From bad to worse. Jack Conan’s World Cup has lasted just 54 minutes. The Leinster forward has been ruled out of the remainder of the tournament after he fractured his foot, in camp, on Thursday. Conan had been in line to start at No.8 for this weekend’s game against Japan but the foot injury left […]

6 years ago

Japan 19-12 Ireland Ireland went from 12-3 ahead after 21 minutes to hoofing the ball out of play after the hooter so they did not lose their try-scoring bonus point. Jamie Joseph’s Japan blew Ireland away in the last hour of a frantic game and deservedly beat the former World No.1 side. The Ireland ratings make […]

6 years ago

If you fancy your rugby predicting skills and reckon you could leave Baz & Andrew in your dust, you’re in the right place. MatchPint is a sports pub finder, a free app and website. They have designed the Guinness Pint Predictor, a cracking game for rugby fans. The House of Rugby lads have set up their […]

6 years ago

“The HIA process is a precautionary process.” Despite the fact that he went for a Head Injury Assessment, during the win over Scotland, and did not return, Joe Schmidt insists there are ‘no elevated risks’ in Peter O’Mahony playing Japan just six days later. That O’Mahony did not return to the field of play, despite […]

6 years ago

“They should have known… “ Richard Keogh’s season is done. Derby County have released a strongly worded statement aimed at ‘a small group’ of their players that stayed out late, on Tuesday, after a team-building dinner and ‘continued drinking into the night’. The Championship side has responded to a story first reported by The Telegraph […]

6 years ago

The big surprise here is the omission of Andrew Conway. The Ireland team to face Japan in the second game of their 2019 World Cup campaign has been named. Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt has made five changes from the XV that started the World Cup with a thumping win over Scotland. Jack Carty starts […]

6 years ago

“Someone shouted to me, when I was on the ground, ‘Are you still alive?!’ I was like ‘Uuuuuggghhh’.” Jerry Flannery still grimaces when he recalls the impact. For Brian O’Driscoll it was Jonny Wilkinson. For Sean O’Brien and Chris Robshaw, the name Jaques Burger came immediately to mind. Rugby players don’t have to mull for […]

6 years ago

“The finest trick of the devil is to persuade you that he does not exist.” That excellent Charles Baudelaire observation that was adapted and brought to a brand new audience by The Usual Suspects. The devil hiding in plain sight. On Sunday in Yokohama, Conor Murray was given the green light to use his full toolbox and […]

6 years ago

That’s more like it. Ireland held a press conference in Shizuoka today and there were positive updates on a few players that have yet to feature in the World Cup. Ireland rugby fans are still on a high after their side’s 27-3 thumping of Scotland and the latest news from the camp provides a further boost. […]

6 years ago

“The lads that aren’t considered bolt-on starters by Joe, when they’re starting to play really well, it bodes well.” Rob Kearney looked nailed-on for the No.15 jersey against Scotland but Jordan Larmour is now in possession. Japan await at Shizuoka Stadium on Saturday and, fully fit or not, Kearney may have a watching brief. It […]

6 years ago

“He’s a mutant!” For this World Cup, Joe Schmidt has pushed his chips in behind Iain Henderson and James Ryan. Scotland have had great success, in the past few years, in attacking Ireland down the 15-metre channel and creating mismatches. Getting their back three running at forwards. On Sunday in Yokohama, they tried to do […]

6 years ago

England 57, Ireland 15 at Twickenham on August 24th 2019. Four weeks ago but it feels like a life-time ago. Ireland left London, that night, feeling physically and mentally sore. There were some hard words in the Monday morning review and then Ireland moved on. Rory Best came remember how it stung. It still stings. […]

6 years ago

Tadhg Furlong, Johnny Sexton and Conor Murray are all “fine” but there are genuine concerns over Bundee Aki and Peter O’Mahony. Ireland knew they had to hurl the whole kitchen suite at the Scots, in their World Cup opener, and they certainly did that. Gregor Townsend’s side were completely blitzed by a revved up Ireland […]

6 years ago

The Leinster man set the tone and tempo for his team’s emphatic win over Scotland. Back in May 2017, Jamie Heaslip punched the air when Ireland were drawn with Scotland and Japan in Pool A of the World Cup. Josh van der Flier had just three starts for Ireland at that stage but his deeds […]

6 years ago

Ireland 27-3 Scotland What a stupendous start that was for Ireland. Japan are up in six days’ time but Pool A is now effectively in Ireland’s control. A stunning performance of power, pace and precision completely overran the Scottish and all but guarantees a quarter final spot [albeit with three games to go]. Ireland bolted […]

6 years ago

“We are here to provide you with positive energy, vibes and, most importantly, belief that Ireland are going to win on Sunday. They’re going to beat every team that comes in their way and they are going TO WIN THE WORLD CUP!” So declared Barry Murphy and Andrew Trimble, this week, as the Guinness Open […]

6 years ago

“World Cup pre-seasons are brutal, mate.” Typhoon Tapah (or the less dramatically named Typhoon No. 17) is threatening to make Ireland’s World Cup opener against Scotland an extremely moist affair. The weather front dropped five inches of rain in an hour, on Saturday, as it swirled viciously up and along the East China Sea. World […]

6 years ago

This World Cup should see Rory Best surpass Keith Wood in the list of players to have captained Ireland the most times. Brian O’Driscoll leads the way on 83 Test appearances as captain while Wood had the honour 36 times. Best has led Ireland out on 34 occasions and Sunday’s World Cup opener against Scotland […]

6 years ago

“He’s one of the guys that could be a star at the World Cup.” The 2019 World Cup is upon us and we will all be raving about established pros and rising stars over the coming weeks and months. Ireland get their World Cup campaign underway against Scotland, on Sunday, while the stand-out game of […]

6 years ago

Ireland have a few ways of going up against the Scots, even without a couple of senior stars. The time difference between Ireland and Japan means the squad updates, and unofficial murmurings, come through at all hours. You can be getting ready for bed when you see Robbie Henshaw is in danger of missing the […]

6 years ago

How can this still be happening?

6 years ago

Rory Best walks out of the room after politely hanging around to chat for a few minutes after his interview. Sip of water, reposition the microphone pack and in comes Brian O’Driscoll. Between Rory Best and Brian O’Driscoll, they have led Ireland on 117 occasions, won two Grand Slams and, should the Ulster hooker start […]

6 years ago

Seven bonuses in six UFC fights and a move to 21-2 in his MMA career. Justin Gaethje lived up to his ‘Highlight Reel’ nickname with a one-round demolition of Donald Cerrone at UFC Vancouver. The Arizona native entered the UFC in 2017 and kicked off with an impressive win over Michael Johnson before losing two […]

6 years ago

Two changes to our predicted XV from a week ago. On Saturday afternoon, Will Addison was withdrawn from the starting Ulster line-up for their pre-season friendly against Glasgow Warriors. That, along with reports from Japan of a Robbie Henshaw injury, had many suspecting the IRFU may be preparing to call up Addison. The versatile Ulster […]

6 years ago

Two gunslingers, backing their skill and wits and swinging for the stands. In years to come, looking back at the 2019 All-Ireland final, you may wonder how Paul Geaney and Paul Mannion combined for just 0-2 in a pure classic. Those leafing through the records will breathe a sigh, or sighs, of relief when they […]

6 years ago

If you didn’t see it with your own eyes, you’d scarcely believe it. Diarmuid Connolly missed his big goal chance but he made two sublime contributions to Dublin scores. Half-time at Croke Park and Kerry were not going away. Peter Keane’s men had come back from four points down to draw level at 0-10 apiece […]

6 years ago

This was poor from referee Conor Lane and his umpires at the Canal End. Con O’Callaghan was looking potent in attack but he was extremely lucky to avoid a black card around the half hour mark. The All-Ireland football final threw up a few heroes and left a handful of players delighted they would have […]

6 years ago

“I’m a different sort of winger compared to your typical northern hemisphere guy.” James Lowe admits he may not be smashing any speed or sprint records at Leinster, and other backline colleagues may hit more rucks and nab turnovers, but he is happy in his own skin. He knows he is contributing in his own […]

6 years ago

“Trimby and Tommy Bowe used to campaign. Tommy wanted to be captain and Trimby was his campaign manager!” Rory Best laughs when he recalls the failed captaincy campaign of Tommy Bowe when he was up at Ulster. With Andrew Trimble as his campaign manager, the ‘Bowe for Captain’ drive started off well before running out […]

6 years ago

The zip is back. For all the positives of Ireland’s back-to-back victories over Wales, the sight of Conor Murray’s passing cranked all the way up to 100 was the one that pleased me most. Scrumhalves often look class when their forward pack are dominating and that was a huge part of what Murray so potent […]

6 years ago

Waking up this Wednesday morning, there was a sense that Irish football is going in the right direction. It may only be five days since we squeezed another 1-1 draw out of the Swiss, but Denmark faltering in Georgia, the U21s beating Sweden away and a 3-1 win over Bulgaria that saw five players make […]

6 years ago

Well, then. Jack Byrne got 30 minutes off the bench. It was enough to leave the nation wanting more. The former Manchester City and Blackburn midfielder took what many would have considered to be a sizeable step back when, earlier this year, he left the UK, from Kilmarnock, to sign up with Stephen Bradley’s Shamrock […]

6 years ago

Five years on from UFC 178, Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier could be about to run it back. When ‘The Notorious’ clashed with ‘Diamond’ in Las Vegas, in September 2014, the highly anticipated featherweight bout lasted only 106 seconds. McGregor had been tipped by many to struggle against Poirier but he was a dominant winner […]

6 years ago

“Myself and Scott Fardy talked up Rob Kearney during the week and he delivered. The old boy’s still got it.” Ireland’s final World Cup warm-up match against Wales was the comfort blanket we all needed. No-one from the matchday squad delivered less than a 6/10 performance and there were plenty of 8 and 9s. From […]

6 years ago

Brian O’Driscoll insists he is one of the 58%* that believes Ireland can win the World Cup. Back on August 24, that number would have been a lot lower. Ireland got trollied 57-15 by England and the nation feared for another underperforming World Cup squad. Two wins against Wales have bolstered belief, somewhat, and Brian […]

6 years ago

“Why are you lying? Don’t lie.” Michael Owen vs. Alan Shearer (Round 1) and Jon Walters vs. Roy Keane (Round Infinity). This is what international football breaks are all about. The break in top level club football, for the international window, often shines a light on other football stories and characters. In the past week, […]

6 years ago

“He’s a freak.” Sparkling teeth, looking as good as ever – the Josh van der Flier that James Lowe knows and loves so well. When the winger arrived from New Zealand, in 2017, a rehabbing van der Flier was at the vanguard of the welcome party. Says Lowe: “Like, if I had a daughter, he […]

6 years ago

“You can see him wearing No. 23.” Saturday’s 19-10 Ireland win over Wales all but confirmed Bundee Aki and Robbie Henshaw as midfield starters for the World Cup opener against Scotland. Garry Ringrose featured, too, and showed his defensive nous whilst filling in for the injured Keith Earls on the left wing. A week before […]

6 years ago

“Ireland’s ability to win collisions and win gainline was awesome.” Ireland had a point to prove, and so did CJ Stander. Warren Gatland bemoaned the fact that Wales could not stall or scupper the Irish game-plan, at the weekend, as they did not win enough collisions. The statistics emphatically back that up. Ireland’s 12 forwards […]

6 years ago

“The people that say mean things, they’ve never sat in the seat. They’ve never had to deal with these stresses.” When James Lowe says ‘mean’, that is his nice way of putting it. As a New Zealander hoping to play for Ireland once he becomes qualified under the World Rugby residency rules, the Leinster winger […]

6 years ago

“It’s crazy how close things came to being so different.” James Lowe is currently, he jokes, captain of the rehab group. After three and a half years of shoulder issues, the delayed start to 2019/20 afforded him the opportunity to go under the surgeon’s knife. He is back preparing for the new season with Leinster […]

6 years ago

What a difference two games make. Two weeks ago, the nation was close to meltdown, and with fair reason. Ireland had suffered their heaviest ever loss to England [57-15], a stack of senior players were way off form and the likes of Johnny Sexton, Robbie Henshaw and Keith Earls were still a fortnight away from […]

6 years ago

‘The Notorious’ on the reserve list. Conor McGregor is hoping to return to UFC fighting action by the end of the year. He is desperately seeking a rematch with Khabib Nurmagomedov but he may have to wait, and may even have to take another fight while he waits. The Dubliner was watching UFC 242, on […]

6 years ago

Can’t wait to see what this one looks like. UFC 244 just got one hell of a main event. Nate Diaz will continue his comeback against a man who has recorded two of the scariest knock-outs of 2019. Diaz has been confirmed as the headline act at UFC 244, at Madison Square Garden in November, […]

6 years ago

A return to the old ways for ‘The Eagle’. He admitted, soon after he instigated a brawl at the end of UFC 229, that his father was going to be very upset with him. Tonight in Abu Dhabi, Khabib Nurmagomedov must have made his father proud by the manner of his UFC lightweight title victory […]

6 years ago

That was about as dominant as you can get. Khabib Nurmagomedov cruised to 28-0 in MMA after he forced interim lightweight champion Dustin Poirier to tap out midway through the third round of their UFC 242 title fight. The undisputed lightweight champion was back after 11 months out of The Octagon – much of that […]

6 years ago

“Ireland have given Georgia a template of how to play against us. They choked us to death.” Warren Gatland and Wales have lost three of their four World Cup warm-up games and have just one fully functioning outhalf as they head to Japan. Still, the Kiwi is bullish about his team’s World Cup chances and […]

6 years ago

Monday afternoon will see the confirmation that Ireland enter the 2019 World Cup as the number one side in the rankings. Ireland rankings are looking up. The rankings will be officially updated to tally up Ireland’s win over Wales that gives them 0.61 extra points. That sees them leapfrog New Zealand to World No.1 – […]

6 years ago

The picture of two men with wildly different thoughts running through their mind. An hour into Ireland’s 19-10 victory over Wales, the camera flashed to Rory Best and Keith Earls sitting on the bench. Best and Earls had left the pitch together, around 53 minutes, but while the Ireland captain had strode off to a […]

6 years ago

IRELAND 19-10 WALES Ireland looked back to their best (ie: their 2018 vintage) as they rolled over Grand Slam champions Wales at the Aviva Stadium. Ireland looked a side entirely transformed from the one that were left shell-shocked by the English in Twickenham a fortnight ago. CJ Stander, Bundee Aki and Rob Kearney all stood […]

6 years ago