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
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
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
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
Quality to prevail over quantityIt may be stop-start, it may only incorporate nine weeks of the season and ultimately the Heineken European Cup ends with a May…Sat Sept 29 2001 - 01:00
Try and try againLiam Hayes was asked whether it was better to have reached an All-Ireland final with Meath before losing to Down and at least…Sat Sept 29 2001 - 01:00
A very bad blow for Irish rugbyOutside the players' exit from the Murrayfield stands on Saturday, the Easterby brothers emerged first a few seconds apart and…Tue Sept 25 2001 - 01:00
Players baffled and embarrassedAmid so much turmoil in the world, perhaps a degree of comfort can be taken from the prevalence of some old truismsMon Sept 24 2001 - 01:00
Ireland's very bad day at the officeIn the pantheon of Irish duds, this latest offering is right up thereMon Sept 24 2001 - 01:00
Speed of the backs to win it for IrishA September weekend in Edinburgh - probably the favourite haunt for a Six Nations championship match - felt as odd yesterday …Sat Sept 22 2001 - 01:00
Four Munster survivors for MurrayfieldUnderlining that this is as much a fresh start as a continuation of where Ireland left off last season before they were rudely…Wed Sept 19 2001 - 01:00
Stringer may hold on to spotThe Irish team to play the first of this season's scheduled 11 internationals in next Saturday's re-arranged Six Nations game…Tue Sept 18 2001 - 01:00
Celtic League good, playing Tuesday badOne scarcely had the stomach for watching sport last week, much less writing about it, so one can hardly imagine what it was …Tue Sept 18 2001 - 01:00
Tries flow as Munster get seriousAlmost as if on tap, eight tries flowed from Munster at Thomond Park on Saturday; the Irish provincial champions upping their…Mon Sept 17 2001 - 01:00
Leinster cut loose late onOn one of those days when sport's status was more irrelevant than magnificent, Leinster maintained the Celtic League's only unbeaten…Wed Sept 12 2001 - 01:00
In-form Murphy gets the callThere were many losers when the foot-and-mouth crisis interrupted Ireland's Six Nations campaign earlier this year, and a few…Tue Sept 11 2001 - 01:00
Munster fire still burningThey're still not flowing like honey but the fires burned strong enough for Munster to turn around a patchy first half-hour or…Sat Sept 08 2001 - 01:00
Leinster travel with full-strength squadMatt Williams will announce his Leinster side for their trip to Bridgend today from a full-strength selection barring the sidelined…Wed Sept 05 2001 - 01:00
