Gatland's gamble pays off as new deck comes up trumpsNormally the Irish management drift surreptitiously and without warning into the car park tent that is used for post-match press…Mon Feb 21 2000 - 00:00
New boys tackle the old bogeyOnce more with hope, eh? Irish supporters have little else tangible to cling to after the last few days out for the boys in green…Sat Feb 19 2000 - 00:00
Kidney's charges pull it out of fireThe victory was no less nail-biting for the good-sized Donnybrook crowd than the one in Northampton a fortnight ago, although…Sat Feb 19 2000 - 00:00
Horgan cleared for senior debutTeam manager Donal Lenihan confirmed last night that despite reports of an alleged off-the-pitch incident involving the 22-year…Fri Feb 18 2000 - 00:00
A bizarre week but all too believableA bizarre week, perhaps even unprecedented, if maybe not quite grotesque and certainly not unbelievableTue Feb 15 2000 - 00:00
Maggs out and Bishop is doubtfulThe Irish management have an injury crisis in the wing positions after Kevin Maggs was ruled out of consideration for Ireland…Tue Feb 15 2000 - 00:00
Mullins' Munster magic makes all the differenceThe bulk of 29 players played well in awful conditions but one guy was on a different stratosphereMon Feb 14 2000 - 00:00
Keane has the final word with late kickIf ever a game was going to go down to the wire this was it. For the eighth year running there was only a score in itMon Feb 14 2000 - 00:00
Irish squad unscathedMuch to Donal Lenihan's relief, as he waited anxiously at the team's base in the Glenview Hotel, Wicklow last night, the 25-man…Mon Feb 14 2000 - 00:00
Lenihan enters Lions' denDonal Lenihan's first task as the next manager of the British and Irish Lions will be to recommend a coach as successor to Ian…Sat Feb 12 2000 - 00:00
UCD out to settle old scoresSometimes you'd wonder about the AIB League's advance planningSat Feb 12 2000 - 00:00
Rugby player apologises for head-butting criticIrish rugby reserve hooker Frank Sheahan has been fined £2,500, severely reprimanded and warned about future conduct by the Irish…Fri Feb 11 2000 - 00:00
Lenihan favourite to be next Lions managerDonal Lenihan has emerged as favourite to become the next British and Irish Lions manager for the tour of Australia in 2001Fri Feb 11 2000 - 00:00
Selectors wield predictable axeThe Irish management have predictably wielded the selectorial axe in response to last Saturday's 50-18 defeat by England in Twickenham…Fri Feb 11 2000 - 00:00
Lavery guarded on Gatland positionIRFU president Billy Lavery yesterday refused to look beyond Saturday week's visit of Scotland to Lansdowne Road when asked about…Tue Feb 08 2000 - 00:00
Maybe we haven't got the playersBefore the championship started the odds were against Warren Gatland lasting as Irish coach beyond the end of his contractTue Feb 08 2000 - 00:00
Ireland suffer from class divideIt says much about Saturday's latest England-Ireland mismatch that at 38-18 and with 73 minutes gone, the Irish at Twickenham…Mon Feb 07 2000 - 00:00
Ireland dig deep into their reserves for unlikely victoryIrish wins on English soil are becoming a bit like Dublin busesSat Feb 05 2000 - 00:00
Police call time on the craicMuch more of this and the army of Irish supporters who descend on London for the biennial fixture will decrease to a trickleFri Feb 04 2000 - 00:00
Phoney calm before the stormDiplomacy continued to rule yesterday in the run-up to tomorrow's England-Ireland skirmish in TwickenhamFri Feb 04 2000 - 00:00
Casey is rested again but will playFittingly enough, on what is known as Groundhog Day, the Irish squad went through their paces once more at Dr Hickey Park in …Thu Feb 03 2000 - 00:00
Irish selectors still trying the testedThe country may have wanted 15 heads on the block in the immediate aftermath of Lens, but when push came to shove the Irish management…Wed Feb 02 2000 - 00:00
O'Gara is forced to postpone debutAs expected, and with the cruellest of timing, Ronan O'Gara was yesterday denied the chance to make his debut for Ireland at …Tue Feb 01 2000 - 00:00
Skerries put it up to holdersThe feared century of points never materialised, and although a late flurry of tries got the Goliaths halfway there, the Davids…Tue Feb 01 2000 - 00:00
Cutting edge in hands of centresIn the heel of the hunt, for all the promise of radical change and new blood engendered by the original 25-man squad, the Irish…Tue Feb 01 2000 - 00:00
Mature Terenure guts out victoryIf a week is a long time in rugby, then a year is an ageMon Jan 31 2000 - 00:00
Shannon finish the job earlyFirst quarters rarely tell lies and like so many games this one was effectively done and dusted by the 17th minute when Shannon…Mon Jan 31 2000 - 00:00
O'Gara injury causes concernRonan O'Gara last night remained Ireland's biggest concern in advance of next Saturday's Six Nations' opener away to England …Mon Jan 31 2000 - 00:00
Wood gets Ireland's call as captainKeith Wood's second coming as Irish captain was formally ushered in yesterday, and it certainly ought to be a happier tenure …Wed Jan 26 2000 - 00:00
Munster's big three already in troubleIf the clubs thought they were getting the shorter end of the stick when the provinces were in full swing, the onset of the Six…Wed Jan 26 2000 - 00:00
O'Gara injury remains cause for concernRonan O'Gara remained the Irish management's biggest concern after the first day of the 25-man squad's two-day get-together in…Tue Jan 25 2000 - 00:00
New rules and new ideas do workAbout a year ago, this column incurred the wrath of defendants and devotees of the schools' cups with a critical analysis of …Tue Jan 25 2000 - 00:00
Dooradoyle bogey laid to restSt Mary's have played with far more elan on previous sorties to Dooradoyle, but after seven defeats at the venue this was one…Mon Jan 24 2000 - 00:00
St Mary's aim to banish memories of Dooradoyle defeatsAs Gerry Murphy once memorably put it, the clubs are generally left sucking the hind tit of the seasonSat Jan 22 2000 - 00:00
Fresh faces in 25-man squadIt's fresh, it's young, it's exciting, it's pretty much a form selection and, after the downer of the World Cup, Irish rugby …Fri Jan 21 2000 - 00:00
Leinster lodge appealThe Leinster Branch yesterday formally appealed to the European Cup organisers ERC against Stade Francais' right to be declared…Wed Jan 19 2000 - 00:00
Better to meet England first, says GatlandOn the face of it playing England, themselves on a mission of self-redemption, at fortress Twickenham in the Six Nations Championship…Wed Jan 19 2000 - 00:00
Brewing new life into Irish rugbyAs they embarked on their homeward journey from Leicester last Saturday night, some Leinster players reflected on their 22-point…Tue Jan 18 2000 - 00:00
Topping is ruled out by injuryJames Topping broke his thumb during the Irish squad's first pre-Six Nations get-together at the ALSAA complex yesterday, as …Tue Jan 18 2000 - 00:00
Leinster start appeal processThe Leinster Branch yesterday started the process whereby they might ultimately launch a formal complaint regarding the probability…Tue Jan 18 2000 - 00:00
Munster have no fear of French MunsterThat the width of an upright again decided Munster's fate on Saturday and decreed which of two French opponents they would meet…Mon Jan 17 2000 - 00:00
Leinster still one step awayMike Ruddock's Leinster side have come a long way, but not quite far enough to reach the knock-out stages of the Heineken Cup…Mon Jan 17 2000 - 00:00
Leinster must win and get a favourBy recording the first away win in Pool A against Glasgow Caledonians last night, Stade Francais not only assured themselves …Sat Jan 15 2000 - 00:00
Ifs, buts and maybes of qualificationSo complex is the qualifying picture prior to this weekend's final round of pool matches in the Heineken Cup, that tournament…Fri Jan 14 2000 - 00:00
Connacht deserves better treatmentIn the European Cup fall-out from the World Cup, regular attenders at the Irish provinces' home games (save for Ulster) would…Tue Jan 11 2000 - 00:00
Munster claim lion's sharePresumably not even the most malcontented of Munstermen can quibble with the Irish selectors' 45man training panel for the forthcoming…Tue Jan 11 2000 - 00:00
