Munster get back their killer instinctEUROPEAN CUP: Munster - 51 Harlequins - 17: What grated with the Munster players most in the wake of their Celtic final defeat…Mon Jan 07 2002 - 00:00
Clohessy will seize dayThe end of an era is nigh? Well, to a degree at any rate, this Heineken Cup campaign is the last hurrah for this Munster crew…Sat Jan 05 2002 - 00:00
Chance for Connacht to spread their wingsIn what is an anti-climactic finale to their European campaign, Connacht complete their home programme in the Parken Pen Shield…Sat Jan 05 2002 - 00:00
Silver spur for new orderTime was when the Leinster Senior Cup was a highlight of the seasonal itinerary, but its former lustre will be reinvoked at Donnybrook…Sat Dec 29 2001 - 00:00
Irish solution to no Irish problemsA good year by and large, as well as a decidedly odd yearSat Dec 29 2001 - 00:00
Wood may miss Thomond reunionKeith Wood is likely to miss his much anticipated return to Thomond Park and what would have been another curious renewal of …Sat Dec 22 2001 - 00:00
Trophy lost in a Celtic mistLeinster's potentially seismic victory over Munster to win the Celtic League last Saturday will also now be remembered for them…Sat Dec 22 2001 - 00:00
Manner of Gatland sacking may spark rowAn IRFU spokesperson yesterday denied suggestions that the six-man sub-committee that decided to remove Warren Gatland as Irish…Tue Dec 18 2001 - 00:00
Catalyst for a new era in LeinsterDeclan Kidney, profound fellow that he is, is fond of telling anyone who cares to listen that it wasn't so long ago when Munster…Tue Dec 18 2001 - 00:00
Interpro series to be cut backThe Guinness-sponsored Interprovincial Championship is likely to revert to a three-match series this season after the matches…Tue Dec 18 2001 - 00:00
Nerves of steel help Leinster turn cornerOn January 21st this year in a bar in Biarritz, some of the longer-serving Leinster players reflected on another season that …Mon Dec 17 2001 - 00:00
The sense of achievement is greater after beating MunsterThe palpable sense of elation in the Leinster camp immediately after the full-time whistle, which signalled they were the inaugural…Mon Dec 17 2001 - 00:00
Miller-less Leinster earn cornWhen we look back on this one it could turn out to be a seismic dayMon Dec 17 2001 - 00:00
Gatland removal leaves a bad tasteSorry folks, but at the risk of behaving like a dog with a bone, we can't let this one go quite yetTue Dec 11 2001 - 00:00
Gatland gets IRFU reminderWarren Gatland, the former Irish coach, has had his knuckles gently rapped by his former employers, the IRFU, over comments attributed…Tue Dec 11 2001 - 00:00
Munster in for the hard slogHad this unique occasion been held at the conclusion of the Celtic League pool stages then it's hard not to think the sense of…Sat Dec 08 2001 - 00:00
Leinster guarantee all-Irish showdownHistory beckons for one of the finest sides to come out of LeinsterSat Dec 08 2001 - 00:00
Leinster in final push for gloryLeinster bade farewell to their Donnybrook fortress last week and this evening start what they hope will be a profitable time…Fri Dec 07 2001 - 00:00
Reform of IRFU tops the agendaThere is deep, deep disquiet out there with the IRFU over their actions last weekTue Dec 04 2001 - 00:00
Wasps show interest in GatlandEnglish Premiership club Wasps are believed to be preparing an offer for the recently removed Irish coach Warren GatlandTue Dec 04 2001 - 00:00
Connacht exit with heads held highSomehow Warren Gatland's presence to witness the end of Connacht's Celtic League hopes at the Sportsground on Saturday seemed…Mon Dec 03 2001 - 00:00
Gatland's services no longer requiredUltimately, the end came swiftly. On Monday Warren Gatland was interviewed by a six-man IRFU sub-committeeSat Dec 01 2001 - 00:00
Glasgow vulnerable on their road tripsFor Connacht then, their moment of truthSat Dec 01 2001 - 00:00
Leinster chasing hat-trickIf revenge were the sole spur, then there would hardly be any point in Leinster turning up tonightFri Nov 30 2001 - 00:00
Gatland decision todayAn IRFU official last night intimated that a statement regarding the position of Irish coach Warren Gatland, the assistant Eddie…Fri Nov 30 2001 - 00:00
IRFU begin contract talks with GatlandAn IRFU sub-committee conducted individual meetings with Warren Gatland, Eddie O'Sullivan and Brian O'Brien yesterday in the …Tue Nov 27 2001 - 00:00
Woods denied chance to flourishEight caps, 28 years of age, seriously quick and giftedTue Nov 27 2001 - 00:00
Power cut, then it went All BlackTo the relatively uneducated eye it appeared as if the Irish rugby team began running on empty from about the 42nd minute onwards…Tue Nov 20 2001 - 00:00
Not all black for regretful IrishA hard one to swallow for this Irish team, to have given themselves and a throbbing Lansdowne Road a real sight of a famous win…Mon Nov 19 2001 - 00:00
Ireland have a hard road to travel yetYou could tell how much it meant to the All Blacks by their reaction after the full-time whistleMon Nov 19 2001 - 00:00
Overcooked Irish to savour raw All BlacksAnd just when we thought it couldn't get any better? Well, while beating the auld enemy was one thing, beating the one opponent…Sat Nov 17 2001 - 00:00
All Black strength is in reserveThe All Blacks may be sending out a relatively unfamiliar bunch of starting dirt-trackers for tonight's meeting with the Irish…Tue Nov 13 2001 - 00:00
Humphreys and Wallace on the mendDavid Humphreys and David Wallace, Ireland's main injury concerns, are likely to be named in the starting team at around lunchtime…Tue Nov 13 2001 - 00:00
Samoans as ever a breath of fresh airWatching the Tri-Nations decider at Stadium Australia in the haven of Renvylle in Connemara - as you do - we ran into a waitress…Tue Nov 13 2001 - 00:00
Satisfactory on most countsA win is a win, and all that - all the more so in a no-win scenarioMon Nov 12 2001 - 00:00
Samoans swept aside without fussWorkmanlike was the adjective used in separate settings in the immediate aftermath of Ireland's win over Samoa in Lansdowne Road…Mon Nov 12 2001 - 00:00
A careless Ireland could be nailed on blindsideA Sunday afternoon meeting sandwiched between an epic win over England and a visit from the All Blacks is primed for another …Sat Nov 10 2001 - 00:00
Gatland forced to experimentWith one eye on the All Blacks six days subsequently, one eye on Manu Samoa this Sunday as well as their players' health, and…Thu Nov 08 2001 - 00:00
Williams enables Leinster to fulfil talentHaving knocked on the door of the knockout stages only to invariably be denied entry at the final stage, so it comes to pass …Tue Nov 06 2001 - 00:00
Trio called up as injury list growsAlready numbering 25, the Irish squad was further expanded yesterday with the addition of Trevor Brennan, Simon Easterby and …Tue Nov 06 2001 - 00:00
Coming to the boil nicelyEven by their own exacting standards Munster can go into the mid-season hiatus from the Heineken Cup content with a job well …Mon Nov 05 2001 - 00:00
Sale are unlikely to let it slipCharl Marais, the Springbok hooker, will be paraded in front of an estimated 3,000 Heywood Park crowd prior to his debut for …Sat Nov 03 2001 - 00:00
Howe makes it a white night in UlsterFor sheer, raw, gut-wrenching excitement and the most dramatic of climaxes, this latest effort by the White Knights of Ulster…Sat Nov 03 2001 - 00:00
Munster need to apply basics to subdue revoltBuoyed by a win away to the same opposition, installed as heavy favourites by the bookies and no doubt by a capacity, sell-out…Sat Nov 03 2001 - 00:00
