O'Connell optimistic about Ulster matchRugby: Paul O’Connell is “very hopeful” that he will be back in time to lead Munster in their Heineken Cup quarter-final match…Thu Mar 08 2012 - 00:00
Three drop goals tilt title Tullamore's way as Monivea battle to the finishRUGBY JUNIOR CUP FINAL: Tullamore 9 Monivea 3: THE INTEGRITY of the endeavour compensated for any shortcomings in terms of skills…Mon Feb 20 2012 - 00:00
Connacht aim to keep Glasgow run goingTHE MIDWEEK loan deal that takes Munster’s 26-year-old New Zealand-born prop Peter Borlase to Connacht for the remainder of the…Sat Feb 18 2012 - 00:00
Munster not taking anything for grantedMUNSTER COACH Tony McGahan will appreciate the presence of Ireland squad members Ronan O’Gara, Donnacha Ryan and Peter O’Mahony…Sat Feb 18 2012 - 00:00
Jones back in Munster squad for Treviso tiePRO12 LEAGUE: MUNSTER COACH Tony McGahan has included Felix Jones in a 28-man squad for Saturday’s RaboDirect Pro12 game against…Thu Feb 16 2012 - 00:00
Kidney feels fans are not being treated fairlyRUGBY: IRELAND COACH Declan Kidney adopted a holistic stance when discussing the inconvenience of the arrangements governing…Thu Feb 16 2012 - 00:00
Tackling issues of depressionSPORT LEAN ON ME CAMPAIGN THE RECENT death of former soccer player and Wales manager Gary Speed offered a reminder of that depression…Wed Feb 15 2012 - 00:00
Ireland and Best must trust their routines to hit mark in ParisTHE CALL is made on the way to the touchline, reinforced audibly when the players take their positions in the lineoutSat Feb 11 2012 - 00:00
Barnes got Ferris decision wrong, says disciplinary panelTHE SIX Nations disciplinary panel not only dismissed the citing against Stephen Ferris, clearing him to play for Ireland against…Thu Feb 09 2012 - 00:00
French changes target lineout returnsFRANCE COACH Philippe Saint-Andre has identified a deficiency out of touch and a lack of aggression up front in the wake of the…Wed Feb 08 2012 - 00:00
Humphreys confirms change of coachULSTER’S DIRECTOR of Rugby David Humphreys has confirmed the Irish province will be appointing a new head coach for the 2012-…Wed Feb 08 2012 - 00:00
Brunel will put his own stamp on Italian jobITALY MIGHT just have found a spiritual soul-mate in new coach Jacques BrunelWed Feb 01 2012 - 00:00
In a post-World Cup championship, surely there's a formula for success?Beaten World Cup finalists have fared well in the Six Nations, while those who believe things come in threes will expect a Grand…Wed Feb 01 2012 - 00:00
Bagman in the background packs a lot into running smooth operationHE IS a mother and father, rolled into one. He is a confidante. He is a handyman. He provides a shoulder to lean onWed Feb 01 2012 - 00:00
Wolfhounds at the door as opportunity comes knockingIT MIGHT be slightly misleading to suggest that the result is irrelevant because no side, least of all one sporting national …Sat Jan 28 2012 - 00:00
Leinster first of Irish provinces to make pitchRUGBY: LEINSTER WILL be the first of Ireland’s three representatives to take the field in the Heineken Cup quarter-finals when…Thu Jan 26 2012 - 00:00
Zebo gets call-up to Wolfhounds squadLUKE FITZGERALD’S untimely injury, which has seen him miss Leinster’s last two Heineken Cup matches, will preclude him from selection…Tue Jan 24 2012 - 00:00
Time fails to dilute Mallinder's feelings“But I think the game did hinge on some crucial refereeing decisions. I felt the referee got quite a lot wrongSat Jan 21 2012 - 00:00
Saints looking to prevail despite midweek Ashton distractionNORTHAMPTON SAINTS are hoping to transform an architecturally generic, urban concrete football arena in Milton Keynes into a …Sat Jan 21 2012 - 00:00
Cruel blow as Ronan is ruled outMUNSTER FLANKER Niall Ronan will miss the province’s Heineken Cup pool match against the Northampton Saints at stadium:mk on …Tue Jan 17 2012 - 00:00
Coughlan looks to add some polishJAMES COUGHLAN offered a pragmatic appraisal of where Munster stand as they go chasing a home quarter-final in next Saturday’…Tue Jan 17 2012 - 00:00
Munster will set out to dictate the paceCASTRES OLYMPIQUE won’t view this latest Heineken Cup challenge as insuperable until persuaded otherwise but the Limerick citadel…Sat Jan 14 2012 - 00:00
Ireland have to be prepared for year when every game mattersDECLAN KIDNEY will announce the Ireland squad for the upcoming Six Nations Championship next Wednesday, a tournament that will…Fri Jan 13 2012 - 00:00
Jackson and Low unlikely to feature against LeinsterHEINEKEN CUP NEWS ROUND-UP : GLASGOW WARRIORS could be without first-choice outhalf Ruaridh Jackson and tighthead prop Moray…Wed Jan 11 2012 - 00:00
Unbowed Wallace ready to put his body on the line againHEINEKEN CUP POOL FOUR: PADDY WALLACE’S rugby injuries are not for the squeamish as anyone who has seen pre-operative images…Wed Jan 11 2012 - 00:00
Connacht intent on putting dirty dozen behind themON FOOT of Connacht’s 12-match losing sequence, the very notion that superstition prescribes further misfortune in Italy this…Sat Jan 07 2012 - 00:00
Munster fringe should have enough edge to secure bonus-point victoryTHERE ISN’T really a good time in broad terms to play Munster in their Limerick citadel but on the evidence of Tony McGahan’s…Sat Jan 07 2012 - 00:00
Ulster keep a close eye on Leicester's injury crisisTHE LEICESTER Tigers are suffering something of an injury crisis, a state of chassis that will be monitored closely by Ulster…Fri Jan 06 2012 - 00:00
IRFU to change rules governing foreign playersTHE IRFU has announced revised parameters in which foreign professional players will be contracted to Leinster, Munster and Ulster…Thu Dec 22 2011 - 00:00
Ulster to get ball rolling at home to LeicesterULSTER WILL be the first of the four Irish provinces in action in round five of the Heineken Cup on Friday, January 13th, in …Thu Dec 22 2011 - 00:00
O'Shea eager to maintain level of intensityHARLEQUINS’ DIRECTOR of rugby Conor O’Shea and his coaching staff challenged the players to guarantee two core constituents in…Tue Dec 20 2011 - 00:00
High flying Ravens to host MunsterTHE ULSTER Ravens will host Munster A in the quarter-finals of the British Irish Cup, which are scheduled to take place on the…Tue Dec 20 2011 - 00:00
Hampson's heroic journey proves relentlessly rivetingRUGBY: THE LAST word Matt Hampson heard as a rugby player was “engage”.Sat Dec 17 2011 - 00:00
Another pressure-laden occasion beckonsRUGBY : RONAN O’GARA commandeered the headlines by virtue of his drop goal heroics in Munster’s two Heineken Cup victories to…Sat Dec 10 2011 - 00:00
Blues to bounce back from Leinster maulingCardiff v Edinburgh IT’S MORE expedient given the 11 changes from the Blues team from last weekend’s league match to name the…Fri Dec 09 2011 - 00:00
Ulster will have too much clout for AironiUlster v Aironi EVEN a rudimentary knowledge of Italian rugby without recourse to exhaustive video analysis would have forewarned…Fri Dec 09 2011 - 00:00
Sexton wary of Donald threat in Bath showdownRUGBY HEINEKEN CUP: JONATHAN SEXTON is conversant with the importance of Leinster’s successive fixtures against Bath in the …Tue Dec 06 2011 - 00:00
Schools mustn't lose sight of the bigger pictureON RUGBY: LAST NIGHT the Leinster Schools Senior and Junior Cup draws were unveiled with a pageantry borrowed from the professional…Tue Dec 06 2011 - 00:00
Relishing stepping up to the plateRONAN O’GARA is comfortable in the spotlight on or off the pitch, although there’s no doubting his preferenceMon Nov 21 2011 - 00:00
Munster must try to hit the ground runningTHE SULPHUR of last weekend’s explosive finish at Thomond Park still lingers but not for the Munster playersSat Nov 19 2011 - 00:00
Biarritz and Cardiff may seek O'SullivanEDDIE O’SULLIVAN has announced he is to step down as head coach to the USA Eagles after almost two years in chargeThu Nov 17 2011 - 00:00
Morris looking to stay in side to face UlsterPOOLS THREE AND FOUR: NIALL MORRIS will be hoping that his try-scoring exploits for the Leicester Tigers in their 28-12 Heineken…Wed Nov 16 2011 - 00:00
Cave ready to step up and take his chance with both handsPOOL FOUR: DARREN CAVE attended Ireland’s pre-World Cup training camp aware that only an outlandish set of circumstances would…Wed Nov 16 2011 - 00:00
Ulster ready to meet fire with fireHOME VICTORIES represent essential currency for those banking on making the knockout stages of the Heineken CupSat Nov 12 2011 - 00:00
Warburton set for return after banHEINEKEN CUP POOL TWO: Racing Metro 92 v Cardiff Blues WALES CAPTAIN Sam Warburton returns for his first competitive fixture…Fri Nov 11 2011 - 00:00
Connacht facing a tough opening assignmentHarlequins v Connacht: CONNACHT CAN not be distracted by the pomp and circumstance that sees them make their competitive bow…Fri Nov 11 2011 - 00:00
'I couldn't carry on for a full season'BRIAN O’DRISCOLL will have surgery on a trapped nerve in a shoulder next week and has been given a rough recovery time of six…Tue Nov 08 2011 - 00:00
Schmidt forced to review options for LeinsterLEINSTER COACH Joe Schmidt is planning for rugby life without Brian O’Driscoll and Shane Horgan ahead of the province’s opening…Tue Nov 08 2011 - 00:00
All in the ScrumRepeat offender: IT SEEMS Samoan centre Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu hasn’t learned his lesson about social networking websites and…Mon Nov 07 2011 - 00:00
Schoolboy rugby players to face anti-doping drug testsSCHOOLBOY RUGBY players are to face tests for performance-enhancing drugs under a new plan agreed between sports authorities.Fri Nov 04 2011 - 00:00
