…Sat May 19 2012 - 01:00
Leinster have no plans for receptionUNLIKE LAST year, Leinster have no contingency plans in place for any kind of reception on Sunday or Monday should they retain…Fri May 18 2012 - 01:00
Relaxed Ulster in a good placeRUGBY : SAVE FOR the media presence – a twofold increase on the semi-final, threefold on the quarter-final and about a fourfold…Wed May 16 2012 - 01:00
Kearney, Sexton, Ferris up for ERC awardTHREE IRISH players are amongst the five-man shortlist from which this season’s ERC European Player of the Year will be chosen…Tue May 15 2012 - 01:00
In truth, it's a love affair like no other nation'sON RUGBY: Not even Tom Kiernan could have envisaged a day such as next Saturday when a first all-Irish Heineken Cup final will…Tue May 15 2012 - 01:00
O'Driscoll the biggest concern for LondonRUGBY NEWS: LEINSTER FACE an anxious few days as they assess their quintet of walking wounded in the build-up to Saturday’s …Mon May 14 2012 - 01:00
Leinster injuries cast cloud over victoryRUGBY RABO DIRECT PRO 12 LEAGUE SEMI-FINAL: Leinster 19 Glasgow Warriors15: FOR THE second season running Leinster have earned…Mon May 14 2012 - 01:00
'I hope Ulster weren't watching'LEINSTER HAVE been here before, and the experience of last year, when back-to-back finals followed after a home semi-final victory…Mon May 14 2012 - 01:00
Leinster likely to prove strong enoughRABO-DIRECT PRO12 SEMI-FINAL Leinster v Glasgow: THIS MATTERS, and no mistakeSat May 12 2012 - 01:00
Smal fit for duty on tour to New ZealandIRELAND TOUR: GERT SMAL will travel to New Zealand as part of the Irish management ticket for the three-Test tour next month…Sat May 12 2012 - 01:00
Munster likely to miss rallying pointTHERE REMAINS the distinct possibility of a second all-Irish final in a couple of weeks’ time, but this evening’s first Pro 12…Fri May 11 2012 - 01:00
Schmidt committed to staying at LeinsterTHE NEWS that the troubled Auckland Blues will advertise for a new head coach next season has invariably led to speculation linking…Fri May 11 2012 - 01:00
Revitalised Kearney receives top award from fellow playersSIDELINED FOR much of last season by a serious knee injury, further evidence of Rob Kearney’s stunning revival in fitness and…Thu May 10 2012 - 01:00
McLaughlin enjoying good timesTHESE ARE good times for Kevin McLaughlin – indeed perhaps the best of timesTue May 08 2012 - 01:00
Unlucky Fitzgerald to miss Heineken finalRUGBY NEWS: LUKE FITZGERALD’S representatives are reputedly close to reaching a deal with the IRFU regarding a new contract …Sat May 05 2012 - 01:00
Leinster on threshold of being greatest Cup teamGUARANTEED A fifth Heineken Cup in seven years and sixth overall, in three weeks’ time Ireland will draw level with the English…Tue May 01 2012 - 01:00
Boss relishing final against old comradesHAVING LOST just once in their last 26 matches this season, and only three times in their last 29 Heineken Cup matches, Leinster…Tue May 01 2012 - 01:00
Stage set for enticing all-Irish final in EnglandIN ONE FIELD at least, Ireland has the measure of EuropeMon Apr 30 2012 - 01:00
All the hard work coming back from injuries pays off for O'DriscollONE GAME away from retaining their crown as the best team in Europe, and winning a third Heineken Cup in four years, Leinster…Mon Apr 30 2012 - 01:00
Operation Twickenham is green for goRUGBY: MOVE OVER Europe. Truly, this is Ireland’s time in the Heineken CupMon Apr 30 2012 - 01:00
Leinster's thin blue line proves impossible for Clermont to crossClermont 15 Leinster 19: HIGH OCTANE, high tempo, high drama and by the end Clermont’s fans were in a state of high dudgeon. …Mon Apr 30 2012 - 01:00
Leinster have the qualities to do right thingRUGBY: ASK YOURSELF this, in 2012 have you looked forward to a game more than this? The best team in Europe, and the prospective…Sat Apr 28 2012 - 01:00
Nacewa to stay a further yearLEINSTER ARE set to receive a well-timed boost on the eve of their Heineken Cup semi-final against Clermont in Bordeaux this …Thu Apr 26 2012 - 01:00
Wallace and Wannenburg expected to be available for UlsterBOTH OF Ireland’s contenders in next weekend’s Heineken Cup semi-finals are nearing full strength, with Ulster yesterday making…Tue Apr 24 2012 - 01:00
Sexton knows it's time to get switched onCOMPARED TO their semi-final in Toulouse two seasons ago, when they were also the reigning champions, Leinster travel to France…Tue Apr 24 2012 - 01:00
Home rules too much in Heineken semi-finalsON RUGBY: ONCE AGAIN the Heineken Cup rides to the rescueTue Apr 24 2012 - 01:00
Another comeback win sees Mary's take titleRUGBY ULSTER BANK LEAGUE DIVISION ONE A: St Mary's 23 Young Munster 19 OPPONENTS OF the play-offs – scrapped this season by …Mon Apr 23 2012 - 01:00
Leinster get tough work-outRUGBY Ulster 8 Leinster 16: IN MANY respects, this would have been just what Joe Schmidt wantedSat Apr 21 2012 - 01:00
Clean bill of health the best result for SchmidtRABODIRECT PRO12 LEAGUE : ALTHOUGH HE will have the more fretful few days in the immediate aftermath of this latest inter-provincial…Sat Apr 21 2012 - 01:00
Three on player of the year shortlistNEWS: THERE WILL be a first-time winner of the IRUPA Players’ Player of the Year in this, the 10th year of the awards, after…Fri Apr 20 2012 - 01:00
