Sold out Croke Park unlikely to field company clients and day-trippers to the same extent as Six Nations clashes at the Aviva
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Province hasn’t hosted a playoff game in Thomond Park in either the URC or Champions Cup since the European tie two seasons ago against Exeter
Leinster-La Rochelle looking like most competitive game, with home teams heavy favourites
Up-and-down form guides make forecasting this weekend’s eight ties fiendishly difficult
We should never forget or underplay how much a World Cup campaign takes out of players
Ireland could lose to Scotland and win the championship with losing bonus point
At Twickenham tomorrow Ireland could equal that run of five successive wins over the auld enemy
The joie de vivre the French club players have been playing has been replaced by joylessness for the national team
Never shy of stoking a few pre-match embers, the Wales coach has pointedly referenced Ireland’s World Cup quarter-final defeat to the All Blacks
By reducing TMO’s scope to overturn an onfield decision, reviews can fly in the face of technology
Full houses across France last weekend could give the URC pause for thought about postponing matches during the tournament
It was a familiar week for Ireland with a pre-tournament training camp in the Algarve followed by a trip to Marseille
‘It will be different with Maxime, I don’t think he will try and be Dupont, he will play his own game but he does have some similar strengths’
Former Ireland coach had his imprint all over New Zealand’s victory against his former team in the Rugby World Cup
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