Tag Archives: ireland rugby

Brought to you by Energia, proud sponsors of Leinster Rugby. A passion for sport runs deep in the family, Grace Miller tells Pundit Arena. There’s Grace’s older sister, Alison. The Ireland legend, who won 47 caps for her country and was part of some of the greatest days in Irish women’s rugby, announced her retirement last year after 10 years …

Ireland women’s head coach Adam Griggs has named a squad of 26 for a training camp in Cardiff this weekend which includes an uncapped match against Wales as his side ramp up their preparations for the beginning of the Six Nations in two weeks’ time.  Speaking of his selection, Ireland Women’s coach, Griggs said: “We have had two quality camps …

New captain, new head coach, new assistant coaches, five uncapped players and four ‘development players’ – there’s a sense of turning the page as Ireland head into the 2020 Six Nations.  Andy Farrell named his first Six Nations squad on Wednesday and the new head coach is starting off his tenure in his typical no-nonsense approach by excluding some big …

Energia, proud sponsors of Irish Rugby, have launched a new annual rugby festival which will take place at Energia Park in Donnybrook, Dublin on the June Bank Holiday weekend.  The inaugural Energia 7’s festival of rugby will include men’s and women’s 7’s rugby tournaments and a mixed social tag rugby competition. The rugby festival will be a fun weekend packed …

New Ireland head coach Andy Farrell has announced his squad for the upcoming 2020 Six Nations. Farrell has named a 35-man squad which includes five uncapped players; Billy Burns, Tom O’Toole, Max Deegan, Caelan Doris and Ronan Kelleher. With Rory Best retiring at the end of the World Cup, one of the big decisions that Farrell had to make was who would be …

Iain Henderson has admitted he’s not ready to take on the role of Ireland captain.  The Ulster lock took over the role as captain of his provincial side in the wake of Rory Best’s retirement at the end of last season. Best also relinquished his Ireland captaincy with his successor unknown, as of yet. While Johnny Sexton, Peter O’Mahony and …

It has been a pretty special decade for Irish rugby.  Although the country has yet to surpass the quarter-final stage of a World Cup, there has been some landmark moments, incredible feats and the rise of some truly world-class players over the last 10 years. Here, we have produced what we believe to be the best team of the decade. …

Brought to you by Energia, proud sponsors of Leinster Rugby. There was no shortage of superb displays from Leinster in their 13-6 win over Munster at Thomond Park on Saturday night.  What clearly stood out was the defensive masterclass put on by the reigning champions which was spearheaded by captain Scott Fardy and the increasingly prominent Will Connors who completed …

New All Blacks head coach Ian Foster has confirmed the majority of his new coaching ticket which includes two former Ireland assistant coaches.  Foster has appointed John Plumtree as New Zealand’s new forwards coach, the former Hurricanes head coach recently took charge of Ireland’s forwards during the early days of Joe Schmidt’s Ireland tenure in 2013 and 2014. Plumtree also …

New Ireland head coach Andy Farrell has announced a 45-man squad for a pre Six Nations mini-camp or ‘stocktake’ on Sunday.  This will be the first time that Farrell has brought together a squad of players since he took up the role as head coach after the departure of Joe Schmidt following the quarter-final exit to New Zealand at the …

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 …