British and Irish Lions head coach Warren Gatland would like to see his side face off against the All Blacks next year before they travel to South Africa to take on the Springboks in a three-Test tour.  The match would be billed as a “decider” after the Lions secured a dramatic series draw against the All Blacks during the 2017 …

Semple Stadium is set for a multi-million euro redevelopment after Tipperary county council granted planning permission for works on the 45,000 capacity ground.  The works will focus on the Kinane Stand or the Old Stand. The 14,500 capacity of the stand will remain unchanged but the works will include the development of a new floor which will provide new gym, …

In our latest rugby quiz, we’re shifting focus from Irish rugby to the British and Irish Lions.  We’re going to start off with a relatively simple one by asking you to name every player to have captained the Lions in a Test match in the last 20 years. We can’t reiterate this enough, this quiz doesn’t include players who captained …

EPCR have released a statement to address the media reports which emerged on Monday which outlined details of a proposed ‘Club World Cup’.  The competition, which is being proposed by the president of the French Rugby Union, Bernard Laporte, would see a 20-team club competition created which would involve teams from both the northern and southern hemisphere. However, reports on …

The president of the French Rugby Union, Bernard Laporte, is proposing a radical new club rugby competition which could see the much loved but often maligned Champions Cup become defunct.  Laporte is hoping to become vice-chairman of World Rugby and he will seek election next month as Bill Beaumont aims to continue as chairman of the game’s world governing body. …

In our latest rugby quiz, we’re focussing on the young Ireland players who made an immediate impact at international level.  To be precise, we want you to name some of the youngest players ever to score a try for Ireland. To keep it relatively recent, we are focussing on players who have played for Ireland since the mid-1990s. To help, …

The lockdown which is currently in place in Italy is more stringent and further down the road than the one which we are currently experiencing in Ireland.  Ian McKinley, the Dubliner who plies his trade with Guinness PRO14 outfit Benetton, spoke to the media last week and he described what it’s like living in a country which has been hit …

The FAI have confirmed that Stephen Kenny will take up the role as manager of the Republic of Ireland senior side with immediate effect. It was originally planned that Kenny would take charge after Ireland’s Euro 2020 campaign but the global Covid-19 pandemic has seen the competition rescheduled for next year while Ireland’s qualifier with Slovakia has also been postponed. …

In our latest rugby quiz, instead of looking at prolific try scorers, we will be focussing on those who were a little shy when it came to crossing the whitewash. Scoring tries isn’t the be-all and end-all. Most supporters would be happy to see their tighthead prop solely lock out a scrum for 60 minutes, for example. Nevertheless, we’re taking …

Someone’s ears were burning.  Just as former Munster out-half and current Benetton 10 Ian Keatley was speaking to the media about how family life has altered his view on life and rugby, there was a brief interruption… “My daughter’s knocking on the door!” And that’s when Keatley’s two-year-old daughter, Beth, was introduced to the world of Zoom video conferencing as …

England head coach Eddie Jones has signed a new contract extension which will see him remain in charge until the 2023 World Cup in France.  Jones’ current contract was due to expire in 2021 but it was expected that it would be extended, especially after the Australian guided England to the World Cup final last year. Jones has a win …

In our latest Irish rugby quiz, we want you to name the oldest players to make their debuts for Ireland in the professional era.  For the purpose of this quiz, we’re just including the oldest players who have made their debuts between 2000-2020.  This is no doubt one of our tougher quizzes so we’re giving you 10 minutes to get …

Sport across the world is in a difficult and troubling place. And rugby is no different.  We have already seen that the US Rugby Union have filed for bankruptcy and the Australian Rugby Union have stood down 75% of their workforce. While closer to home, the IRFU have implemented pay deferrals to all professional players in the country. No one …

Finlay Bealham is speaking from his girlfriend’s house in Claregalway.  The small town about 10km north of Galway City is proving to be somewhat of a refuge for the 28-year-old as he and the rest of the country remain low in what are unprecedented and often, frightening times. All professional rugby players in the country are currently on lockdown while …

We’re testing your knowledge on the stalwarts of Irish rugby in our latest quiz.  Once you’re finished with this quiz, make sure to check out the bottom of this article for links to all the quizzes we have produced over the last few weeks which are sure to keep you busy in these rugby scarce times. Today’s quiz looks at …

Rugby Australia, rugby’s governing body in Australia, announced that they have stood down 75% of its workforce from April 1 to June 30, while any remaining staff will have their hours reduced or will be offered significant salary reductions due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.  Rugby Australia are looking at a loss of up to $120 million if the entire …

In our latest throwback, we remember the 2001 British and Irish Lions Tour and the infamous attack by Duncan McRae on Ronan O’Gara.  On Saturday, June 23 2001, the British and Irish Lions took on the Waratahs just a week before they were to face off against the Wallabies in the first Test on what was a three-Test tour. The …

Can you get top marks in this rugby stadium quiz?  We have developed a quiz which will test your knowledge of some of the most famous rugby stadiums around the world. How familiar are you with some of these hallowed grounds which have seen some epic clashes in the past? The premise for this quiz is very simple. We give …