Munster head into Saturday’s eagerly anticipated clash with Leinster on the back of two defeats and with the knowledge that their last four meetings with Leo Cullen’s side have all ended in disappointment.  With that in mind, there is certainly pressure on this Munster team going into the weekend and the sold-out Thomond Park crowd will be hoping their side …

Connacht and Ulster have named their respective sides for Friday evening’s Guinness PRO14 clash at the Sportsground in Galway.  Connacht, who are coming off the back of a devastating last-gasp defeat to Leinster at the RDS, have made four changes to their team. Ireland international Quinn Roux comes into the side to start alongside Gavin Thornbury in the second row. …

English champions Manchester City slumped to a third shock defeat in four Premier League games at Leicester on Boxing Day to slip to third in the table and seven points adrift of unbeaten leaders Liverpool. Just a few weeks ago City seemed unstoppable as they started their title defence with a 15-game unbeaten run. However, a 2-0 reverse at Chelsea …

At the midway point of the 2018/19 season, all of the Irish provinces will be pretty content with where they stand in both the domestic and European competition and a lot of this is due to some excellent signings the four teams have made in 2018.  Heading into the current season, we have seen the IRFU’s heavy influence whereby players …

Tiger Woods snatched plenty of golfing headlines in 2018 with his remarkable comeback after years in the wilderness and will now be eyeing a 15th major title, while British Open champion Francesco Molinari inspired Europe to a Ryder Cup thrashing of the United States in Paris. It was an eventful year for golf fans, with Woods’ return adding a sub-plot …

2018 has been another memorable year for rugby as all focus now switches to the 2019 World Cup in Japan.  Ireland have been the most impressive as on the international stage they secured a Grand Slam, a series win in Australia and a 100% record throughout the November internationals which included a victory over the All Blacks. Leinster, who provide a …

Munster’s upcoming clash with Leinster takes on even more importance as the southern province will be desperate to halt a run of form which has seen them lose two games on the trot.  Munster’s disappointing loss to Castres in the Heineken Champions Cup was followed up by an away defeat to Ulster at the Kingspan Stadium on Friday, albeit with …

Rafael Benitez believes it will be “another miracle” if his Newcastle side retain their Premier League status. The Spanish manager said finishing 10th last season was an extraordinary performance but added that would be matched simply by beating the drop this term given the fact that the Magpies’ relegation rivals had all outspent the north-east side in pre-season. Newcastle’s position …

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has said the fact his side top the Premier League table heading into the busy holiday period counts for little. The Anfield club are four points clear at the summit going into their Boxing Day clash at home to Newcastle, with champions Manchester City second and Tottenham Hotspur six points adrift in third place. Liverpool, however, …

For the second week in succession, Munster were left to rue a crucial refereeing decision which had an impact on the outcome of a game.  With news filtering through this week that both Rory Kockott and Marc-Antoine Rallier should have received red cards for Castres during their win over Munster in the Heineken Champions Cup on Saturday, Johann van Graan would …

Ulster – 19 Munster – 12 Sean McMahon reports from The Kingspan Stadium.  Ulster edged the first interprovincial derby of the festive season as they emerged 19-12 winners against an under-strength Munster side. Last week, the southern province were criticised for their lack of physicality in their loss to Castres, but they certainly brought a bit of bite to proceedings …

The EPCR have confirmed the referees for the final two rounds of this season’s Champions Cup group stages which will take place in January.  Munster, Leinster and Ulster all face into crucial fixtures which will determine whether they qualify for the knockout stages of this year’s competition. Munster’s recent loss to Castres means they are in must-win territory when they …

The Christmas interpros begin this weekend as Munster, Leinster, Connacht and Ulster face off against one other.  Friday night sees Munster travel to the Kingspan Stadium to take on Ulster while Leinster host Connacht at the RDS on Saturday. With the IRFU’s player management programme kicking in over the festive period, the provinces’ Ireland representatives will only see limited game …

Alby Mathewson has settled into life quickly with Munster since he made the move to Limerick at the beginning of the season.  Due to the processing of his work permit, Mathewson’s debut didn’t come until the home clash with Ulster at the end of September and he admits he is enjoying the experience thus far. “I have loved it so far. …

Connacht Rugby have announced the loan signing of Leinster centre Tom Daly until the end of the season.  Daly has played two games for Leinster this season, both in the Guinness PRO14, against the Southern Kings and the Dragons. The 25-year-old has been a part of the Leinster senior setup since 2016. Daly has previously captained the Ireland sevens squad and …

EPCR have confirmed that two Castres players have been cited from their 13-12 win over Munster on Saturday in Round 4 of the Heineken Champions Cup.  The performance of Castres has come in for strong criticism from many quarters with many believing that many unsavoury incidents should have been punished more heavily by referee Wayne Barnes. Rory Kockott has been …

Paul Pogba has responded to Jose Mourinho’s sacking with a cheeky social media post.  It’s fair to say that the French star and Mourinho didn’t exactly see eye to eye throughout their working relationship and it wouldn’t come as a surprise to see Pogba happy with this morning’s news which saw the Portuguese manager relieved of his duties. Pogba posted …

Michael Carrick has been appointed interim manager of Manchester United according to Sky Sports after Jose Mourinho was relieved of his duties earlier this morning.  Carrick and Kieron McKenna will take training over the next couple of days until a caretaker manager is appointed within 48 hours who will see out the rest of the season. During this time, United …