O'Driscoll and D'Arcy remain centredPICTURE THE scene: a conference room the size of a swanky living room, with over 70 media types crammed in, including photographers…Thu Oct 06 2011 - 01:00
Men from the valleys prepare to ascendRUGBY QUARTER-FINALS IRELAND v WALES: WITH WARREN Gatland yet to lob in any grenades, the mutual respect between the Welsh and…Thu Oct 06 2011 - 01:00
O'Callaghan relishing renewal of old rivalryIRELAND v WALES: FAMILIARITY BREEDS contempt, it is said, and there are times when the rivalry between Irish and Welsh players…Wed Oct 05 2011 - 01:00
N Z threat: Miller says everyone 'replaceable'OVER TO TEW: THE WORLD Cup would go on without the New Zealand All Blacks if they chose to boycott the 2015 tournament, International…Wed Oct 05 2011 - 01:00
Clinical Ireland put Italians to the swordIreland 36 Italy 6: FOR ONCE the cardiac team decided not to put themselves or the rest of us through the wringerMon Oct 03 2011 - 01:00
Blarney Army paint town green - with a little help from the KiwisHISTORICALLY, IRELAND don’t do Rugby World Cups – but they appear to be doing one now.Mon Oct 03 2011 - 01:00
Duo passed fit as Kidney opts for O'GaraRugby : Paul O’Connell and Tommy Bowe have been passed fit and confirmed amongst the starting line-up to face Italy in the crunch…Fri Sept 30 2011 - 01:00
Curiously, Aussies will be rooting for the New Zealand WarriorsDUNEDIN LETTER: THE SUSPICION was that New Zealand would be altogether different in both a World Cup setting and, particularly…Fri Sept 30 2011 - 01:00
O'Gara gets the Italian job over SextonRugby: As expected, Conor Murray and Ronan O’Gara will form a new half-back partnership for Ireland’s crunch World Cup Pool …Fri Sept 30 2011 - 01:00
O'Gara gets the Italian job over SextonRUGBY: AS EXPECTED, Conor Murray and Ronan O’Gara will form a new half-back partnership for Ireland’s crunch World Cup Pool …Fri Sept 30 2011 - 01:00
O'Connell sits out training againRUGBY: PAUL O’CONNELL remains Ireland’s biggest concern ahead of the winner-takes-all Pool D finale against Italy on Sunday …Thu Sept 29 2011 - 01:00
Smal remains wary of threat posed by ItalyRugby: THE IRISH squad returned to work yesterday after a couple of days’ rest knowing the pressure they are under to effectively…Wed Sept 28 2011 - 01:00
Russian rout keeps Ireland flying highRugby: The Irish World Cup odyssey exuberantly carries onMon Sept 26 2011 - 01:00
Ireland find their hiding place as the fringe steps up to the markIreland 62 Russia 12: HIDINGS HAVE not been an Irish speciality over the years, but although this regenerated team were on something…Mon Sept 26 2011 - 01:00
Rout keeps Ireland flying highRUGBY: THE IRISH World Cup odyssey exuberantly carries onMon Sept 26 2011 - 01:00
Ireland ready for bonus territoryRUGBY: GERT SMAL has publicly stated that the newly-promoted players in this remodelled Irish side have to move performance …Sat Sept 24 2011 - 01:00
Kidney utilises squad with nine changesWORLD CUP POOL C: UNLIKE FOUR years ago, this truly will be a squad effortFri Sept 23 2011 - 01:00
Kidney chops and changes for RussiaRugby: Irish coach Declan Kidney has made nine changes in personnel to Ireland’s starting XV for Sunday’s World Cup Pool game…Fri Sept 23 2011 - 01:00
O'Gara to reassess his position after World Cup is overRugby World Cup: RONAN O’GARA caused a bit of stir with his emotional post-match suggestion that these may be his last few weeks…Thu Sept 22 2011 - 01:00
Jennings knows the value of teamworkONE OF the most striking features of the build-up to last Saturday’s win was how all 30 players in the Irish squad appear to …Wed Sept 21 2011 - 01:00
Historic victory changes the permutationsON RUGBY: Saturday’s win over the Tri-Nations champions has had the kind of seismic effect Argentina’s win over France had in…Tue Sept 20 2011 - 01:00
The world opens up for IrelandIreland 15 Australia 6: THE BELIEF that there was a performance brewing in this Irish team was fostered not just by knowing …Mon Sept 19 2011 - 01:00
This really was Team Ireland in EdenRUGBY: DEPENDING ON which side of the world you were on Saturday, it either started in daylight and ended in darkness, or vice…Mon Sept 19 2011 - 01:00
Rare chance for Ireland to exorcise some ghosts in AucklandRUGBY: IRELAND AND Australia went into this Pool C clash with the opportunity to exorcise a few ghosts on New Zealand soil and…Sat Sept 17 2011 - 01:00
Ireland seal historic win after nail-biting encounterAustralia 6 Ireland 15 : The rain bucketed down intermittently, the Irish scrum ground the Wallabies into the grass and a huge…Sat Sept 17 2011 - 01:00
Ireland can rattle Wallabies' cageRUGBY WORLD CUP 2011 Ireland v Australia THIS IS it then, the one that has been circled since December 2008Fri Sept 16 2011 - 01:00
Ireland sweat over Flannery's fitnessRUGBY: Jerry Flannery has emerged as a major concern for the Irish squad despite being named on the bench for Saturday’s pivotal…Wed Sept 14 2011 - 01:00
Kidney goes with Reddan-Sexton halfback pairingAnalysis: By keeping Sean O’Brien, Rob Kearney and Cian Healy on a leash, Declan Kidney always gave himself elbow room to refresh…Wed Sept 14 2011 - 01:00
Ireland sweat over Flannery's fitnessRUGBY: Jerry Flannery has emerged as a major concern for the Irish squad despite being named on the bench for Saturday’s pivotal…Wed Sept 14 2011 - 01:00
Where there's a WillPOOL C IRELAND v AUSTRALIA: IT’S A point made before but it’s worth repeating this week of all weeksWed Sept 14 2011 - 01:00
Star-strangled Ireland fail to impressRUGBY WORLD CUP : AS A launching pad for finally putting to right all those previous World Cup anti-climaxes, this was not the…Mon Sept 12 2011 - 01:00
No bonus in this hollow victoryPOOL C Ireland 22 USA 10: IRELAND GOT their win, if not quite the commanding performance and result they would have wanted a…Mon Sept 12 2011 - 01:00
Soaring over Eagles will set right tone2011 RUGBY WORLD CUP: THE IRISH squad’s World Cup odyssey has already seen them leave from, and land on, plenty of runways but…Sat Sept 10 2011 - 01:00
O'Driscoll welcomes Murray factorThe advent of a new player invariably energises a team and even its more established playersFri Sept 09 2011 - 01:00
New Zealand ready to party as Henry's first selection gets a mixed reactionRUGBY WORLD CUP: New Zealand v Tonga EVER SINCE November 17th, 2005, New Zealand has set about putting its best foot forward…Fri Sept 09 2011 - 01:00
Back home to make more of the 'hard yards'2011 RUGBY WORLD CUP: FROM THE spectacular, landlocked basin of Queenstown, Ireland moved on to the coastal town of New Plymouth…Fri Sept 09 2011 - 01:00
Betting DiaryRUGBY WORLD CUP: AUSTRALIA’S status as second favourites behind New Zealand (4/6) have hardened to 10/3, with South Africa at…Fri Sept 09 2011 - 01:00
Kiwis' desire to show everyone except the Wallabies a good time is palpableNEW ZEALAND LETTER : New Zealanders may never again have such an opportunity to showcase their countryThu Sept 08 2011 - 01:00
Pride and pace key to Eddie's EaglesPOOL C THE UNITED STATES: OF ALL the days of the year Ireland are to be pitted against the USA, one could hardly imagine there…Wed Sept 07 2011 - 01:00
Fun is over as Ireland crank up effortsTHE FUN is over and soon the games will commenceWed Sept 07 2011 - 01:00
Friendly welcome fails to mask local fear factorON RUGBY: The party is set to start but the collective self-doubt of New Zealanders about removing the gorilla from their backs…Tue Sept 06 2011 - 01:00
It's not the losses, it's the mannerRUGBY: THEY’RE ONLY friendlies, warm-up games, footnotes in history, etc, and at the outset Ireland would have traded four defeats…Mon Aug 29 2011 - 01:00
England in no mood to be 'friendly'RUGBY: IF EVER the description ‘a friendly test match’ constituted an oxymoron it surely applies to an Ireland-England contest…Sat Aug 27 2011 - 01:00
Irish injuries cast a dark cloudRUGBY: ALL THE best laid plans of mice and men, and all thatFri Aug 26 2011 - 01:00
Expect strong selectionsRUGBY: SUCH IS the importance of recording a confidence-boosting win in their final warm-up game at the Aviva Stadium this Saturday…Thu Aug 25 2011 - 01:00
