Rugby

The referees have been named for Ireland’s pool stage games of the upcoming World Cup, with England’s Wayne Barnes taking charge of their opener against Scotland. Reffing in his fourth World Cup, Barnes will be in the middle when Ireland kick-off their World Cup campaign against Scotland on September 22nd as they look to impress on the world stage. The …

Johnny Sexton has not taken a full part in Ireland training as he continues to recover from a thumb sprain which he suffered the week before last.  Last week, head coach Joe Schmidt described the injury as “nothing major” but as the squad moves onto the next stage of their preparations which will shift the focus more on rugby and …

Highly rated strength and conditioning coach, Peter Donnelly, is set to leave his role with Tyrone following the conclusion of this year’s All-Ireland campaign to take up a new role within the Ulster Rugby Academy.  Donnelly was an extremely decorated player in his own right picking up All-Ireland medals in 2005 and 2008 as part of the Tyrone senior panel …

Conor Murray and Robbie Henshaw have both discussed one of the areas which Ireland are keen to improve on ahead of the 2019 Rugby World Cup.  A disappointing Six Nations campaign which saw Ireland record losses to England in Dublin and Wales in Cardiff saw them finish in third place but those two games were similar, not only in the …

Ireland U20 star Jake Flannery is among four new recruits to the Munster Academy ahead of the new season.  Flannery has starred for the Ireland U20s during their Grand Slam-winning Six Nations campaign and also during the recent U20 World Championship in Argentina. Flannery, who can play at both out-half and fullback, was expected to join the Academy this year …

The 2019 Rugby Championship kicks off this weekend as New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and Argentina battle it out over the next few weeks. This year’s edition is shortened to just three rounds due to the Rugby World Cup beginning in September but it will provide ideal preparation for the competing nations ahead of Japan. This weekend’s action takes place …

The fixtures for the 2019/20 Guinness PRO14 season have been released by tournament officials this afternoon.  Due to the 2019 Rugby World Cup which takes place in Japan, the season will begin later than usual with the opening round taking place on the weekend of 27-28th September. Ahead of the new campaign, there has been some shake-up to the conferences …

Ulster have been hit with the disappointing news that their new signing, Gareth Milasinovich, has sustained an ACL tear in training.  The northern province are currently in pre-season training ahead of the 2019/20 campaign and Milasinovich, a tighthead prop signed from Worcester Warriors, will now miss nine months due to the injury. Milasinovich was expected to put pressure on Marty …

Billy Vunipola has admitted that he feels regret for how his controversial comments which he made in April affected his Saracens teammates.  Vunipola was the subject of a warning from the RFU after the England number eight defended Israel Folau’s anti-homosexual views on social media. Vunipola wrote on Instagram: “There just comes a point when you insult what I grew …

The IRFU have outlined details of the upcoming women’s rugby season which they hope will provide the perfect preparation for Ireland’s bid to qualify for the 2021 World Cup which takes place in New Zealand.  Ireland’s disappointing showing at the 2017 World Cup which was held on home soil resulted in them missing out on automatic qualification for 2021 and …

The worst kept secret in rugby has been confirmed as James O’Connor has signed a two and half year deal with the Queensland Reds and Rugby Australia.  The utility back was granted a release from his contract with Gallagher Premiership side the Sale Sharks as he wanted to give himself the best opportunity to represent the Wallabies at the upcoming …

It’s been a frustrating year in green for Robbie Henshaw.  The 26-year-old suffered a problematic dead leg in training after the opening game of the Six Nations against England. Generally, the recovery time from a dead leg is short but in Henshaw’s case the rarity and location of the impact saw him miss the next two months of the season …

Both the Ireland Men’s and Women’s 7s sides are through to the quarter-finals of the Rugby Europe Olympics qualifying campaign after Anthony Eddy’s side secured two wins and a draw in Pool B. Ireland began the tournament brightly with wins against Ukraine and Russia but had to fight back from a 17-0 half-time deficit to secure a draw with Spain …

The Ireland Women’s 7s side are through to the quarter-finals of the Rugby Europe Olympic qualifying tournament following two wins from three in the pool stages. Stan McDowell’s side finished as runners-up in Pool C with big wins against Romania and the Czech Republic before they fell to a 12-point defeat to Spain. Ireland dominated possession in the opening minutes …

There was a collective gasp among the Irish rugby public when news emerged earlier this week that Johnny Sexton injured his hand during Ireland training camp ahead of the Rugby World Cup.  As it emerged, a thumb injury has hampered Sexton’s preparations somewhat but the problem shouldn’t have too much of an impact as he is expected to be fit …