Cathal Forde (Connacht) Since Tom Farrell’s departure to Munster, filling the 13 shirt at Connacht hasn’t been an easy task. Many were called, a few were chosen, but no one’s claim to the jersey was unequivocal. This season, Stuart Lancaster initially turned to Byron Ralston, but a knee injury in October has kept him on … Read more
European rugby, albeit with a South African twist, returns over the next two weekends when both the Champions Cup and Challenge Cup suddenly assume an altogether different tempo. It is the season’s first knockout phase. After the jostling for position which saw 48 matches whittle the 24 contenders down to 16 in the Champions Cup, … Read more
Confidence represents a fuel source for the individual and the team, one that drives success in all its forms, whether it is accomplished performances or the ultimate collective goal, winning trophies. Its absence can make the best players appear hesitant and unsure and great teams distinctly ordinary. Confidence can come from a single source, a … Read more
The fire still burns. Munster have some of that old fighting spirit left in them, especially when backed into a corner. Beaten 45-0 the week before at sea level, admittedly after a delayed and prolonged flight to Durban, Munster extracted two bonus points from last Saturday’s 34-31 defeat against the Bulls in the altitude of … Read more
MUNSTER HAVE ADDED recent signing Ben O’Donovan to their Challenge Cup squad ahead of Saturday’s Round of 16 visit to Exeter. The 21-year-old Kiwi scrum-half, who is Irish-qualified, recently signed for Munster on an 18-month deal and will hope to make his debut soon. O’Donovan featured for the New Zealand U20s in 2024, but he … Read more
Coming in the wake of a vintage Six Nations, last weekend seemed a little anticlimactic, in the United Rugby Championship (URC) anyway, if not so much the All-Ireland League (AIL). Coming amid Ireland’s World Cup football qualifier(s), next weekend’s URC matches are unlikely to dominate the sporting firmament either, yet these will heavily affect the … Read more
The things that kills you is the hope. But poor errors and attitude cripple too. This has been a grinding, one- foot-in-front-of-the-other, week. Tough to move on from the exit from the Champions Cup, but all the more brutal given the circumstances. I’ve my hand up here too. After the Leinster game, I got the … Read more
Leinster have decided against moving their Champions Cup Round of 16 tie to Croke Park and will host Edinburgh on Easter Sunday, April 5th, at 5.30pm at the Aviva Stadium. Connacht will kick off the Challenge Cup Round of 16 against the star-studded Sharks at the Dexcom Stadium on Friday, April 3rd at 8pm. In … Read more
After losing three successive Champions Cup finals and then last season’s semi-final, among the many laments about Leinster coming up just short again was the theory they hadn’t been sufficiently tested along the way. Well, that certainly can’t be a complaint this season. In securing a top-two seeding for the last three seasons, Leinster fairly … Read more
Any disappointment Leinster might feel at finishing the pool stages as third seeds, failing to earn a top-two draw for the fourth season in a row, has been offset by them ending up in the opposite half of the draw to reigning champions Bordeaux Bègles and six-time winners Toulouse. As the only Irish side still … Read more