James Ryan built on his performance off the bench in Paris with an excellent hard-nosed display having been entrusted with the start against Italy. The 69 minutes before being replaced by debutant Edwin Edogbo properly represented his talent, his selflessness on behalf of the team coupled with a feisty presence that agitated and irritated the … Read more
Ireland pipped their way past Italy on Saturday in Dublin 20-13 to get their Six Nations campaign back on track. It was the tightest home game between the sides since 2008 as the Azzurri came out fighting, but a Robert Baloucoune try in the 56th minute helped Andy Farrell’s side home, in dramatic circumstances. The … Read more
For the glass half-full fans, Ireland earned a win after last week’s despondency in France and for the glass half empty side Ireland held on by their fingertips against an Italian side yet to beat them in the Six Nations Championship. Coach Andy Farrell was decidedly in the former group as he praised Ireland’s resilience, … Read more
15 Jamie Osborne Passed early test on the high ball and then made a nicely timed run to score his try. Defensively put in a try saving tackle on Pani in the second half and stepped up from last week. Rating: 6 14 Robert Baloucoune A good outing for the Ulster winger. Showed calm under … Read more
Here is Gerry Thornley’s match report: [ Ireland dig deep to see off considerable Italy challenge in Six NationsOpens in new window ] That’s all folks, have a nice evening! Johnny Watterson’s player ratings are in – there are a sprinkling of fives and sevens, so a decidedly mixed bag of a day for Andy Farrell’s charges. … Read more
On the last night of athletics at the Paris Olympics, the hopes of a nation rested on the young shoulders of Cyréna Samba-Mayela. As Olympic hosts, France had yet to win a single medal on the track or field, and only Samba-Mayela could save their blushes. For all those inside the packed Stade de France … Read more
In rugby, there is a belief that defeat reveals more truths than victory. In the opening round of this year’s Six Nations, there were three very different revelations for the vanquished. At Twickenham, the true depth of the decline of Welsh rugby was laid bare. England attacked with impunity because the Welsh were incapable of … Read more
On Monday the former Wales outhalf Dan Biggar saw Ireland’s problems through the prism of Wales’ problems. He had a smile on his face. Irish headaches were relative. Ireland were still afloat while the Wales ship was on the rocks. There were issues against France, he said, but the Irish system was intact. Ireland can … Read more
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
Ireland team to be announced at 2pm Key reads: ♦ Join The Irish Times Rugby WhatsApp channel to stay up to date on all the latest Six Nations news We had a few sobering reads in the fallout of Ireland’s loss to France last week. It might not be time to hit the doomsday button … Read more