Weather casts a shadow over listFiguratively and literally, a cloud hangs over the resumption of the AIB All-Ireland league this weekendSat Jan 03 1998 - 00:00
No respite for London IrishWhile the domestic Irish game continues its Christmas hibernation, there is no such respite for London IrishTue Dec 30 1997 - 00:00
Three wise men must settle on a teamYou probably didn't have to be a soothsayer to see that the Bologna trip was a disaster waiting to happenTue Dec 23 1997 - 00:00
Italian job ill-conceived, ill-performedAnother Italian job, another 37 points conceded and so Ireland stands still? In truth this was worlds apart from the similarly…Mon Dec 22 1997 - 00:00
Cold comfort for WhelanIn an inevitable, if ironic, postscript to the much-troubled fixture between Italy and Ireland in Bologna, the Irish captain, …Mon Dec 22 1997 - 00:00
Display as vital to Irish as resultOf all the places in all the world, this developing Irish team has had to come to Bologna, in the heart of Emilia Romagna, to…Sat Dec 20 1997 - 00:00
O'Mahony returns `a better player'It's an odd story certainly, and has a certain Irishness about it: player makes debut in Italy, wins second cap in World Cup …Fri Dec 19 1997 - 00:00
Poor dress rehearsal ahead of tough showThere was one way of interpreting Ireland's squad session at London Irish yesterday as an encouraging portent for Saturday's …Thu Dec 18 1997 - 00:00
Relaxed Clohessy aims for World CupFor Peter Clohessy, Sunday's Italian job represents a third coming after the second of two suspensions, and you sense he'd rather…Thu Dec 18 1997 - 00:00
Irish coldly focused on ItalyWelcome to Sunbury, or should that be Armageddon? On a snowy, shiveringly cold, dreary, dank day in London, the Irish squad went…Wed Dec 17 1997 - 00:00
Wood likely to take his place for Italy matchDespite the conflicting signs coming from Harlequins, Keith Wood touched base in the Irish team hotel in Richmond last night …Tue Dec 16 1997 - 00:00
Training in England is not good PR moveThe Irish squad and management assembled in London last night and, irony of ironies given recent exchanges, will train as the…Tue Dec 16 1997 - 00:00
Injuries and club row dog IrelandTrouble continues to mount for the Irish rugby team in advance of next Saturday's friendly international against Italy in Bologna…Mon Dec 15 1997 - 00:00
Ordinary Shannon just awesomeSome regular Shannon watchers described them as ordinaryMon Dec 15 1997 - 00:00
Terenure brought back to earthA game which promised much ultimately failed to deliver, and a Terenure performance which promised much also fell away anti-climactically…Mon Dec 15 1997 - 00:00
Oxford look to Irish pairOxford will look to the London Irish link of number eight Kevin Spicer and scrum-half Niall Hogan when attempting to end Cambridge…Tue Dec 09 1997 - 00:00
Different priorities leave us poles apartSo endeth the `War of the Worlds', and where standeth the northern hemisphere now? Encouraged? They should be, after England'…Tue Dec 09 1997 - 00:00
Ireland to play two Tests on tour to South AfricaIreland will play two Test matches in Bloemfontein and Pretoria on their demanding seven-match tour of South Africa next summer…Tue Dec 09 1997 - 00:00
Another blow for IrelandThe extent of the knee injury to Conor McGuinness should be clarified today when the St Mary's and Ireland scrum-half undergoes…Mon Dec 08 1997 - 00:00
England halt the All Black steamrollerNo one could ever recall Twickenham being quite like thisMon Dec 08 1997 - 00:00
IRFU hold firm on Italy gameThe Irish selectors will meet next Tuesday or Wednesday to finalise the team to play Italy in Bologna on December 20th, carrying…Sat Dec 06 1997 - 00:00
All Blacks to settle scoresRugby's autumnal war of the worlds comes to a conclusion today and on the eve of another potentially momentous black and white…Sat Dec 06 1997 - 00:00
St Mary's there to be shot atThere is a downside to having so many internationals in your teamSat Dec 06 1997 - 00:00
Clinch steps down at LansdowneScarcely one game into this season's campaign and already the AIB League has seen its first coaching casualtyWed Dec 03 1997 - 00:00
Give and take time over fixturesOn then, to December 20th and the meeting with ItalyTue Dec 02 1997 - 00:00
Ashton points to the mental mistakesThe demeanour of Brian Ashton and an unusually quiet Pat Whelan in a relatively low-key press conference probably reflected the…Mon Dec 01 1997 - 00:00
Good day at office for IrishA first rung up a long ladder, the first step being the win itselfMon Dec 01 1997 - 00:00
Fixture clash for London IrishAnother potentially nasty stand-off is brewing between the IRFU and London Irish over the availability of the Sunbury club's …Sat Nov 29 1997 - 00:00
Time to start winningPerversely almost, the pressure is on the Irish team when they play Canada at Lansdowne Road tomorrow (1Sat Nov 29 1997 - 00:00
Canada to provide good test for IrelandCanada will throw everything in their locker at Ireland on Sunday after their Cork-born coach Pat Parfrey announced a full-strength…Fri Nov 28 1997 - 00:00
Miller a major doubtEric Miller remains a major doubt for Ireland in advance of their clash with Canada on SundayFri Nov 28 1997 - 00:00
A solid but laboured Irish display sufficesThere have been worse Irish A performances but there have been better ones tooThu Nov 27 1997 - 00:00
Ireland boldly go for blend of tried and untestedThe Irish A team take a step into the relative unknown against the touring Canadians at Ravenhill tonight in what should be a…Wed Nov 26 1997 - 00:00
Popplewell captain as Wood withdrawsNot unexpectedly, Ireland have suffered a significant setback in the build-up to Sunday's international against Canada at Lansdowne…Wed Nov 26 1997 - 00:00
Garryowen happy with points sharedAs draws go, this one at Dooradoyle yesterday couldn't have been fairerMon Nov 24 1997 - 00:00
St Mary's look like genuine title contendersAlthough the scoreline wasn't a million miles away from the classic, 83-pointer these expansively-minded sides put together last…Mon Nov 24 1997 - 00:00
Bell to miss A gameJonathan Bell is out of the Ireland A team to play the Canadians in Ravenhill on Wednesday nightMon Nov 24 1997 - 00:00
Erskine and Maggs stay inJust as in the political spectrum, it seems genuine left-wingers are no longer flavour of the month in the higher echelons of…Sat Nov 22 1997 - 00:00
Play-offs will spice up the leagueIt may be ill-timed, ill-equipped as a feeder to the national team, ill-conceived in its long-term objectives, even ill-matched…Sat Nov 22 1997 - 00:00
St Mary's and Blackrock finely primedA re-enactment of their memorable 83-point jaunt last season when St Mary's host Blackrock at Templeville Road this afternoon…Sat Nov 22 1997 - 00:00
New men will get another chanceDespite a record home defeat, the Irish selectors are unlikely to make drastic changes from the team beaten 63-15 by New Zealand…Fri Nov 21 1997 - 00:00
St Mary's line up their big gunsAs expected, four of the Irish backs who were exposed to the mighty All Blacks last Saturday will experience the other end of…Wed Nov 19 1997 - 00:00
Lansdowne to play new pairLansdowne will be without captain Kurt McQuilkin for the re-arranged AIB League, first division opener at Lansdowne Road tomorrow…Tue Nov 18 1997 - 00:00
Learning from the best in the worldSome people believe Ireland shouldn't be on the same pitch as the All Blacks. They think the contest is all overTue Nov 18 1997 - 00:00
