Munster relishing visit of CardiffFar from being devalued by the recent exodus of players across channel, Irish sides have competed pretty well in the European…Wed Sept 24 1997 - 01:00
Confident Connacht getting right mixIf it is true that Irish rugby could theoretically be one of the main beneficiaries from the advent of professionalism and the…Tue Sept 23 1997 - 01:00
Leinster form dips severelyTo say that this Leinster defeat sticks in the craw would be an understatementMon Sept 22 1997 - 01:00
Leinster set to win againPraiseworthy though the performance against Toulouse was, and brilliant though the victory against Leicester was, that opening…Sat Sept 20 1997 - 01:00
Self-discipline is the order of day for LeinsterFiguratively, the Heineken Cup is getting a little hot under the collar, and, literally, at any rate, nowhere will it be warmer…Sat Sept 20 1997 - 01:00
Munster look to KeaneMark McDermott and Shane Leahy return to the Munster starting line-up for tomorrow's Heineken Cup Pool D tie against Bourgoin…Fri Sept 19 1997 - 01:00
Leinster stick with winning blendPresumably the Leinster management could pick their team from opposite sides of the street nowadaysWed Sept 17 1997 - 01:00
Professionalism begins to yield rewardsFor much of the 90s, and before, the advent of professionalism sparked enough gnashing of teeth for a dentists' conventionTue Sept 16 1997 - 01:00
Staples ponders clouded futureJim Staples, last season's Irish captain, will almost certainly miss the first of the national squad's weekly Wednesday training…Tue Sept 16 1997 - 01:00
Munster authors off their own misfortuneWhile the scoreline never lies, it sometimes has a funny way of not telling the truth eitherMon Sept 15 1997 - 01:00
Four added to squadBrian Ashton has added four players to the contracted national squad of 35 for the first of the weekly training sessions near…Mon Sept 15 1997 - 01:00
Fired-up Leinster need to get breaksNext up Leicester then, whose team of internationals and Lions take on Leinster this eveningFri Sept 12 1997 - 01:00
Leinster face starry LeicesterLeicester include 10 internationals from five countries in their line-up for tomorrow evening's European Cup tie with Leinster…Thu Sept 11 1997 - 01:00
Elwood the maestro in Connacht's finest hourGrown men who had seen a few good days but mostly bad ones were moved to tears of joy, as Connacht delivered the biggest competitive…Wed Sept 10 1997 - 01:00
Irish patients show signs of recoveryForget all this gloom and doom then, let's have some bloom and boom? In what may well have been a revealing barometer of the …Tue Sept 09 1997 - 01:00
Preview - Connacht V Northampton, Sportsground, 3.0Connacht today square up to Ian McGeechan's Northampton and their pride of Lions encouraged by and mindful of their meeting with…Tue Sept 09 1997 - 01:00
No return for positive playIrish Rugby, and Ulster in particular, wanted something more tangible than another encouraging Heineken Cup display but despite…Tue Sept 09 1997 - 01:00
Regrets for improved LeinsterTo lose to Toulouse is no crime, and Leinster could justifiably take heart from a predictably much improved performance at Donnybrook…Mon Sept 08 1997 - 01:00
Cissies of the world uniteLike the released convict on parole, rugby behaved itself with model deportment last weekendSat Sept 06 1997 - 01:00
Quinlan's efforts are rewardedMan of the moment Alan Quinlan, along with Reggie Corrigan and Brian Cusack are the latest additions to the Irish squad for tomorrow…Sat Sept 06 1997 - 01:00
Players sign contractsThe Irish international contracts for the coming season were signed in Dublin yesterdayFri Sept 05 1997 - 01:00
Deylaud is fit to take on LeinsterAs expected, the mercurial former French out-half Christophe Deylaud has been declared fit to play his first game of the season…Fri Sept 05 1997 - 01:00
Munster drop Foley and WallaceA barometer of Munster's worsening form in five games this season is the decision by the selectors to reshuffle their side radically…Thu Sept 04 1997 - 01:00
Leinster aim for invigorating ambienceFor all the doom and gloom encircling Irish rugby in advance of the Heineken European Cup, there is a discernible buzz of anticipation…Wed Sept 03 1997 - 01:00
Bad play, bad refs, and bad businessGoodbye to all that then, or should that be good riddance? By any criteria, the 1997 Interprovincial Championship must go down…Tue Sept 02 1997 - 01:00
Many European Cup matches are postponedMany of this Saturday's opening round matches in the European Cup have been postponed until Sunday as a mark of respect to Diana…Tue Sept 02 1997 - 01:00
Game escapes early from limited Munster teamTwenty seconds into this Ravenhill interprovincial Stuart Laing set Ulster on their way with a drop goalMon Sept 01 1997 - 01:00
Ulster V MunsterDesperate though Ulster's plight is, at least their position is fairly clear-cutSat Aug 30 1997 - 01:00
Now or never for interprovincial protagonistsWelcome to the last chance saloonSat Aug 30 1997 - 01:00
Leinster V ConnachtLeinster will be without international full-back Ciaran Clarke, because he "did not pass a late fitness test" on his troublesome…Sat Aug 30 1997 - 01:00
Gatland stands by his menConnacht, not surprisingly, have announced an unchanged side for their Interprovincial Championship meeting with Leinster at …Wed Aug 27 1997 - 01:00
IRFU cancel squad sessionsThe first three proposed training sessions for the Irish international squad, due to start tomorrow, have been cancelled.Tue Aug 26 1997 - 01:00
Munster prevail in barren struggleIf this is supposedly the creme de la creme of Irish representative rugby - the showpiece match-up of the Guinness Interprovincial…Mon Aug 25 1997 - 01:00
Pivotal match of the seriesIt is the most momentous clash of the Guinness Interprovincial Championship thus far - these things being relative of courseSat Aug 23 1997 - 01:00
Roche gets early Bath debutBrian Roche, the one-time Sunday's Well left-winger, will make a surprise English League Premiership debut for last season's …Fri Aug 22 1997 - 01:00
In a league of its ownIt is almost encouraging to note that daft seasonal structures are not confined to IrelandThu Aug 21 1997 - 01:00
Referees join Leinster squad in exercise of continuityIn the continuing effort to improve communication on and off the pitch between referees, players and coaches - while also endeavouring…Wed Aug 20 1997 - 01:00
Referees hold the key to open gameRunning Rugby, played at pace, with a reduction in set-pieces and a correlating increase in rucks and mauls, lots and lots of…Tue Aug 19 1997 - 01:00
Leinster flatter only to deceiveSo much sun, so much expectation, and so much disappointmentMon Aug 18 1997 - 01:00
Interprovincials can usher in new dawnThe pitches are lush green and freshly painted, and yet vying with the crack of willow and the plop of balls off tennis racquets…Sat Aug 16 1997 - 01:00
PreviewsStephen Rooney came through a fitness test yesterday and Leinster field as selected, but Ulster have had to replace the injured…Sat Aug 16 1997 - 01:00
Davidson accepts London Irish dealIn what constitutes a significant statement of intent for the coming season, London Irish yesterday announced that their Lions…Fri Aug 15 1997 - 01:00
Munster vacancyMunster have left a vacancy in their back row for the opening defence of their title against Connacht at the Sportsground on …Thu Aug 14 1997 - 01:00
