Manchester United fell to a 2-0 defeat to bitter rivals Manchester City at Old Trafford on Wednesday night and it continues a poor run of form for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side.  United’s slide since Solskjaer took over as permanent manager has been alarming for supporters of the Red Devils and those worries were compounded based on the performance against Pep …

Roy Keane believes that the current crop of Manchester United players will throw their manager Ole Gunnar Solksjaer under the bus in the same way that they did with his predecessor Jose Mourinho.  Keane was speaking on Sky Sports’ coverage of United’s clash with Manchester City which could have a huge say in this season’s title race with the blue …

For Jordi Murphy, last month’s Heineken Champions Cup quarter-final clash between Leinster and Ulster at the Aviva Stadium was always going to be a day full of emotion.  For this was Murphy’s first time playing against his home province, a team he had played with for seven years and in May of last year, played an integral part in helping …

Sale Sharks have announced the signing of Springbok Lood De Jager.  De Jager will join up with Steve Diamond’s side ahead of the 2019/20 Gallagher Premiership season after he finishes the current Super Rugby campaign with the Vodacom Bulls. If he is selected by Rassie Erasmus for South Africa’s World Cup campaign, the 26-year-old will join up with his new …

The nominees for the 2019 EPCR European Player Of The Year award have been whittled down from 15 to five.  At the end of the pool stages, fifteen players were nominated for the award and that has now been reduced to five based on public voting and the verdict of a distinguished panel of rugby experts. Just two teams remain …

Johnny Sexton’s younger brother, Jerry Sexton, has signed a three-year deal with South African side the Southern Kings in the Guinness PRO14.  The 26-year-old second-row has been plying his trade with the Jersey Reds in the Greene King IPA Championship and currently captains the side. The move opens up the possibility of the two siblings facing off against one another …

Earlier this afternoon we asked you to vote on your best XV from the two semi-finals of the Heineken Champions Cup which took place at the weekend.  There was some obvious decisions and some very tight calls and unsurprisingly, Saracens and Leinster dominate the team with these two sides set to meet in the final on Saturday, May 11. Champions …

After this weekend’s action, we now know who will contest the 2018/19 Heineken Champions Cup final at St James’ Park in Newcastle.  Leinster will meet Saracens on Saturday, May 11 in what looks set to be a truly epic contest. These two are by far the standout teams in the competition and the manner in which they swatted aside Toulouse …

Johnny Sexton says that Saracens will be relishing the opportunity to right the wrongs of 2018 when the two sides meet in the final of this year’s Heineken Champions Cup. Leinster will take on Saracens in the final at Newcastle’s St James’ Park in three weeks with the two sides having met at the quarter-final stage last year. Leinster prevailed …

Leinster are on course to defend their Heineken Champions Cup crown as they secured a final meeting with Saracens thanks to a 30-12 victory over Toulouse at the Aviva Stadium this afternoon.  There were concerns that some of Leinster’s top players would be undercooked coming into this clash against an in-form Toulouse side but those worries were unfounded as the …

Munster Rugby have released a statement on the spectator who entered the pitch after the full-time whistle to confront Billy Vunipola.  Munster exited the Heineken Champions Cup at the semi-final stage when they lost 32-16 to Saracens at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry on Saturday afternoon. Much of the reaction to that loss has centred around Vunipola and the booing …

Saracens have returned to the final of the Heineken Champions Cup for the third time in four seasons thanks to their 32-16 victory over Munster at Coventry’s Ricoh Arena on Saturday afternoon.  Based on their performance against Johann van Graan’s side, it will take a truly special performance to stop Saracens from clinching a third European title. They completely overpowered …

Billy Vunipola insists that it was never his intention to hurt anyone when he backed Israel Folau’s controversial anti-homosexual social media comments.  Vunipola put in a man-of-the-match performance during Saracens’ 32-16 victory over Munster in the Heineken Champions Cup semi-final at the Ricoh Arena on Saturday afternoon. BT Sport’s Austin Healey named Vunipola man-of-the-match and consequently, a post-match television interview …

Sean McMahon reporting from the Ricoh Arena  EPCR have released a statement after a fan confronted Billy Vunipola when the England star was completing his lap of honour after Saracens’ 32-16 victory over Munster in today’s semi-final of the Heineken Champions Cup.  The fan, wearing a Munster jersey, approached Vunipola and EPCR have condemned the incident. “EPCR does not condone …

Sean McMahon reports from Coventry The dejection was written all over the face of Johann van Graan, Peter O’Mahony and Jack O’Donoghue as they faced the media in the aftermath of yet another loss in the semi-final of the Heineken Champions Cup.  A 16-point margin of defeat greeted Munster at the full-time whistle, it was the exact same margin of …

Saracens 32 Munster 16 Sean McMahon reporting from the Ricoh Arena  Munster fell to another semi-final defeat, for the third consecutive season, as they had no answer to a powerful Saracens performance at the Ricoh Arena this afternoon. Munster only trailed by three points at the break but they conceded 13 points in the first 10 minutes of the second …

Sean McMahon reports from Coventry For Peter O’Mahony and his team, it all comes down to this.  A semi-final against a lethal and powerful Saracens side awaits them this afternoon. It will be their third successive last-four appearance in this competition, a sign of their consistency, but it will count for little if they cannot finally get over that hurdle …

If CJ Stander needs to harness painful European Cup memories to provide motivation for Saturday’s clash with Saracens, then he has plenty of options to choose from.  In Stander’s second season with the southern province, he started in their semi-final defeat to Toulon in 2014 as Jonny Wilkinson kicked 21 points en route to a 24-16 victory. Three years later, …