Nigel Owens weighs in on controversial Craig Casey card which made him ‘chuckle’

Nigel Owens says that Craig Casey was correctly yellow-carded for his tackle on Lorenzo Cannone during the Six Nations clash at the Aviva Stadium. The Ireland scrum-half spent 10 minutes in the sin-bin after he made head-on-head contact with the Azzurri number eight during the first half of Andy Farrell’s side’s 20-13 victory. The incident … Read more

Hollie Davidson was very good in first half, but a few calls were perplexing – The Irish Times

It may have been Valentine’s Day at the Aviva, but there was no love lost in this battle. That’s Amore echoed around the stadium, but its calming influence proved minimal. Ireland were put to the pin of their collar on their way to forging a much-needed victory, although something tells me the better team lost. … Read more

Ireland train with no fresh injury concerns ahead of England clash – The Irish Times

The Ireland squad returned to training in Clongowes Wood College on Monday in readiness for next Saturday’s Six Nations clash against England at Twickenham (kick-off 2.10pm) with no fresh injury concerns arising from last Saturday’s 20-13 win over Italy. Andy Farrell will announce the team on Thursday morning ahead of the squad’s departure to London … Read more

Here’s why the obituaries for Irish rugby are premature – The Irish Times

The obituaries on Irish rugby are a tad premature. Does anyone remember the loss to Italy in 2013? It ended up being Declan Kidney’s last match as Ireland coach. Peter O’Mahony finished on the wing. I was sin-binned for tripping a player. Not my finest moment, but at 23-years-old, I was still learning how to … Read more

Craig Casey to captain Ireland for summer Tests against Georgia and Portugal – The Irish Times

Interim Ireland head coach Paul O’Connell included a number of interesting selections in his 32-strong squad for this summer’s two Test matches, among them 11 uncapped players. Although Georgia in Tbilisi on July 5th and Portugal in Lisbon a week later represent Tier 2 nations, it will be a challenge for O’Connell to whip his … Read more

‘I was thinking ‘that little f**ker’

The so-called Ronan O’Gara derby lived up to its billing and then some, but even by Munster standards you could hardly have scripted its denouement. Then again, this is Munster. So, maybe it was preordained that the current occupant of the fabled ‘10’ red jersey would keep his cool as a titanic collision reached boiling … Read more

Mack Hansen to start at fullback for Connacht against Munster at MacHale Park – The Irish Times

Mack Hansen, one of four returning Ireland internationals, has been named at fullback, for Connacht’s history making URC fixture against Munster in Castlebar. The 27-year-old has played the majority of his rugby on the wing for club and country but has plenty of experience in the 15-jersey dating back to his days in Australia. It … Read more