Tag Archives: ireland rugby

For Rory Best, Ireland’s premature exit from the 2019 Rugby World Cup was not the way he would have wanted to sign off on his decorated career.  With the rest of the squad, there is an opportunity to right some wrongs by getting back on track at provincial level in the white heat of European Cup rugby and, of course, …

“Over the next hours and days, spare a thought for the players.” These were the initial thoughts of Mike Ross in the immediate aftermath of Ireland’s 2019 Rugby World Cup exit at the hands of New Zealand. Social media on that Saturday in October and the days which followed were awash with criticism, disappointment and unfortunately, at times, abuse. Ross’ …

Three members of the 2019 U20 Grand Slam winning side have been included in the Ireland Men’s Sevens Development squad for this week’s Dubai Invitational tournament.  Ireland’s men’s and women’s senior sides are already in Dubai preparing for the beginning of the HSBC World Series with action getting underway on Thursday. For the men’s side this will be the first …

Professional rugby is a results-driven business.  When the season gets up and running it’s often difficult for teams to allocate the time to experiment with different players or provide vital senior experience to the younger contingent. Especially right now, with the current condensed period of the season which sees four rounds of the European Cup take place over five weeks, …

468 minutes under his belt already this season and seven appearances which included a start against Racing 92 in the Champions Cup last weekend, Jack O’Donoghue is exactly where he wants to be right now.  The majority of the 2018/19 season was a complete write-off as O’Donoghue was recovering from damage to his Medial collateral ligament (MCL) and Anterior cruciate …

“You need to get rid of them quick,” is the almost instantaneous response from Ireland and Munster legend John Hayes when asked about how to deal with doubts as a player.  ‘The Bull’ knows more than most just how quickly confidence can drain from a squad ahead of a big tournament. Back in 2007, Ireland failed to get out of …

Joe Schmidt’s autobiography, ‘Ordinary Joe’, is released today and it offers a number of unique insights into the mind of one the most influential coaches in Irish rugby.  Of course, many people who pick up the book will be looking to understand the former Ireland head coach’s thought process throughout the 2019 Rugby World Cup which saw his side knocked …

Ireland international scrum-half Kieran Marmion has signed a new contract extension with Connacht.  Marmion’s future has been the subject of heavy speculation with reigning English and European champions Saracens reported to be interested in bringing the 27-year-old to Allianz Park. However, Connacht Rugby have now confirmed that Marmion will stay at the Sportsground after signing a three-year contract extension. Commenting …

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 …

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 …

For Johnny Sexton, getting back out on the pitch can’t come quickly enough as he and the rest of his international teammates look to get their disappointing World Cup campaign out of their system.  The onset of the first round of Interpros this weekend, in addition to the beginning of the Heineken Champions Cup a week later will prove to …

Joe Schmidt will release his autobiography ‘Ordinary Joe’ on November 21, his publisher Penguin Ireland confirmed today.  “I was hesitant about putting my memories and thoughts into words but was encouraged to do so by a number of people close to me,” Schmidt said. “I’m an accidental coach and feel incredibly lucky to have worked alongside great people and to …

The fallout from Ireland’s disappointing 2019 Rugby World Cup campaign will continue between now and the 2020 Six Nations as IRFU Performance Director David Nucifora conducts a thorough review of the campaign by interviewing players and coaching staff.  There are multiple theories being submitted to explain Ireland’s decline in 2019; a stagnant gameplan, an over-the-top, all-encompassing focus on breaking the …

Leinster head coach Leo Cullen will have some interesting decisions to make over the coming weeks.  His side have started the new season at a blistering pace – securing three consecutive bonus-point victories leaving them joint top of Conference A on 15 points with the Cheetahs. Confidence is high at their base in UCD and encouragingly, there have been a …

Leinster and Ireland have been hit with the disappointing news that Jack Conan will miss the majority of the season.  Conan suffered a foot injury at the World Cup which ended his involvement in the tournament and he was replaced in the squad by former provincial teammate Jordi Murphy. Leinster confirmed today that Conan had a procedure on his foot …

Just like the 2015 exit at the hands of Argentina, the latest in Ireland’s long run of Rugby World Cup quarter-final failures will leave a sour taste in the mouth for some time.  After they promised so much in 2018, Ireland became a shadow of that side in 2019 which ultimately culminated in a 46-14 thrashing by New Zealand in …

Steve Hansen spoke incredibly well in the aftermath of New Zealand’s thumping 46-14 win over Ireland at the Tokyo Stadium. Ireland’s World Cup ended once again at the quarter-final stage and it was also the last time that Rory Best and head coach Joe Schmidt will be involved in the Irish set-up. Best will now retire from professional rugby while …

New Zealand 46 – 14 Ireland Ireland are out of the 2019 Rugby World Cup after being completely out-classed by a rampant New Zealand side. In every facet of the game, Ireland were second best and they could do very little as the All Blacks ran in seven tries. Here are our player ratings on a devastating day for Irish …