Gaffney veers in Munster's directionAlan Gaffney, the well-respected and popular assistant coach to Matt Williams at Leinster for the past two seasons, has been …Tue Apr 16 2002 - 01:00
Captain returns for painful truthSix Nations Championship: In the aftermath of what proved to be Warren Gatland's last match in charge in the defeat to New Zealand…Mon Apr 08 2002 - 01:00
Clohessy exits in a shy wayIn a darkened tunnel at the back of the Stade de France the engine was purring gently in the Irish team busMon Apr 08 2002 - 01:00
Late scare to Hickie no cause for concernRUGBY/News: Denis Hickie remains confident his latest back spasm will not prevent him from playing against France tomorrowFri Apr 05 2002 - 01:00
Laporte angry over O'Driscoll misquotesBrian O' Driscoll is in the eye of a storm, albeit of the teacup variety, as a result of quotes which were misleadingly attributed…Thu Apr 04 2002 - 01:00
Earl puts students to flightAll Ireland League/Division One; Garryowen 42; UCD 24: The weather was set fair, Michael Noonan and Peter Sutherland led a posse…Mon Apr 01 2002 - 01:00
Munster to warm up with game against LeinsterAs expected, Munster will play host to their Celtic League final conquerors Leinster the week before their European Cup semi-…Tue Mar 26 2002 - 00:00
French have got their act togetherNotions of Ireland winning the championship certainly look a bit fanciful nowTue Mar 26 2002 - 00:00
Williams in final round of talksNews: Matt Williams will decide on Wednesday whether to stay on as Leinster coach or accept a lucrative offer from Saracens' …Mon Mar 25 2002 - 00:00
Italians frustrate Irish patternsIt says something for Ireland's current standards that they can string together three below-par performances and win two of them…Mon Mar 25 2002 - 00:00
Humphreys to lead Ireland as Kelly startsSIX NATIONS: In the wake of the Twickenham hammering the Irish management elected to retain faith in the starting team save …Wed Mar 20 2002 - 00:00
Arranged marriage now very unstableON RUGBY: So the Azzurri arrive this week on a long losing streak and riddled by infighting and intrigue, with both the Italian…Tue Mar 19 2002 - 00:00
Wood in need of startRUGBY/Six Nations Championship: Keith Wood and the rest of the Irish players involved in weekend club games all came through…Tue Mar 19 2002 - 00:00
UCD's success story continuesNot so much a game of two halves at Belfield on Saturday as one of 55 minutes and then 25 minutesMon Mar 18 2002 - 00:00
A blow to lose MaggsRUGBY/NEWS: Mel Deane, the ex-Connacht centre now with Sale, and another forgotten figure, Justin Bishop of London Irish, have…Mon Mar 11 2002 - 00:00
Cregan pilots Shannon homeALL-IRELAND LEAGUE - DIVISION ONE/Garryowen...15 Shannon..Mon Mar 11 2002 - 00:00
Discontented New Zealand drag feetRUGBY : Next Tuesday's planned World Cup draw, which would outline the entire schedule for the tournament to be held by Australia…Wed Mar 06 2002 - 00:00
Wood looks set to return against ItalyRUGBY : Keith Wood's chances of returning to the Ireland team for the game against Italy next Saturday fortnight are improving…Wed Mar 06 2002 - 00:00
Abbotstown would put sport in its placeRUGBY COLUMN: So, as election time nears, the PDs, in their customary, po-faced manner, have again adopted the high moral ground…Tue Mar 05 2002 - 00:00
Ireland primed to deliver a backlashA bruised and battered Ireland seek redemption today as unnerving 1 to 6 favourites against the old bugbears from Scotland, a…Sat Mar 02 2002 - 00:00
Selectors give players vote of confidenceRUGBY/Six Nations Championship: Ultimately there would be no public hangings, no sops to a disgruntled public and most of all…Wed Feb 27 2002 - 00:00
Dental woe spells kick in teeth for O'ConnellPaul O' Connell went under the dentist's knife yesterday, his hopes of a recall to the Irish team to play Scotland at the weekend…Tue Feb 26 2002 - 00:00
Horgan passes the testLandsdowne - 20 Buccaneers - 0: Moments after the full-time whistle, Shane Horgan and Brian O'Brien chatted quietly and shared…Mon Feb 25 2002 - 00:00
Final three decision deferredRUGBY/Six Nations Championship: The Irish management have deferred some difficult decisions, most notably it would seem the …Fri Feb 22 2002 - 00:00
Munster must go to BeziersThe ERC yesterday confirmed that they "were pleased to announce that Stade de la Mediterranée, Beziers, will host the Heineken…Tue Feb 19 2002 - 00:00
Ireland set fair for place in sunThe sun is set fair, the turf is firm, there are fewer finer backdrops in world rugby than a resplendent Twickenham and, at virtually…Sat Feb 16 2002 - 00:00
Shannon dig deepest to survive trench warfareCLONTARF - 6 SHANNON - 14: These are the kind of gritty, gutsy wins which make the journey home all the more enjoyableMon Feb 11 2002 - 00:00
Munster draw no comfort as die is castSod's law decreed that Munster would invariably be drawn against Castres in ParisWed Feb 06 2002 - 00:00
Reasons for worry amidst the good cheerSomehow it didn't quite feel real, did it? In the aftermath of Sunday's record win over Wales there was delight, definitely, …Tue Feb 05 2002 - 00:00
O'Connell out due to head injurySIX NATIONS: Paul O'Connell will have even more mixed feelings about his try-scoring debut now that he has been ruled out of…Tue Feb 05 2002 - 00:00
Ireland go on the rampage Six NationsAs bloodless coups go, this one was virtually devoid of tomato ketchupMon Feb 04 2002 - 00:00
Ireland sharp and ruthless Lansdowne RoadIreland 54, Wales 10: Notions of it being a tight one, which even Eddie O'Sullivan had genuinely harboured, lasted until, well…Mon Feb 04 2002 - 00:00
Ireland to deliver in new eraThe honeymoon is over. The world's foremost rugby tournament resumes and expectations have rarely been raised so highSat Feb 02 2002 - 00:00
Horgan joins Irish casualty listThis season's demanding triple assault at European Cup, Celtic League and Test levels contributed to Ireland suffering a triple…Tue Jan 29 2002 - 00:00
Munster earn huge respectSo the Heineken Cup runneth over to four countries until late April and sponsors and organisers alike will have been high-fiving…Tue Jan 29 2002 - 00:00
Tigers burn too brightly for LeinsterEuropean Cup - Leicester 29 Leinster 18: History will decree that Leinster were possibly a little unlucky to run into the best…Mon Jan 28 2002 - 00:00
Leinster out to leap mental barrierA sadist must have planned Leinster's season. Every time they clear one hurdle, the bar is raised againSat Jan 26 2002 - 00:00
Gatland eager to get back on training groundWarren Gatland will formally link up with his new charges at Wasps on Saturday prior to their English Premiership game away to…Fri Jan 25 2002 - 00:00
O'Sullivan keeps the status quoThere may have been a significant change in the coaching guard since Ireland's outing against the All Blacks last November, but…Wed Jan 23 2002 - 00:00
Wood casts doubt over fitness for Wales tieKeith Wood has reiterated he will have to line out for Harlequins this weekend if he is to lead Ireland against Wales in the …Tue Jan 22 2002 - 00:00
Wood doubtful for Wales matchKeith Wood's recovery from a torn calf muscle sustained before Christmas is not happening as quickly as had been forecast and…Wed Jan 16 2002 - 00:00
Coaches get down to workIreland's new management team was wheeled out in public for the first time at Thomond Park yesterday, the sizeable cast of chiefs…Wed Jan 16 2002 - 00:00
Lassissi and Munster citedRUGBY/European Cup: Ismaeli Lassissi, the Ivory Coast-born number eight who plays with French club Castres, could face a lengthy…Tue Jan 15 2002 - 00:00
Battered Leinster will know what they requireLeinster, grateful for the 24-hour respite which Toulouse sportingly granted them by deferring their final pool game until tomorrow…Sat Jan 12 2002 - 00:00
Munster's home is their fortressON RUGBY: No doubt John Kingston incurred the wrath of some one-eyed Munster supporters by having the temerity to suggest Munster…Tue Jan 08 2002 - 00:00
Doak called up but no place for StauntonRUGBY: No sooner had Ireland coach Eddie O'Sullivan and manager Brian O'Brien put their new management ticket together, outlined…Tue Jan 08 2002 - 00:00
Munster get back their killer instinctEUROPEAN CUP: Munster - 51 Harlequins - 17: What grated with the Munster players most in the wake of their Celtic final defeat…Mon Jan 07 2002 - 00:00
Clohessy will seize dayThe end of an era is nigh? Well, to a degree at any rate, this Heineken Cup campaign is the last hurrah for this Munster crew…Sat Jan 05 2002 - 00:00
Chance for Connacht to spread their wingsIn what is an anti-climactic finale to their European campaign, Connacht complete their home programme in the Parken Pen Shield…Sat Jan 05 2002 - 00:00
