Cheika won't take Castres for grantedRUGBY NEWS: BEWARE OF French sides seemingly set on rolling over and having their bellies tickledWed Dec 03 2008 - 00:00
Gatland unfazed as Wales draw short strawTHE GROUP of Death, the Pool of Sharks; call it what you will, but as Irish eyes scanned across the four pools they could probably…Tue Dec 02 2008 - 00:00
History as big a worry as Ulster for Bradley's menMAGNERS LEAGUE: IT'S DOUBTFUL whether the burden of history will weigh more heavily on a team going into a Magners League fixture…Fri Nov 28 2008 - 00:00
Victory over Argentina lifts a dark shadowThe pressure to perform and beat Argentina was intense anyway regardless of what Ronan O'Gara said in private or publicTue Nov 25 2008 - 00:00
'We need to play as a team' - O'GaraTHREE CHANGES in personnel to the starting line-up, including a surprise if welcome recall for Geordan Murphy, appear to have…Fri Nov 21 2008 - 00:00
Valiant Munster come so close to repeating magic of 1978THIRTY YEARS on, it was almost as if nothing had changedWed Nov 19 2008 - 00:00
Pumas will be welcome return to a normal realmON RUGBY: It's still hard to fathom how the All Blacks bossed the collisions set against the evens of last June in Wellington…Tue Nov 18 2008 - 00:00
Gaffney happy to relive Thomond experienceTHOUGH IRELAND'S world ranking has slipped to eighth, and Canada are 15th, that gap scarcely reflects the gulf in class for tomorrow…Fri Nov 07 2008 - 00:00
Kidney's team has some tough calls to makeManagement spoiled for choice as a new dawn looms and Ireland look to secure a place in the top eight in the world rankingsTue Nov 04 2008 - 00:00
Clontarf roll up sleeves and go topALL-IRELAND LEAGUE ROUND-UP: WHETHER IT'S a coincidence or not, the IRFU's decision to revamp next year's AIB All-Ireland League…Mon Oct 27 2008 - 00:00
O'Driscoll's injury not too seriousRUGBY NEWS ROUND-UP: BRIAN O'DRISCOLL should be fit for Ireland's forthcoming autumnal internationals against Canada, New Zealand…Tue Oct 21 2008 - 01:00
Munster and Leinster making us a little giddyIt's early days, but Europe has taken note of the big two provinces' fine form in the Heineken Cup - and it's great to see Brian…Tue Oct 21 2008 - 01:00
Munster reshuffle in Tipoki's absenceSale v Munster: THERE'S SCARCELY room to breathe in a competitive Heineken Cup pool and the results of the first week have contrived…Sat Oct 18 2008 - 01:00
Exiles have too much power for ConnachtConnacht 10 London Irish 27: A MISERABLY wet night in the West wasn't the only thing to put something of a damp squib on Connacht…Sat Oct 18 2008 - 01:00
Exiles come home in scary formConnacht v London Irish : IT'S A measure of the task facing Connacht in their eye-catching fixture at home to London Irish this…Fri Oct 17 2008 - 01:00
O'Driscoll still wants to lead IrelandINTERVIEW WITH BRIAN O'DRISCOLL : IN ABOUT a week's time one of the early-season talking points may well be resolvedTue Oct 14 2008 - 01:00
'It was just about keeping our nerve'THE ALMOST haunting echoes of Murrayfield don't lend themselves to excessive celebrations, and having exorcised many of their…Mon Oct 13 2008 - 01:00
Vintage draughts from the Cup that cheersHEINEKEN EUROPEAN CUP: The greatest club competition in the always offers something new, but certain elements are as perennial…Fri Oct 10 2008 - 01:00
Visitors arrive gift-wrapped for championsMunster v Montauban: MUNSTER MAY have been taken away from their traditional Saturday evening slot but, at face value, that …Fri Oct 10 2008 - 01:00
Much soul searching in the Leinster camp after defeatsHEINEKEN CUP EDINBURGH v LEINSTER: TO THE outside at least, Leinster are presenting a united and relatively calm front after…Wed Oct 08 2008 - 01:00
IRFU should see strong Connacht as a positiveON RUGBY: The Westerners' gutsy and skilful win over Leinster doesn't dispel fears of a two-tier provincial set-up, but it's…Tue Oct 07 2008 - 01:00
Connacht can change only so muchConnacht v Leinster: TIME WAS, back in the 90s, when the Sportsground was Leinster's bogey venueSat Oct 04 2008 - 01:00
Munster aside, weekend hardly cheers KidneyON RUGBY: THE GREAT thing about being beaten by Munster - if there is even one scintilla of hope for Leinster to cling to in…Tue Sept 30 2008 - 01:00
Leinster include heavy hittersMAGNERS LEAGUE LEINSTER'S HEAVY hitting new captures, CJ van der Linde and Rocky Elsom, are in line to make debuts for the province…Wed Sept 24 2008 - 01:00
High-profile rivalry benefits national sideON RUGBY: Leinster versus Munster, there probably won't be a better all-Irish match this season, writes Gerry ThornleyTue Sept 23 2008 - 01:00
Leinster pair ready for debutsRUGBY NEWS CJ VAN DER LINDE and Rocky Elsom both trained with the Leinster squad for the first time yesterday and are in line…Tue Sept 23 2008 - 01:00
McGahan utilises his vast resourcesMunster v Cardiff Blues: IT'S A fairly healthy state of affairs when a coach can make 10 unenforced changes from a 50-pointer…Sat Sept 20 2008 - 01:00
Leinster prepared for tougher assignmentLeinster v Ospreys LEINSTER'S SEASON is cranking up nicelyFri Sept 19 2008 - 01:00
Gibbes looking forward to assessing recruitsRUGBY NEWS ROUND-UP: LEINSTER'S SQUAD is starting to take shapeWed Sept 17 2008 - 01:00
Unlucky farewell for ConnachtScarletts v Connacht: IN WHAT could be a decidedly double edged sword for Connacht, the Scarlets begin the process of an emotional…Sat Sept 13 2008 - 01:00
Munster determined to give it a better goDragons V Munster: AND SO the Magners League and Setanta embark upon the brave new dawn that is their Sunday evening slotSat Sept 13 2008 - 01:00
Caldwell in as Ulster seek rare away winCardiff v Ulster: IN THE raft of statistics that Matt Williams has sought to improve (particularly the penalty count and a porous…Fri Sept 12 2008 - 01:00
League ratify top tier of eightRUGBY NEWS: IF NOTHING else, and certainly not before time, the IRFU yesterday showed some leadership in grasping the AIB League…Fri Sept 12 2008 - 01:00
Cheika starts the rotation systemCardiff v Leinster: LUKE FITZGERALD, Girvan Dempsey and Trevor Hogan are on the bench, there's no place in the 22 for Stephen…Sat Sept 06 2008 - 01:00
Home start will suit UlsterULSTER v LLANELLI: A GOOD start is arguably even more important for Ulster than Munster or Leinster, given their comparative…Fri Sept 05 2008 - 01:00
McGahan looking to hit ground runningEDINBURGH v MUNSTER: THEIR new head coach Tony McGahan and his new assistant coach Laurie Fisher would love to throw down …Fri Sept 05 2008 - 01:00
Cheika hopes bans will be appealedRUGBY NEWS ROUND-UP PENDING ANY appeals, the Leinster-bound duo of South African prop CJ van der Linde and Australian flanker…Wed Aug 27 2008 - 01:00
Eagles to pose stern examMUNSTER FACE a searching examination of their fitness and stamina in their seasonal opener in Hartford, Connecticut, today.Sat Aug 23 2008 - 01:00
Woods outlines issuesPLAYERS' CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS: EMPLOYER/WORKER teething difficulties are hardly unique to Irish rugby, but 13 years into the…Thu Aug 21 2008 - 01:00
Things falling nicely into place for BradleyRUGBY CONNACHT'S PRE-SEASON: A 24-8 PRE-SEASON win over a Harlequins side that Michael Bradley readily acknowledges was missing…Wed Aug 20 2008 - 01:00
Cheika to field inexperienced side in PadovaRUGBY NEWS ROUND-UP: SETTLED IN the unfamiliar, brilliant sunshine of Padova, Leinster will take their first steps into the …Wed Aug 20 2008 - 01:00
Tests take on World Cup significanceSOUTH AFRICA'S 63-9 win over Argentina in Ellis Park last Saturday has cemented the world champions' status atop the IRB's world…Wed Aug 13 2008 - 01:00
Easterby appointed Leinster's chief scoutRUGBY NEW LEINSTER POST GUY EASTERBY has been appointed to the newly-created position of Leinster's chief scoutFri Aug 08 2008 - 01:00
O'Sullivan off to the States as consultantRUGBY: FORMER IRISH head coach Eddie O'Sullivan has agreed a short-term contract in the US to work with a number of elite colleges…Wed Aug 06 2008 - 01:00
Muldoon to captain ConnachtRUGBY: JOHN MULDOON has been appointed Connacht's new captainWed Aug 06 2008 - 01:00
'Over the last 12 months we've underachieved hugely'THERE CAN be no more fitting metaphor for the 2007-'08 season than the sight of Brian O'Driscoll endeavouring to hobble on with…Mon Jun 16 2008 - 01:00
Elsom leaves Leinster talk for laterWALLABIES blindside flanker Rocky Elsom was predictably noncommittal yesterday about his imminent move to Leinster.Wed Jun 11 2008 - 01:00
