James Ryan extricated himself from a tangle of limbs and words by planting his hand on Henry Pollock’s cheek, using a long lever to facilitate the disengagement. The last two revellers to leave what began as a meatier pile of bodies at a breakdown. It’s commonplace in rugby, a grapple and a chirp, before the … Read more
Joey Carbery’s season has been ended prematurely after suffering an ACL injury, which effectively means he has played his last game for Bordeaux Bègles. The 30-year-old has been dogged by injury in his career and this is a cruel way to end his two-year spell with the Champions Cup holders, although The Irish Times understands … Read more
URC: Leinster 28 Edinburgh 20 The impressive Scott Penny grabbed a hat-trick of tries at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday evening as an experimental Leinster side moved to second in the United Rugby Championship table with a hard-earned bonus point triumph over Edinburgh. Lining up without their sizeable international contingent – in addition to a … Read more
About five years ago, Caelan Doris arrived at a blind crossroads. He believed he knew the way he had come and where he was headed, but he didn’t know the guts of it yet, or the truth of it. A series of concussions had led Doris to a specialist in the UK. He had been … Read more
URC: Leinster v Edinburgh, Aviva Stadium, Saturday, 5.30pm – Live, Premier Sports 1 An experimental Leinster side will be looking to further establish the province’s URC credentials when they welcome Edinburgh to the Aviva Stadium on Saturday evening. Since losing out to arch rivals Munster at Croke Park on October 18th, Leo Cullen’s have registered … Read more
First and foremost, it would be a terrible shame if the six-week suspension, with two weeks suspended, meted out to Bundee Aki on Wednesday night for verbally abusing match officials marked the end of his storied international career with Ireland. This would be no way to end it. Of course, by the same token, the … Read more
Bundee Aki will miss Ireland‘s first three Six Nations matches after he was handed a six-week suspension, with two weeks suspended for two years, after an Independent Disciplinary Committee upheld a misconduct complaint against the centre over interactions with match officials following Connacht’s defeat to Leinster at Dexcom Stadium last Saturday. Aki was a replacement … Read more
France captain Antoine Dupont has said he bears no ill will for the incident that his coach, Fabien Galthié, described as “reprehensible” during last season’s 27-42 Six Nations Championship win over Ireland at the Aviva Stadium. Dupont was speaking as both teams prepare for Thursday week’s Six Nations opener between the countries at the Stade … Read more
Jack Boyle of Leinster leaves the pitch with an injury during the United Rugby Championship match against Connacht at Dexcom Stadium in Galway. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile As Jack Boyle confronts the prospect of not being able to play rugby for the rest of the season following Leinster’s confirmation that he must undergo a procedure … Read more