‘Wales fans fume as crucial Ireland v Wales Six Nations incident sparks questions,’ proclaimed the headline in the Western Mail (Wales online), the object of their ire, according to Ben James, was that Wales “were left to rue some crucial second-half refereeing decisions as they fell just short of a remarkable victory over Ireland in … Read more
In comparison to the celebratory images of him among his backroom team in Twickenham, Andy Farrell cut a relieved figure after Ireland’s hard-earned 27-17 win over a rejuvenated Wales. The Irish head coach was grateful for the bonus-point win which kept his side in the title mix, which they will take to the last day … Read more
Six Nations: Ireland 19 Wales 10 IRELAND: Jamie Osborne; Robert Baloucoune, Garry Ringrose, Stuart McCloskey, Jacob Stockdale; Jack Crowley, Jamison Gibson-Park; Tom O’Toole, Rónan Kelleher, Tadhg Furlong; James Ryan, Tadhg Beirne; Jack Conan, Nick Timoney, Caelan Doris (capt). WALES: Louis Rees-Zammit; Ellis Mee, Eddie James, Joe Hawkins, Josh Adams; Dan Edwards, Tomos Williams; Rhys Carre, … Read more
In late January, France announced their 42-man squad ahead of the Six Nations and notable by their absence were Grégory Alldritt, Gaël Fickou and Damian Penaud. Coach Fabien Galthié had left them out of the squad entirely. Alldritt was the French captain during Antoine Dupont’s recovery from injury, 29-year-old Penaud is France’s top scorer with … Read more
The state of Welsh rugby should concern everyone invested in the game. The sport is not durable enough to lose one of its established powers. None of this happened overnight. Warren Gatland warned the WRU, back in 2007, about the long-term impact of not investing in schools. Not much changed. The clubs held sway, like … Read more
Jacob Stockdale is his own toughest critic. It’s been that way since his youth, and it’s worth recounting a story from his first year on the Ireland Under-20 squad to illustrate the point. Sitting in the Lansdowne pavilion in January 2015, the 18-year-old Lurgan-born wing opened a folder to reveal handwritten notes alongside numbers on … Read more
Andy Farrell and the IRFU remain the personification of calm about any reports or rumours linking him with alternative employment after the 2027 World Cup. Farrell is under contract with the union until the culmination of that tournament. And as one of the most highly regarded coaches in world rugby, he will also be coveted, … Read more
Wales have made three changes as they bid to end their Six Nations losing streak in Ireland on Friday. Backrower James Botham replaces the injured Taine Plumtree to make his first start in this season’s tournament, with Alex Mann switching to blindside flanker to accommodate his Cardiff colleague. Outhalf Dan Edwards, who started the opening … Read more
All the trends in this piece come with some degree of a health warning, given three Six Nations games is not a large sample size. Regardless, we can still learn plenty about how sides are approaching this tournament. Plenty of data points throw up interesting tactical trends. Some were largely predictable, others show how teams … Read more
Nick Timoney is set to be handed his first Six Nations start against Wales on Friday night at the Aviva Stadium (kick-off 8.10pm) when Andy Farrell announces the side for Ireland’s penultimate game of the championship at around 2pm on Thursday. The 30-year-old product of Blackrock College is now in his 12th season with Ulster, … Read more