Overcooked Irish to savour raw All BlacksAnd just when we thought it couldn't get any better? Well, while beating the auld enemy was one thing, beating the one opponent…Sat Nov 17 2001 - 00:00
All Black strength is in reserveThe All Blacks may be sending out a relatively unfamiliar bunch of starting dirt-trackers for tonight's meeting with the Irish…Tue Nov 13 2001 - 00:00
Humphreys and Wallace on the mendDavid Humphreys and David Wallace, Ireland's main injury concerns, are likely to be named in the starting team at around lunchtime…Tue Nov 13 2001 - 00:00
Samoans as ever a breath of fresh airWatching the Tri-Nations decider at Stadium Australia in the haven of Renvylle in Connemara - as you do - we ran into a waitress…Tue Nov 13 2001 - 00:00
Satisfactory on most countsA win is a win, and all that - all the more so in a no-win scenarioMon Nov 12 2001 - 00:00
Samoans swept aside without fussWorkmanlike was the adjective used in separate settings in the immediate aftermath of Ireland's win over Samoa in Lansdowne Road…Mon Nov 12 2001 - 00:00
A careless Ireland could be nailed on blindsideA Sunday afternoon meeting sandwiched between an epic win over England and a visit from the All Blacks is primed for another …Sat Nov 10 2001 - 00:00
Gatland forced to experimentWith one eye on the All Blacks six days subsequently, one eye on Manu Samoa this Sunday as well as their players' health, and…Thu Nov 08 2001 - 00:00
Williams enables Leinster to fulfil talentHaving knocked on the door of the knockout stages only to invariably be denied entry at the final stage, so it comes to pass …Tue Nov 06 2001 - 00:00
Trio called up as injury list growsAlready numbering 25, the Irish squad was further expanded yesterday with the addition of Trevor Brennan, Simon Easterby and …Tue Nov 06 2001 - 00:00
Coming to the boil nicelyEven by their own exacting standards Munster can go into the mid-season hiatus from the Heineken Cup content with a job well …Mon Nov 05 2001 - 00:00
Sale are unlikely to let it slipCharl Marais, the Springbok hooker, will be paraded in front of an estimated 3,000 Heywood Park crowd prior to his debut for …Sat Nov 03 2001 - 00:00
Howe makes it a white night in UlsterFor sheer, raw, gut-wrenching excitement and the most dramatic of climaxes, this latest effort by the White Knights of Ulster…Sat Nov 03 2001 - 00:00
Munster need to apply basics to subdue revoltBuoyed by a win away to the same opposition, installed as heavy favourites by the bookies and no doubt by a capacity, sell-out…Sat Nov 03 2001 - 00:00
Ulster must treat this as defining momentBilled as the make-or-break weekend for so many of the competing teams, such a prognosis certainly isn't a million miles from…Fri Nov 02 2001 - 00:00
Munster may be the sole qualifierThe proud unbeaten records of the four provinces of Ireland couldn't last forever, and yet it's probably fair to say that only…Tue Oct 30 2001 - 00:00
Dempsey out for LeinsterGirvan Dempsey has joined Leinster's growing casualty listTue Oct 30 2001 - 00:00
Leinster abandon flair for true gritA perfect 10 perhaps, albeit by dint of Leinster's most imperfect performance this seasonSat Oct 27 2001 - 01:00
Ulster to face stiff test in ParisUlster's new-found confidence on the back of a five-game winning run will receive its most stringent test yet when they face …Sat Oct 27 2001 - 01:00
Sale no bargain for ConnachtAs is often the way with it's football equivalent, the supposedly secondary Parker Pen European Shield can often mean bumping…Sat Oct 27 2001 - 01:00
Newport will raise the stakes in DonnybrookOn paper this is pitched as one of the best matches of the weekend in the Heineken European Cup, featuring as it does one of …Fri Oct 26 2001 - 01:00
Williams prepared to wait for O'Driscoll"This is the hardest team I've ever picked," joked Matt Williams of what was, more likely, the easiest team he's ever picked.Thu Oct 25 2001 - 01:00
Victory confirms Ireland's rude healthWho now would question the wisdom of Ireland's three re-arranged games taking precedence over all else? Hats off then to the …Tue Oct 23 2001 - 01:00
Provinces hoping to have Irish heroes fitThe immediate playing prospects of two of Ireland's heroes these past couple of Saturdays, Brian O'Driscoll and David Humphreys…Tue Oct 23 2001 - 01:00
Magnificent Maggs most ecstaticThe man of the match? On the basis of this observer's straw poll on Saturday night of about 20 or 30 people (it wasn't an exact…Mon Oct 22 2001 - 01:00
Woodward keeps faith with BalshawFor all their successes of recent years - a record 11 Test wins in a row and victories in 11 of their last 13 championship games…Wed Oct 17 2001 - 01:00
Vickery is latest England doubtAfter his awesome ball-carrying display in the Millennium Stadium David Wallace has emerged as a slight injury concern in the…Tue Oct 16 2001 - 01:00
Brennan rebirth a template for teamThe story goes that Warren Gatland went into the Leinster dressing-room in Donnybrook after a game this season in which Trevor…Tue Oct 16 2001 - 01:00
Woeful Wales provide stage for rejigged Ireland to restore pride"If there was no pressure and it wouldn't be difficult, sure everybody would be doing it?" So said the Ireland manager, Brian…Mon Oct 15 2001 - 01:00
Humphreys pays tribute to packAs he reflected on masterminding a record Irish win over Wales, and with it a man-of-the-match display, typical of the man, David…Mon Oct 15 2001 - 01:00
Gatland to go ... on for a while yetIn public, the mask rarely slips but within what he thought were the unseen bowels of the Millennium Stadium soon after the final…Mon Oct 15 2001 - 01:00
IRUPA set up to represent professionalsFollowing the lead of their English, French, and Southern Hemisphere counterparts, Ireland's professional players have set up…Sat Oct 13 2001 - 01:00
All Black tour still on scheduleThe coming All Blacks tour, which includes a sell-out game against Ireland at Lansdowne Road on November 17th, is set to go ahead…Thu Oct 11 2001 - 01:00
Six get the chop as axe falls mercilesslyTime was, and not so long ago at that, when Irish selections were almost boringly predictable and unchanging, but suddenly not…Wed Oct 10 2001 - 01:00
Wales name Robinson at centreThe 21-year-old Cardiff centre Jamie Robinson is a slightly surprising selection in the Welsh midfield alongside the 36-year-…Tue Oct 09 2001 - 01:00
Leinster unlikely to move venueThe Leinster Branch executive will meet on Thursday to discuss whether to keep their final European Cup Pool Six home game against…Tue Oct 09 2001 - 01:00
Munster men stoop to conquerTrue, it wasn't the most fluid or potent of Munster performances, but in a competition where away wins are like gold dust this…Mon Oct 08 2001 - 01:00
Visiting Munstermen still carry the tag of favouritesIt still doesn't get any easier, as Declan Kidney agreed last week after their hard-earned win over CastresSat Oct 06 2001 - 01:00
Roman conquest likelyWhile it would be tempting for Connacht to treat this weekend's trip to Rome as a holiday, the primary purpose of the exercise…Sat Oct 06 2001 - 01:00
Easterby ruled out of Welsh gameSimon Easterby has been ruled out of Ireland's re-arranged Six Nations Championship game against Wales in the Millennium Stadium…Tue Oct 02 2001 - 01:00
Defeat against Wales is unthinkableHindsight is a great thing, but really we could probably have put our mortgages on the four proud provinces of Ireland responding…Tue Oct 02 2001 - 01:00
Thomond remains unbreachedMunster will play better over 80 minutes, presumably, but they'll rarely have to dig deeper as Castres confirmed they would be…Mon Oct 01 2001 - 01:00
Munster need to make a point or twoOld friends and old foes will greet Munster when their latest European Cup odyssey begins today (3.0, live on Network 2)Sat Sept 29 2001 - 01:00
