Fergus McFadden will miss the remainder of the season after the Leinster winger picked up a six-week ban for striking Ulster’s Sean Reidy with his head during their recent Guinness PRO14 clash in Belfast at the weekend.  Referee George Clancy reviewed the incident with his TMO at the time but because he couldn’t see the point of contact on the …

There are many moving parts to the success of a matchday experience and the Communications Manager for a sporting organization plays a key role in this.  Marcus Ó Buachalla holds that role with Leinster Rugby and his responsibilities are multi-faceted which include developing and implementing communications strategies, liaising with the media and to provide support to players and coaches when …

The 2018/19 season is drawing to a close and there are just a few weeks of action left before we find out the destination of this year’s silverware.  The Guinness PRO14, the Gallagher Premiership, the Top 14 and European Cup rugby are all entering their final weeks and here we provide you with a week by week account of what …

For elite Irish athletes, 2019 is a pivotal year as in a lot of cases it provides an opportunity to qualify for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and for pentathlete Natalya Coyle, she is no different.  The 28-year-old Meath native is no stranger to the process having qualified for London 2012 and Rio de Janeiro 2016 where she finished …

Leinster’s Fergus McFadden has been cited for an incident with Ulster’s Sean Reidy during the clash between the two provinces at Kingspan Stadium on Saturday.  The Guinness PRO14 confirmed this evening that McFadden will face a disciplinary hearing on Wednesday. The incident involved McFadden leading with his head in a motion towards Reidy in what looked to be an apparent …

There’s something about the Irish psyche which means many of our elite athletes tend to play down their achievements or make safe predictions about their potential success in future competitions. Focusing on the quality of their opponents, or using phrases such as “I’ll give it my best and see what happens” are often expressed and it’s clear to see why. …

Andy Friend has praised the depth in his squad and believes Connacht are in a good place ahead of their Guinness PRO14 quarter-final with Ulster next weekend.  The affable Australian was speaking to the media after his side’s 27-14 loss to Munster at Thomond Park on Saturday night and despite coming out on the wrong side of the result, he …

Munster head coach Johann van Graan made his feelings clear on Andrew Conway’s error during his side’s 27-14 win over Connacht at Thomond Park on Saturday night.  In the first half of Saturday night’s clash, Conway intercepted a pass from Tiernan O’Halloran which was destined for Robin Copeland. The Munster winger took his time to ground the ball under the …

Sean McMahon reporting from Thomond Park  Munster head coach Johann van Graan was quizzed about Conor Murray’s injury which saw the Ireland scrum-half removed from the matchday squad just before kick off at Thomond Park on Saturday night.  Murray was seen holding his neck as he left the Thomond Park turf after the warm-up and inevitably, van Graan was quizzed …

The participating teams in the 2018/19 Guinness PRO14 playoffs have been confirmed after the final round of regular season action was finalised today.  GUINNESS PRO14 – QUARTER-FINALS Saturday, May 4 15:00: Munster Rugby (A2) v Benetton Rugby (B3) Thomond Park, Limerick Live on Eir Sport, Premier Sports & DAZN 17:35: Ulster Rugby (B2) v Connacht Rugby (A3) Kingspan Stadium, Belfast …

Munster 27 Connacht 14 Sean McMahon reporting from Thomond Park Munster set up a Guinness PRO14 quarter-final clash with Benetton after a three tries saw them emerge victorious over Connacht at Thomond Park. A try apiece from Tadhg Beirne and Mike Haley in the first half had Munster in front at halftime with Finlay Bealham crossing for the visitors in …

Leinster winger Fergus McFadden could be cited in the aftermath of his side’s clash with Ulster at the Kingspan Stadium after an apparent headbutt by the 32-year-old didn’t result in a card. McFadden was involved in an incident off the ball with Ulster number eight Sean Reidy. The two players were pushing and shoving off the ball in the first …

“Someone like Mike Lowry is a very experienced head on young shoulders. He’s going to be a phenomenal player, obviously and I think he’s going to be a leader on the back of that as well.”  Ulster prop Eric O’Sullivan didn’t take long to respond when asked who he believes could step up as a leader for the northern province …

Bundee Aki has issued an apology to anyone he may have offended due to ‘liking’ Israel Folau’s controversial social media post whereby he outlined that hell awaits gay people.  Folau’s views have led to a code of conduct hearing with Rugby Australia taking place on May 4 and the outcome could see the 30-year-old’s contract with the governing body revoked. …

South Africa have released two new jerseys which they will wear for the upcoming 2019 World Cup in Japan.  The Springboks face a tough pool where they will take on reigning world champions New Zealand in addition to Six Nations side Italy while Namibia and Canada make up the final two teams The Boks, now coached by Rassie Erasmus could …

Paul Poga was a surprise inclusion in the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) Team of the Year which was announced this morning.  The team is dominated by the two clubs who are currently battling for the Premier League title, Manchester City and Liverpool. City have six representatives in the team and they include Ederson, Aymeric Laporte, Bernardo Silva, Fernandinho, Sergio Aguero, …

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 …