Rugby

Leigh Halfpenny may have an ERCC trophy to show off following yesterday’s victory for Toulon but he won’t have many teeth left by the time retirement comes around at this rate.  He’s given a little extra again @LeighHalfpenny1 for the game.. Now he smiles like a piano pic.twitter.com/V8dlzVJP8V — Matt Giteau (@giteau_rugby) May 3, 2015 Halfpenny scored 14 of Toulon’s 26 points as …

An Official GUINNESS PRO12 panel of experts have selected their eight favourite tries from the first 20 rounds of this season’s Guinness PRO12 but it’s the fans who will decide which one is the Sky Sports Guinness PRO12 Try of the Season. Featuring eight outstanding candidates from Munster, Connacht, Glasgow Warriors, Edinburgh and Ulster, the try of the season decision now …

Ireland have sat on the sidelines of 7’s Rugby for too long. Now the IRFU is ready to embrace a sport that is about to go global. There is no doubt about it, the next 18 months is an exciting time for the game of Rugby. With the new Super Rugby Competition being expanded to 18 teams, which will include …

After being left out of Leinster’s most recent contract renewals list, there had been a lot of ambiguity surrounding the future of Leinster centre Gordon D’Arcy. Today the Irish international has signalled his intentions to retire from professional rugby, hanging up his boots after 17 seasons at Leinster this October, after the Rugby World Cup. D’Arcy made his debut for …

At The Western Force, no two players symbolise the fight against adversity in sport, in the form of Cystic Fibrosis, more than Nick Cummins  & Nathan Charles Six litres is the average lung capacity of an adult male. 892kg is the average weight of a professional rugby pack. When you have eight athletes who each weigh above 100kg pushing and …

Argentinian beer company, Salta Beer, replaced rugby players’ missing teeth with bottle openers as part of an ad campaign. The bizarre ad, created by agency Ogilvy Argentina, tracks a dental surgeon who, teamed with Salta beer, decides to reward rugby players who had “given everything on the pitch”…with bottle opening teeth. “We decided to give rugby players back the teeth …

This Saturday evening French giants Clermont and Toulon go head-to-head at Twickenham in a bid to be crowned the best team in Europe, but there’s just one problem, and that is the fact that this final is refusing to capture the public’s imagination. With news that Twickenham is likely to be half empty come the weekend, it’s likely to be a massive blow to the organisers …

Patrick Kinsella discusses how Leinster’s Ian Madigan is now at a crossroads in his career. We are now entering the final weeks of the 2014/15 season, a season which was to be a monumental one for every Irish player with international aspirations. There are those experienced competitors like Sean O’Brien, who having had a lengthy period of bad luck with …

After a short video of Chris Hala’Ufia nailing a streaker over the weekend went viral, we decided to take a look for some other streaker infused madness.    This video captures a naked spectator invading a pitch and disrupting a varsity rugby match between Newcastle University and Northumbria University. For some reason the streaker is ignored as he lines out on …

This looks wrong. This isn’t supposed to happen. Is it?   Aurillac’s Manu Leiataua scored an absurd try on Saturday that one would associate more with a fire fueled winger than a… hooker. Playing for his side in the French PRO D2 against Perpignan on Saturday, the hooker picked up the ball amongst the back line and decided he was going …

Valentine Holmes of the Panthers touched down this absurdly acrobatic try against the Sharks yesterday morning. The control and focus that this takes is really and truly beyond us. Keeping control of the ball whilst managing to keep his feet and body in the air as he is being double tackled from behind. He could be our Valentine any day… Sorry. …

In the wake of the news that fly-half Quade Cooper would be swapping Queensland Reds for Toulon this summer, we’ve been scouring the interweb for some of his best bits of skill.  Youtube has provided us with this gem, which illustrates just what the Australian international will be bring to northern hemisphere rugby. Toulon, who have already reached the Champions …

Note to self, do not streak in the vicinity of Chris Hala’ufia.  During the Aviva Premiership game between the Leicester Tigers and London Welsh, some silly so and so decided he was going to go for a little jog in the nip and ruin everyone’s fun… Or make everyone’s day, depending on what floats your boat. Chris Hala’ufia decided the …

Top 14 side La Rochelle did the unimaginable this weekend popping up with a last minute try to beat the might of Toulon.   Such is the tight nature of the Top 14 at present, the win took La Rochelle eight points from the relegation zone and just two points from a Champions Cup playoff spot. Having just been promoted from …

Brian Barry profiles the rise and rise of Devin Toner, from a laughing stock to world class lock.   Leinster’s season all but came to an end last night with a 26-10 defeat, five days after Toulon put pay to their European dreams in extra time last week in Marseille. While there has been widespread condemnation of Matt O’Connor this …

And the concussion discussion goes on. Today, playing against the Auckland Blues, Richie McCaw fell unconscious attempting a tackle for his Crusaders side. With George North and Leigh Halfpenny recently falling victim to recurring knockouts, this will surely be uncomfortable viewing for those who now see concussion as Rugby’s biggest headache.   

Torrential rain turned to torrential hail and thunder and lightning rolled across the sky. No this is not a brief description of the finale of Russel Crowe’s ‘Noah’, but actually scenes from Roosters vs Dragons, NRL game earlier today. Play was suspended for 27 minutes until conditions subsided. Be sure to listen out for the commentator who is just raring …

Wow, just wow. Talk about creativity from Kevin Naiqama to save the ball from the dead-ball line to feed in James Tedesco earlier today, as the Tigers beat the Bulldogs in the NRL.