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 03 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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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 08 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 08 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 05 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 04 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 01 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
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
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
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 06 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 06 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 05 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 02 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 06 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 05 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 05 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 04 2002 - 00:00
Ireland go on the rampage Six NationsAs bloodless coups go, this one was virtually devoid of tomato ketchupMon Feb 04 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 02 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
Horgan joins Irish casualty listThis season's demanding triple assault at European Cup, Celtic League and Test levels contributed to Ireland suffering a triple…Tue Jan 29 2002 - 00:00
Tigers burn too brightly for LeinsterEuropean Cup - Leicester 29 Leinster 18: History will decree that Leinster were possibly a little unlucky to run into the best…Mon Jan 28 2002 - 00:00
Leinster out to leap mental barrierA sadist must have planned Leinster's season. Every time they clear one hurdle, the bar is raised againSat Jan 26 2002 - 00:00
Gatland eager to get back on training groundWarren Gatland will formally link up with his new charges at Wasps on Saturday prior to their English Premiership game away to…Fri Jan 25 2002 - 00:00
