Japan head coach Jamie Joseph began his post-match press conference by paying tribute to those who lost their lives as a result of destructive Typhoon Hagibis.  The Typhoon has caused significant damage to Japan over the weekend and three matches at the Rugby World Cup were cancelled as a result. Japan’s clash with Scotland was allowed to go ahead thanks …

The quarter-final makeup of the 2019 Rugby World Cup is now confirmed after Japan’s sensational 28-21 victory over Scotland at the Yokohama Stadium.  Scotland took a 7-0 lead through a Finn Russell try but Japan dominated possession (79%) for the remainder of the half as they ran in three scintillating tries from Kotaro Matsushima, Keita Inagaki and Kenki Fukuoka to …

The IRFU have hit back at claims by Sunday Times columnist Stephen Jones that Ireland and New Zealand were “vehemently opposed” to the possibility that the Pool A clash between Scotland and Japan could be rearranged.  Prior to the confirmation that today’s game would go ahead as scheduled, Scotland have been putting pressure on World Rugby to rearrange the game …

World Rugby have confirmed that the final Pool A clash between Scotland & Japan will go ahead on Sunday (11.45 am UK & Ireland time) as scheduled.  Typhoon Hagibis has left 19 people dead, 16 people missing and more than 100 people injured according to the latest figures from Kyodo News. The destructive weather event as already played havoc with …

Joe Schmidt sympathised with Bundee Aki as the Ireland centre faces the prospect of his World Cup being over because of the red card he picked up in Ireland’s 47-5 win over Samoa.  Ireland’s seven-try performance saw them clinch a quarter-final spot against either New Zealand or South Africa but Aki faces a nervous wait to see if he will …

Ireland 47 Samoa 5 Despite being reduced to 14 men for the majority of the game, Ireland produced an excellent performance to secure a spot in the quarter-finals of the Rugby World Cup thanks to a bonus-point 47-5 victory over Samoa. Ireland were completely dominant throughout and even though they were reduced to 14 men midway through the first half …

Ireland are down to 14 men in their final Pool A clash with Samoa after Bundee Aki was red-carded for a high hit on Ulupano Seuteni.  Robbie Henshaw threw an inaccurate pass which went to ground and as Seuteni collected the bouncing ball, Aki made a tackle attempt but his shoulder made direct contact with Seuteni’s head.   Referee Nic …

Troy Parrott was sent off for the Republic of Ireland in their clash with Italy in the U21 European Championship qualifier at Tallaght Stadium.  The game, which finished 0-0, was played on a knife-edge with both sides unable to break the deadlock but in the 64th minute both teams were reduced to 10 men as Parrott and Italy’s Moise Kean …

When Dave Kearney lined out on the left wing for Ireland’s opening Rugby World Cup warm-up game against Italy at the Aviva Stadium in August, it marked the closing of a disappointing and frustrating chapter in his career.  That was Kearney’s 18th cap for Ireland, his first appearance in green since a November 2017 win over Fiji 21 months earlier. …

At halftime, Wales lead Fiji 14-10 in a highly entertaining Pool D clash at the Oita Stadium.  The Pacific Islanders raced into a 10-0 lead thanks to some typically incredible tries from Josua Tuisova and Kini Murimurivalu. 04: TRY Fiji! What a sensational finish from Josua Tuisova 👏 LIVE now on eir sport 1! #RWC2019 #WALvFIJ pic.twitter.com/Fb19bxLBmz — eir Sport …

The draw for next year’s Ulster senior football championship has been made.  Reigning champions Donegal will face an incredibly difficult opening match as they take on neighbours Tyrone in the quarter-finals. Last year’s beaten finalists Cavan, who made their first provincial decider in 18 years in 2019, will take on Monaghan in the preliminary quarter-final. The winner of that match …

Forwards coach Simon Easterby is hoping to see a different animal when Ireland take to the field in their final Pool A clash with Samoa in Fukuoka on Saturday. Despite a very strong performance in their opening win over Scotland in Yokohama, Ireland have produced stuttering displays which resulted in a loss to Japan and an unconvincing bonus-point win over …

There are just two matches remaining in Pool A of the 2019 Rugby World Cup with Ireland, Scotland and Japan all still within a shout of qualifying for the knockout stages.  Japan’s bonus-point victory over Samoa on Saturday has seen them go on top of Pool A with 14 points after three games played. Ireland are on 11 points with …

At halftime, England lead Argentina 15-3 in a fiery encounter at the Tokyo Stadium.  Argentina are in must-win territory after their previous loss to France but they face an uphill task to keep their Rugby World Cup dreams alive after they were reduced to just 14 men after 18 minutes. Argentina opened the scoring with a penalty from Benjamin Urdapilleta …

The 2019/20 Energia AIL season kicks off this weekend and there are no shortage of mouth-watering encounters to whet the appetite of Irish club rugby fans.  The first game takes place on Friday night in Division 2A with a Limerick derby under lights as UL Bohemian and Old Crescent go head-to-head in UL’s north campus. On Saturday, the remaining fixtures …

Ireland face a nervy wait on the fitness of Jordi Murphy and Joey Carbery as the duo are set to learn the extent of their injuries by undergoing scans today.  Murphy, who only arrived in Japan at the beginning of the week due to Jack Conan’s withdrawal from the squad due to injury, was put straight into the action against …

In the wake of an uninspiring performance against Russia as Ireland claimed a 35-0 bonus-point win, Simon Zebo has revealed his frustrations with Ireland’s conservative attacking approach and also offered an insight into how head coach Joe Schmidt deals with players in the wake of a disappointing performance or loss.  Zebo, who was speaking as a Paddy Power Rugby Ambassador, …

Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt has provided an injury update after their 35-0 bonus-point victory over Russia. There were a number of injury concerns coming out of today’s win, most notably Jordi Murphy who left the fray with a rib injury after just 27 minutes. Murphy was a late call-up to the Ireland squad due to Jack Conan’s withdrawal and …