Rugby

Racing 92 rounded off the opening round of the Heineken Champions Cup in style with a 30-10 victory over Saracens in Paris.  It was all one-way traffic from the get-go as the French outfit dominated a largely second-string Saracens from start to finish. Virimi Vakatawa got Racing off the mark with their first try after nine minutes before Maxime Machenaud …

Connacht welcomed Montpellier to the Sportsground this afternoon for their first Heineken Champions Cup game since 2017 and it proved to be a successful day for the western province. However, it didn’t go all their own way as prior to kick-off, Jarrad Butler, Matt Healy and Niyi Adeolokun were all ruled out through injury. In a bizarre turn of events, …

Connacht suffered the worst possible start to their first Champions Cup outing since the 2016/17 season as Aaron Cruden scored Montpellier’s first try after just 70 seconds. Prior to kick-off, Jarrad Butler, Matt Healy and Niyi Adeolokun were all ruled out through injury and while being interviewed on the pitch, club captain Butler predicted an 18-0 win for his side …

Connacht have been forced to make three late changes to their starting XV ahead of their Champions Cup opener against Montpellier with Jarrad Butler, Matt Healy and Niyi Adeolokun all sustaining injuries. Robin Copeland, Tom Daly and John Porch have all been introduced into Andy Friend’s starting lineup with a number of other positional changes as a result. While the …

“It was a rough time in my life,” Paddy McAllister says with absolutely no hesitation, like a man who has had a long time to reflect on the often difficult journey which has brought him to the west coast of Ireland in the green colours of Connacht Rugby.  The 30-year-old prop signed for the western province ahead of the 2019/20 …

Ospreys 13 Munster 32 Munster recorded a rare away win in the Heineken Champions Cup following a dramatic bonus-point victory over Ospreys at the Liberty Stadium. Just when it seemed the fourth try was out of their reach, Munster piled 12 players into their final maul with the clock in the red and James Cronin touched the ball down in …

Leinster 33 Benetton 19 Sean McMahon reporting from the RDS  Leinster began their quest for a record-breaking fifth Champions Cup title off to the best possible start as they swatted away a stubborn and brave Benetton side at the RDS to emerge with a bonus-point victory.  A first-half brace from Garry Ringrose, which came on either side of a Dean …

Stuart Hogg is really making his presence felt with his new club. The international full-back linked up with new side Exeter Chiefs following Scotland’s disappointing Rugby World Cup campaign and is today making his Champions Cup debut with the English Premiership side. Exeter currently lead La Rochelle, led by Ronan O’Gara, 14-0 following a try from Dave Dennis. However, the …

Bath 16-17 Ulster  Ulster were made to work for it but their undefeated streak against Bath remains intact after a hard-fought victory at The Recreation Ground this afternoon.  It could well have been the perfect opening for Ulster when Billy Burns knocked down a kick just a minute into the game. The out-half, who was lining out against his brother …

Leinster have made a late change to their starting XV for their Champions Cup opener against Benetton with Rory O’Loughlin replacing Joe Tomane.  The 29-year-old New Zealand native has withdrawn from the matchday squad after suffering a tight hamstring during Friday’s captains run. O’Loughlin is set to make an appearance in the centre alongside Garry Ringrose while Robbie Henshaw takes …

Ulster visit The Recreation Ground today looking to extend their undefeated streak over Bath to five games in the Heineken Champions Cup. An intriguing battle is expected as Bath welcome World Cup star Sam Underhill while Iain Henderson returns to the northern province to make his bow as the new captain of Ulster. Dan McFarland’s side are also boosted by …

One of the biggest talking points ahead of the 2019 Rugby World Cup was the omission of stalwart Devin Toner in Joe Schmidt’s 31-man squad.  33-year-old Toner played a crucial role in Ireland’s superb 2018 and although he struggled with injuries in 2019, his experience and excellence at the setpiece were traits which many expected were too good to ignore …

The Welsh Rugby Union have confirmed that former captain Sam Warburton will join Wayne Pivac’s background team ahead of the 2020 Six Nations.  The former flanker retired in the summer of 2018, a year after leading the British and Irish Lions to a series draw against the All Blacks. Warburton’s role will be a technical advisor for the breakdown/defence. Former …

There were a few notable omissions when Leinster announced their matchday 23 for Saturday’s Heineken Champions Cup clash with Benetton at the RDS (KO 3.15 pm).  Ireland internationals Robbie Henshaw, Tadhg Furlong and Rob Kearney have all been left out for the visit of Kieran Crowley’s side. Henshaw’s absence is not that surprising considering the powerful centre suffered from some …

Johnny Sexton will make his first Leinster appearance of the season when he captains the side in their Champions Cup opener against Benetton in the RDS. At full-back Jordan Larmour is in for his first game in blue of the season, with Dave Kearney on the right-wing and James Lowe on the left. Joe Tomane is selected in the 12 …

Brought to you by Energia, proud sponsors of the Energia All Ireland League. We’re just over a month into the new season of Division 1A of the Energia AIL and already, reigning champions Cork Constitution are leading the way at the top of the table with a 100% win record. The Templehill outfit are five wins from five and currently …

Warren Gatland believes that Ireland’s ego was one of the contributing factors to their downfall in 2019 which ultimately culminated in another quarter-final exit at the World Cup.  The former Wales head coach was speaking to Off The Ball during the promotion of his new autobiography, ‘Pride and Passion’. On Ireland’s disappointing World Cup, Gatland first offered the opinion that …