Liam Toland: Ireland may need van der Flier’s subtlety against FranceA different balance in the backrow could swing the odds in favour of Schmidt’s teamFri Feb 17 2017 - 06:35
Liam Toland: Ireland thrived by having deeper box of tricksItaly defence caught was short after assuming the visitors would truck it up middleMon Feb 13 2017 - 07:01
Liam Toland: Bonus point in Rome now a requirementSchmidt’s side must counterattack more effectively than they did at MurrayfieldFri Feb 10 2017 - 10:26
Liam Toland: Scotland knocked Ireland off balance by attacking pillars of strengthConcern after Murrayfield loss is that things may get harder before they get easierMon Feb 06 2017 - 07:00
Liam Toland: Arthur Tanner shaped us on our rugby journeyThis wise professor laid stepping stones, not stumbling blocks, for the men under his careThu Feb 02 2017 - 22:50
Liam Toland: Munster’s tactical smarts lets them be David against GoliathAndrew Conway is our most improved back and is morphing into another Schmidt cloneTue Jan 31 2017 - 15:42
Liam Toland: Munster have turned adversity to advantageThe province’s defensive systems will be put to the test in clash with Glasgow WarriorsFri Jan 13 2017 - 05:50
Liam Toland: Munster well-placed to expose Racing’s limitsRecent evidence suggests French giants suffer problems in technique or mindsetFri Jan 06 2017 - 21:57
Liam Toland: O’Halloran fast becoming the Irish NacewaConnacht players always believe their fullback will ride the tackle and find his manFri Dec 23 2016 - 05:00
Liam Toland: Connacht can exploit Kurtley Beale’s enthusiasmPat Lam’s side for once looked vulnerable with ball in hand but expect improvementFri Dec 16 2016 - 10:01
Liam Toland: Scrumhalf battle could tilt the balance at Thomond ParkMunster’s Conor Murray versus Leicester’s Ben Youngs is an intriguing prospectFri Dec 09 2016 - 07:00
Scrums manna from heaven in the search for bonus pointsMaximising key attacking platform will be a potent weapon during the Six NationsFri Dec 02 2016 - 05:45
Liam Toland: Ireland make mistakes and win – this is extremely good newsWallabies were sublime at times but the home side overcame great odds to prevailMon Nov 28 2016 - 07:00
Liam Toland: Potent Australia will ask a lot of different questionsIreland will need to match their intensity displayed against the All Blacks to prevail againFri Nov 25 2016 - 08:21
Liam Toland: Plenty to build on after All Blacks onslaughtSuperb Ireland performances not enough to stop New Zealand team intent on revengeMon Nov 21 2016 - 07:47
Liam Toland: Ireland need to get out of the trenches and attack New ZealandReturn of Brodie Retallick and Sam Whitelock represent a real challenge for Joe Schmidt’ sideFri Nov 18 2016 - 07:05
Liam Toland: Player rotation crucial to canny Joe Schmidt strategyManaging teams in big games against opposition like the All Blacks is key to successFri Nov 11 2016 - 17:14
Liam Toland: Precision proves pivotal on a perfect dayIreland’s players followed Joe Schmidt’s plan to the letter and reaped that historic rewardMon Nov 07 2016 - 14:05
Liam Toland: All Blacks are not perfect – but Ireland need to beThere are a million things New Zealand do better than us but Ireland can still prevailFri Nov 04 2016 - 07:00
Liam Toland: Joe Schmidt’s men can stop the All Blacks in their tracksIreland have culture, coaches and players to make history by finally beating New ZealandFri Oct 28 2016 - 05:50
Liam Toland: It was Anthony’s intelligence that stood out mostHe was a modest man who always let his achievements fly well below the radarMon Oct 17 2016 - 15:10
Liam Toland: Connacht will prosper if they focus on protecting the ballBall control is key factor for Pat Lam’s side in Champions Cup opener with ToulouseFri Oct 14 2016 - 07:00
Liam Toland: Stander and Heaslip bring different qualitiesBoth men will be compared right up to the announcement of team to face All BlacksFri Oct 07 2016 - 07:00
Liam Toland: Provinces show benefits of broadening their horizonsMunster try against Edinburgh demonstrated how they have added value to ballFri Sept 30 2016 - 07:00
Liam Toland: Synthetic pitches will encourage skill and fill stadiumsSurfaces such as Scotstoun can make slobbering around in the muck a thing of the pastFri Sept 16 2016 - 07:00
Liam Toland: Camaraderie at its finest as we get on our bikes for cancerPaul Wallace’s 2016 Cross Atlantic Way left us all tired and emotionalFri Sept 09 2016 - 07:00
Liam Toland: Irish rugby must drink from the stream of Connacht’s creativityPat Lam’s men took their chances but what really counted was how they made themMon May 30 2016 - 01:03
Liam Toland: Connacht could be on brink of doing Irish rugby a huge favourLeinster’s big strength going into Pro12 showpiece is that they know how to winFri May 27 2016 - 10:34
Liam Toland: Battle for space will decide Leinster-Ulster semi-finalPaddy Jackson has led way for Ulster as they improve ability to exploit opportunitiesFri May 20 2016 - 07:00
Liam Toland: Residency rule should be six years, not threeRacing Metro have great chance in Champions Cup if they stop Billy VunipolaFri May 13 2016 - 07:02
Liam Toland: Irupa award a great tribute to CJ StanderOutstanding personal season for Munster and Ireland recognised by his fellow playersFri May 06 2016 - 11:13
Time for sports bodies to support players who gave their allTransitory nature of life as a top-level sports person inevitably brings its own challengesFri Apr 29 2016 - 07:00
Liam Toland: Nature of the Connacht loss raises difficult questions for MunsterDue to yellow cards and the effort expended, Munster looked wrecked by the 50th minuteFri Apr 22 2016 - 05:00
Liam Toland: Munster will lay traps for their flamboyant brothersConnacht have yet to be exposed to the onslaught that will greet themFri Apr 15 2016 - 12:05
Liam Toland: Connacht must have faith in gameplanPat Lam’s charges have the tactical nous to ask big questions of Grenoble on SaturdayFri Apr 08 2016 - 07:00
Liam Toland: Buckley showing the benefits of brain over brawnConnacht prop is thriving in the scrum and open play under Pat LamFri Apr 01 2016 - 06:00
Liam Toland: No strict playbook for Dudley – he wanted creative expressionIrish schools rugby was blessed to have coach and man as inspiring as Dudley HerbertFri Mar 25 2016 - 07:00
Liam Toland: Ireland’s narrow tactics won day but could have cost themJoe Schmidt came up trumps but better teams will exploit our weaknessesMon Mar 21 2016 - 06:30
Toland: O’Donnell selection about stopping Scottish quick ballIreland are in for very challenging afternoon if they let Vern Cotter’s side dictate tempoFri Mar 18 2016 - 07:00
Liam Toland: Ireland must develop ruthless streakTurnovers are gold and kicking away precious possession will not work against top teamsMon Mar 14 2016 - 05:02
Liam Toland: Joe Schmidt should proclaim philosophy of running rugbyFor now, we should have enough armoury to overcome limited Italy this weekendFri Mar 11 2016 - 07:00
Liam Toland: Ireland can emulate improving ArgentiniansBut there remains a dearth of knowledge in our game which impacts at formative levelFri Mar 04 2016 - 07:00
Liam Toland: Some green shoots but England were wise to Ireland planDebutants impress but inability to suck in England players costs IrelandMon Feb 29 2016 - 08:13
Liam Toland: Application of pressure to be the biggest testEddie Jones’ England team have a powerful bench to call upon for Twickenham clashFri Feb 26 2016 - 08:00
Liam Toland: Creativity need not be a dirty word for IrelandThis is not about mad risk-taking or massive passes, just the simple things, executed wellFri Feb 19 2016 - 07:30
Liam Toland: Conservative game played into French handsIreland failed to press home advantage when they were on top in the first halfMon Feb 15 2016 - 11:06
Liam Toland: Ireland can show that time is enemy for FranceJoe Schmidt’s team can exploit France’s lack of preparation in build up to Six NationsFri Feb 12 2016 - 08:00
Liam Toland: Draw a great achievement for depleted IrelandMunster's CJ Stander and Tommy O’Donnell epitomised Ireland’s determinationMon Feb 08 2016 - 08:28
Liam Toland: Sexton must be kept out of firing lineIreland’s chances hinge on Jamie Roberts running into a forward rather than outhalfFri Feb 05 2016 - 06:55
Toland: Ireland need to develop an expansive style to improveUlster recently pointing the way to a game the national team should adoptFri Jan 29 2016 - 07:20
