Oval ball wall-to-wall as the heat turns upBehind The Lions: Auckland to Christchurch, Christchurch to Wellington, Wellington to Christchurch, Christchurch to Dunedin, …Sat Jun 18 2005 - 01:00
Whitcombe may get Test spotLions Tour: Darren Whitcombe, the 27-year-old Australian- born hooker who has had a back-up role to his Auckland Blues team-…Fri Jun 17 2005 - 01:00
Back to give forward thrustTo Irish, and especially Munster, minds, he'll forever be known for his Backhander in the Heineken European Cup final of 2000…Tue Jun 14 2005 - 01:00
High-speed chase leaves us needing a stiff strollBehind the Lions: To fly or to drive? That was the questionSat Jun 11 2005 - 01:00
Maoris opt to start without SpencerKing Carlos will not, alas, be honouring the kick-off with his presence against the Lions for the New Zealand Maoris in Hamilton…Wed Jun 08 2005 - 01:00
Injury rules O'Kelly out of tourMalcolm O'Kelly has been forced to withdraw from the Lions tour because of a mysterious abdominal muscle injuryFri Jun 03 2005 - 01:00
O'Kelly ruled out of Bay of Plenty matchA slight cloud hangs over Malcolm O'Kelly's Lions' tour after the Irish secondrow was again rendered hors de combat by abdominal…Thu Jun 02 2005 - 01:00
All Blacks suffer injury bluesWith captain Tana Umaga ruled out of Friday's All Blacks' trial in Napier, Mils Muliaina the latest doubt for that game, and …Wed Jun 01 2005 - 01:00
Woodward learns little from Pumas lessonRugby/Lions tour news: Whatever about the few unfortunate punters who placed big bets on the Lions to beat Argentina at the …Wed May 25 2005 - 01:00
Chieka comes into pictureNews : Michael Chieka has emerged as a somewhat surprising dark horse to be the next coach of Leinster along with his Randwick…Tue May 24 2005 - 01:00
Toulouse have what it takesRugby European Cup Final: The 10th anniversary of the Heineken European Cup final wasn't presumably allocated to Murrayfield…Sat May 21 2005 - 01:00
Leinster move closer to naming coachLeinster's said on Monday their new coach may be announced within the next fortnightWed May 11 2005 - 01:00
Leinster move closer to naming coachLeinster's said on Monday their new coach may be announced within the next fortnightWed May 11 2005 - 01:00
Leinster move closer to naming coachLeinster's said on Monday their new coach may be announced within the next fortnightWed May 11 2005 - 01:00
Celtic Cup needs to get its act togetherSo the men from Munster, be it the provincial team, Shannon or UL Bohemian, came, saw and conqueredTue May 10 2005 - 01:00
No shortage of motivation for neighbours' showdownRugby/Celtic Cup Semi-final : A semi-final of a soon-to-be-defunct Celtic Cup may not amount to a hill of beans in the greater…Sat May 07 2005 - 01:00
McCullen follows Brennan to ToulouseNews: Aidan McCullen, like the similarly underappreciated and underused Trevor Brennan before him, is to join the Heineken European…Sat May 07 2005 - 01:00
South Africa brings new plan to Celtic League tableCompetition proposals Proposals for a new early-season 24-team competition involving the 11 Celtic League teams, the nine Currie…Thu May 05 2005 - 01:00
AIL's upper tier needs cutting, not expandingOn Rugby: Next Saturday will be a rare day in the sunshine for the AIB League at Lansdowne RoadTue May 03 2005 - 01:00
Indications are French will only get strongerOn Rugby: So much, again, for the theory expounded in these pages that the over-long French championship would dilute their …Tue Apr 26 2005 - 01:00
Connacht look to be running on emptyChallenge Cup Semi-final, second leg: Connacht may have finished last of the four Irish provinces in the Celtic League, thereby…Sat Apr 23 2005 - 01:00
Leinster in talks with KirwanNews John Kirwan, the recently removed Italian coach, and Lynn Howells, the former coach at the now defunct Celtic Warriors, …Sat Apr 23 2005 - 01:00
Anglo-Welsh Cup plan sets off alarm bellsRugby News: News that the Welsh RFU and their four regions are entering negotiations with their English counterparts over an…Tue Apr 19 2005 - 01:00
Ireland may pay for belated Celtic moveOn Rugby : No sooner is the Celtic brotherhood belatedly singing harmoniously off the same sheet than one of them, inevitably…Tue Apr 19 2005 - 01:00
Lansdowne face relegation play-offAll-Ireland League: The last full day of the AIB All-Ireland League wouldn't be complete without some traditional last-day dramatics…Mon Apr 18 2005 - 01:00
Getting tougher with each passing yearOn Rugby: The post-match meal for the teams after Sunday's quarter-final was located in a building about 200 yards from the …Tue Apr 05 2005 - 01:00
Lima set to start for MunsterEuropean Cup, Munster v Biarritz: If Brian Lima does turn out to be the coup of the season, then Alan Quinlan will be looking…Wed Mar 30 2005 - 01:00
Lions-Tigers clash has classic ingredientsOn Rugby: Follow that? In times past, that's rarely been a problem for the Heineken European Cup, and despite the unforgettable…Tue Mar 29 2005 - 01:00
Ireland should be given licence to thrillGerry Thornley On Rugby: An antic-climactic tournament for Ireland, undoubtedly.On RugbyTue Mar 22 2005 - 00:00
Welsh show way forward for IrelandHe may not appeal to the old traditionalists, he may be too Beckhamesque in his image and celebrity profile, right down to the…Mon Mar 21 2005 - 00:00
Temptation to tinker is resistedRugby/Six Nations Championship : Consistent to some, conservative to othersWed Mar 16 2005 - 00:00
Ireland can justify the rising hopesRugby/Six Nations : The penultimate step to the promised land can often be the trickiest oneSat Mar 12 2005 - 00:00
D'Arcy fails to win fitness raceRUGBY Six Nations Championship: One steps out, another steps back in againWed Mar 09 2005 - 00:00
D'Arcy and Gleeson set for returnLeinster v Ospreys, Tomorrow, Donnybrook. On TV: Setanta 4Sat Mar 05 2005 - 00:00
Referee-bashing a dangerous new trendOn Rugby: Okay, let's pretend for a moment that the shoe was on the other foot; that Ireland had lost 19-13 to England at Twickenham…Tue Mar 01 2005 - 00:00
O'Driscoll adds to well of experienceRugby/Six Nations Championship: As with England the day before, Ireland have made one change for the clash at Lansdowne Road…Thu Feb 24 2005 - 00:00
D'Arcy doubtful as England opt for Stevens at propSix Nations Championship: On the day when there was contrasting news on the recuperating Irish centres Brian O'Driscoll and …Wed Feb 23 2005 - 00:00
It's time to reinvent the Lansdowne roarOn Rugby: Wistfully recalling halcyon days of yore probably goes with the territory of sports columns, but accompanying those…Tue Feb 22 2005 - 00:00
O'Driscoll, D'Arcy likely to be fitRugby Six Nations Championship: The Irish management were yesterday making cautiously optimistic noises about the recuperation…Tue Feb 22 2005 - 00:00
Weakened Leinster likely to fall again on the roadEdinburgh v Leinster Murrayfield: The news that Simon Taylor returns to the Edinburgh team for the first time since January …Sat Feb 19 2005 - 00:00
Late try is Connacht's only saving graceCeltic League: A spirited late rally - totally out of sync with much of the first hour - culminated in a trademark try from …Sat Feb 19 2005 - 00:00
Munster clear for Spanish invasionThe ERC have confirmed that the European Cup will break new ground at the quarter-final stages this season after approval was…Fri Feb 18 2005 - 00:00
Ulster in the form to tame Dragons in lairCELTIC LEAGUE Dragons v Ulster, Rodney Parade, 7Fri Feb 18 2005 - 00:00
England take the Goode optionThe uncapped Leicester outhalf Andy Goode has been called in to an expanded 30-man English squad in preparation for their meeting…Fri Feb 18 2005 - 00:00
League offers Bradley best route to EuropeConnacht v Llanelli Dubarry Park, 7.30p.mFri Feb 18 2005 - 00:00
No conflict of interest on stadium says IRFU presidentBarry Keogh, the president of the IRFU, and the Lansdowne Road Stadium Development Company have both strongly asserted that there…Fri Feb 11 2005 - 00:00
O'Sullivan's thoughts will centre on his optionsTo lose one world-class, game-breaking, low-sense-of-gravity, line-straightening, try-scoring Lions midfield shoo-in might be…Tue Feb 08 2005 - 00:00
