The Champions and Challenge Cups were shoehorned back into the rugby calendar after a 10-week hiatus following the conclusion of the pool stages in January, a window of a fortnight to race through the first two knockout rounds that unearthed a jarring inconsistency in the attitude of some of the participants. From an Irish perspective, … Read more
Two Irish players feature in Six Nations team of the tournament · The 42 … Source link
Italy 17 Ireland 22 Two and a half minutes from time, James Lowe came in off his wing and Manuel Zuliani offloaded one-handed to the talented 23-year-old Italian replacement Leonardo Marin. A star of the future was set to become one of the present with his first touch when he raced up the touchline and … Read more
Following an enthralling round of the 2025 Six Nations, Wallabies great David Campese selects his Team of the Week. My overriding thoughts on the fixtures in this round was the sheer contrast of shades of Test rugby that we saw. The hwyl of Wales in their performance against Ireland needs to be applauded, whilst the … Read more
Statistics, the last refuge of the scoundrel. And I’d know. One that caught the eye was that Ireland had just 47% possession in their first two games – the second lowest after Italy (44%) – but they have enjoyed more territory (56%) than any other side and made more entries into the opposition 22 (22) … Read more
No, but seriously – how few players could Ireland afford to field and still beat Wales this weekend? And would they even all need to be rugby players? Could we, for example, get by with a few of the Kiwis and Aussies, maybe keep Peter O’Mahony for vibes and fill out the rest with people … Read more
Unsurprisingly, given the occasion of leading out Ireland for the first time, someone dug out an old photo from Dan Sheehan’s childhood. Ahead of Saturday’s Six Nations game against Wales, a four-year-old Sheehan went viral. Back in 2003, Jonah Lomu was in town for a marketing gig. There, pictured on the All Black’s shoulders, is … Read more
If the reaction to his media appearances is anything to go by, Irish rugby cares greatly for the opinion of Ronan O’Gara. Following La Rochelle’s defeat Leinster last month, he spoke on the prospect of a knockout rematch. While O’Gara backed his charges to come good, the former Ireland outhalf also warned of one impending … Read more
Dan Sheehan is set to be named as the latest Ireland captain for Saturday’s Six Nations match against Wales in Cardiff when the team is announced on Thursday morning. Both regular captain Caelan Doris and Rónan Kelleher have been ruled out of the round three tie, and the signs are that Sheehan has been asked … Read more
Following a 36-12 victory over the Stormers in the United Rugby Championship clash at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday, here are the player ratings for Leinster. 15 Henry McErlean: His kicking from the back was impressive, with one excellent effort securing a 50/22, while he was also lively with ball in hand. 7 14 Andrew … Read more