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
Player welfare is a clarion call of long standing for rugby’s constituents – the governing body World Rugby, unions, federations, clubs and tournament organisers. The IRFU’s model had long been the envy of its global peers, and sport’s hierarchy in several countries have followed suit to varying degrees in adopting a version of a central … Read more
No better time to check the temperature. The state of Irish rugby – and the sport itself – is on an upward curve after an enormously entertaining Six Nations. Andy Farrell gave a good line last weekend about there being a story in every position. I’d go further and say there are three, even four … Read more
Ireland captain Caelan Doris lifts the Triple Crown trophy after his side’s victory over Scotland at the Aviva Stadium. Photo: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile Andy Farrell would have loved to have gone back to the Aviva Stadium with his team to watch Caelan Doris lift the Six Nations. A veteran of professional sport, he won’t define the … Read more
Andy Farrell hailed Jack Crowley’s performance as “outstanding” after the Ireland fly-half responded to Ronan O’Gara’s criticism with a stellar showing in the drubbing of Scotland on Saturday afternoon. Ireland claimed their fourth Triple Crown in five years with a 43-21 win over the Scots at the Aviva Stadium, and their hopes of an unlikely … Read more
Tadhg Furlong on the charge against Wales players Dafydd Jenkins (left) and James Botham during Friday’s victory at the Aviva Stadium. Photo: Sportsfile While they let us down badly against Les Bleus in this tournament’s opener before spoiling us rotten against the English at Twickenham, it’s fair to say that both home games on either … Read more
Scotland’s chief conductor Russell comes to town and battle of the rival No 10s makes for interesting sub-plot ‘Jack Crowley is currently in the second chance saloon after Sam Prendergast failed to take his opportunity.’ Photo: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile Last summer, we got a reminder of what the Andy Farrell gameplan looks like with a world-class No … Read more
‘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
I’ve never seen so many people leave Twickenham so early. After Paris, I expected a big response against England. Nothing like this. Last Saturday was as close as I’ve seen to a complete performance. The narrative spins one way then the next. All of a sudden, the Ireland rugby team is no longer stuck in … Read more
Since the start of this season’s Six Nations, much of the conversation surrounding the Ireland team related to the selection at out-half. Sam Prendergast had been favoured in the role for the opening two games, producing a pair of poor performances. His display against Italy was particularly concerning, with Jack Crowley being drafted in for … Read more