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
European rugby, albeit with a South African twist, returns over the next two weekends when both the Champions Cup and Challenge Cup suddenly assume an altogether different tempo. It is the season’s first knockout phase. After the jostling for position which saw 48 matches whittle the 24 contenders down to 16 in the Champions Cup, … Read more
Confidence represents a fuel source for the individual and the team, one that drives success in all its forms, whether it is accomplished performances or the ultimate collective goal, winning trophies. Its absence can make the best players appear hesitant and unsure and great teams distinctly ordinary. Confidence can come from a single source, a … Read more
Leinster are bidding to avoid a third straight league defeat – which hasn’t happened in almost two decades A general view of the Aviva Stadium ahead of the game Leinster are back in URC action this weekend, looking to avoid a third consecutive league defeat. That hasn’t happened to Leinster in 18 years and it … Read more
RG Snyman during a Leinster Rugby squad training session at Thornfields in UCD, Belfield, Dublin. Photo: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile RG Snyman looks set for another long spell on the sidelines as fears grow that he has suffered another Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury. The South African lock is not expected to play for Leinster again … Read more
Coming in the wake of a vintage Six Nations, last weekend seemed a little anticlimactic, in the United Rugby Championship (URC) anyway, if not so much the All-Ireland League (AIL). Coming amid Ireland’s World Cup football qualifier(s), next weekend’s URC matches are unlikely to dominate the sporting firmament either, yet these will heavily affect the … Read more
Leinster assistant coach Tyler Bleyendaal (left) and senior coach Jacques Nienaber have a lot of work to do with the players on the training ground this week after a heavy defeat to Glasgow last Friday night. Photo: Shauna Clinton/Sportsfile Leinster’s latest URC outing may have been nothing to shout about but it seems they did … Read more
URC: Glasgow Warriors 38 Leinster 17 A second consecutive URC defeat for Leinster and their fifth of the season overall has left Leo Cullen’s side facing a battle to finish in the top two for the playoffs. After Ulster’s defeat to Connacht on Friday night, Leinster had the opportunity to leapfrog Glasgow at the top … Read more
There’s a lack of consistency across the board but head coach will be comfortable with what he has as he hones in on Australia Ireland head coach Andy Farrell (centre) with, clockwise from top left, Tom O’Toole, Robert Baloucoune, Caelan Doris, Edwin Edogbo, Bryn Ward, Craig Casey. Squad depth is an obsession in rugby and … Read more
URC: Glasgow Warriors v Leinster, Scotstoun, Saturday, 5.30pm – Live on Premier Sports 1 The pity is, in some ways, that this latest Scottish-Irish head-to-head comes in the immediate and perhaps anticlimactic wake of the epic 2026 Six Nations and last Saturday’s Triple Crown shoot-out. Nevertheless, this clash between the champions of the last two … Read more