Return of Earls likely to be only changeON FOOT of Stephen Ferris being cleared to play against France at Stade de France this Saturday, all the indications emanating…Thu Feb 09 2012 - 00:00
Ferris's record is key to his defenceTHE IRISH team management will lodge a robust defence of Stephen Ferris before an independent Six Nations Disciplinary Committee…Wed Feb 08 2012 - 00:00
Blanket ban ends captain's run in ParisALREADY sweating on the availability of Stephen Ferris and faced with a six-day turnaround after the defeat to Wales, further…Wed Feb 08 2012 - 00:00
Review identifies need for stronger defensive structuresTHE IRELAND squad yesterday completed their review of the defeat to Wales on Sunday and, not surprisingly, have resolved to improve…Wed Feb 08 2012 - 00:00
Ulster the likely destination as Bowe considers end-of-season moveTOMMY BOWE looks set to rejoin Ulster at the end of the season after choosing his native province ahead of Munster.Tue Feb 07 2012 - 00:00
Kidney facing one of his biggest challengesON RUGBY: It might not have had the sense of disappointment of Wellington but the latest defeat to Wales asks a lot of questions…Tue Feb 07 2012 - 00:00
Paris trek just became more dauntingRUGBY: THE GAME ended in controversy, and there’s little doubt the officials wrongly adjudged two so-called tip tackles – the…Mon Feb 06 2012 - 00:00
Heaven's bread for Wales as Irish feast on crumbsIreland 21 Wales 23: AS ANTI-CLIMACTIC starts go, this was Ireland’s worst for some timeMon Feb 06 2012 - 00:00
Earls gets nod for number 13 and all the pressure that goes with itRUGBY: KEITH EARLS has been anointed to fill Brian O’Driscoll’s semi-mystical number 13 jersey for Ireland’s campaign-defining…Thu Feb 02 2012 - 00:00
Touch, couch, pause, engage . . .HERE WE go again. The oldest and most successful rugby tournament in the world returns this Saturday, retaining its status as…Wed Feb 01 2012 - 00:00
Emotional attachment to Ireland sealed with KissAT LAST, next Sunday offers a chance to scratch an itch, if not quite vengeance for that quarter-final defeat, and in the immediate…Wed Feb 01 2012 - 00:00
Due south: Ulster look to southern hemisphereULSTER are likely to bring in a successor to Brian McLaughlin from the southern hemisphere, thereby ruling out several Irish …Wed Feb 01 2012 - 00:00
The one that got away during troubled timesHISTORY HAS shown us that “even” years don’t afford Ireland much of a shot at a Grand Slam.Wed Feb 01 2012 - 00:00
Tainton drops broadest hint it could be EarlsRUGBY: THE RIDDLE will be resolved at lunchtime when Declan Kidney confirms his line-up to confront Wales in the RBS Six Nations…Wed Feb 01 2012 - 00:00
Kidney adds a bit of flavour to the mixRUGBY: PUNDITS AND punters alike are inclined to call for change, all the more so at the start of a new four-year World Cup …Tue Jan 31 2012 - 00:00
Kidney has one foot in Lions denRUGBY: AFTER ONE of the worst kept secrets doing the rugby rounds – even the dogs in O’Connell Street, and that’s any O’Connell…Wed Jan 25 2012 - 00:00
We should enjoy these moments while they lastON RUGBY: Three quarter-finalists, a semi-finalist, plus two rentals of the Aviva StadiumTue Jan 24 2012 - 00:00
Twickenham road map set to be enthrallingRUGBY: THE SEASON is set to run and runMon Jan 23 2012 - 00:00
Satisfying day at the office for SchmidtLeinster 25 Montpellier 3 IN CONTRAST to the end-game drama that unfolded in the three matches involving the other Irish provinces…Mon Jan 23 2012 - 00:00
Ulster get by with friends out westRUGBY: THE LAST weekend’s only shoot-out between the top two, Ulster could not have been pitted with a more daunting task than…Sat Jan 21 2012 - 00:00
Kearney confirmed as new manager of Irish teamTHE IRFU yesterday confirmed that Michael Kearney will succeed Paul McNaughton as the new manager of the Irish team.Sat Jan 21 2012 - 00:00
Ulster victory would make it clear-cutHERE WE go again, abacus and calculators at the readyFri Jan 20 2012 - 00:00
Kidney stands by tried and trustedRUGBY: ON BBC Radio Five Live’s lunchtime sports bulletin yesterday, it was announced that Declan Kidney had included six new…Thu Jan 19 2012 - 00:00
Munster bidding to bring Downey back into the foldJAMES DOWNEY, the Northampton and Irish A inside centre, is set to return to Irish rugby next season by rejoining Munster, who…Thu Jan 19 2012 - 00:00
Smal to stay on as forwards coachAFTER MONTHS of speculation linking him with the vacant position of Springboks’ head coach, which is to be filled in the next…Wed Jan 18 2012 - 00:00
Down and dirty gets job done for LeinsterA STICKY one alright. As well as the confines of Partick Thistle’s narrow, short pitch, the Firhill surface was gluey and cloying…Mon Jan 16 2012 - 00:00
Leinster prove they can also tough it outGlasgow 16 Leinster 23 : UNLIKE THEIR performance last time out against Bath, this performance from the European champions wouldn…Mon Jan 16 2012 - 00:00
Leinster have what it takes to avoid slip-upAS PROVERBIAL banana skins go, especially for Leinster, this has a particularly slippery look to it given an array of Scottish…Sat Jan 14 2012 - 00:00
Much at stake for Ulster in war of attritionHEINEKEN CUP: IF IT’S a capacity crowd under the Friday night lights in Ravenhill, with an English team in town, it must be …Fri Jan 13 2012 - 00:00
Leinster to maintain their high standards in CardiffAT FACE value, save for local derbies the league doesn’t throw up too many eye-catching fixtures like thisSat Jan 07 2012 - 00:00
Munster the only option for O'ConnellRUGBY: WHATEVER ABOUT their controversial new policies towards recruitment of overseas players, the IRFU undoubtedly know how…Thu Jan 05 2012 - 00:00
A year of triumphs, great and smallSPORT REVIEW 2011: It was a good year for Irish rugbyWed Dec 28 2011 - 00:00
IRFU powers take a sledgehammer to a nailON RUGBY: THE RECENT unveiling of the IRFU’s changes to player contracts, specifically those for non-Irish qualified players…Tue Dec 27 2011 - 00:00
More fun to see Leinster in attacking modeON RUGBY: UP UNTIL Sunday afternoon, Leinster and Toulouse looked like the two stand-out teams in the Heineken Cup for the third…Tue Dec 20 2011 - 00:00
When is a 'record' crowd not a record?ATTENDANCE FIGURES: LEINSTER OFFICIALS admit that their official “attendances” at home matches in both the RDS and the Aviva…Tue Dec 20 2011 - 00:00
Munster looking to consolidate their positionFEW EUROPEAN defeats in modern times rankled with Munster more than the quarter-final beating they were handed by an inspired…Sat Dec 17 2011 - 00:00
Connacht facing a difficult assignmentGUY Noves shuffles his cards with seven changes, but the quality of those called up (William Servat, Yohan Montes, Romain Millo…Sat Dec 17 2011 - 00:00
McFadden keen to make a pitch for number 13 jerseyRUGBY NEWS ROUND-UP: ASSUREDLY, NO Irish player has ever done more to encourage young boys to take up rugby than Brian O’Driscoll…Tue Nov 29 2011 - 00:00
Pro12 a friend to Munster in time of transitionON RUGBY: AS WITH the Celtic League and the Magners League, the Pro12 receives something of a bum rapTue Nov 29 2011 - 00:00
Provinces likely to rest front-linersNEWS ROUND-UP: ALL THE Irish provinces, and especially Leinster and Munster, are likely to be shorn of their World Cup front…Wed Nov 23 2011 - 00:00
Fitzgerald learns to slow things down after World Cup omissionIF IT doesn’t break you, it can make you, and in Luke Fitzgerald’s case this appears to be the caseWed Nov 23 2011 - 00:00
Heineken Cup brewing up nicely for DecemberON RUGBY: With things so tight at the top, upcoming back-to-cack rounds could be even more pivotal than everTue Nov 22 2011 - 00:00
'Experience will drive us on in league next week'FOR THE longer-serving Connacht players, those who had toiled through the tough times, there must have been a whirl of post-match…Mon Nov 21 2011 - 00:00
Leinster fly as O'Gara lands itRUGBY: HEINEKEN CUP AFTER LANDING a match-winning drop goal in overtime for the second successive game, against Castres in Toulouse…Mon Nov 21 2011 - 00:00
Welford Road assignment a huge test of Ulster's capabilitiesAFTER THE latest tour de force by Stephen Ferris and the opportunism of Ian Humphreys helped to see off Clermont last week, to…Sat Nov 19 2011 - 00:00
Galacticos aplenty as Toulouse hit GalwayRUGBY: THE DAY of reckoning is at hand, and as 100th games in Europe go, Connacht’s big day is becoming bigger by the daySat Nov 19 2011 - 00:00
Noves treating Connacht with due cautionWATCHING AN admittedly reshaped Toulouse side struggle to find any real sustained rhythm or control over Gloucester last week…Sat Nov 19 2011 - 00:00
