Tag Archives: ireland rugby

In our latest rugby quiz, we’re focussing on the young Ireland players who made an immediate impact at international level.  To be precise, we want you to name some of the youngest players ever to score a try for Ireland. To keep it relatively recent, we are focussing on players who have played for Ireland since the mid-1990s. To help, …

In our latest rugby quiz, instead of looking at prolific try scorers, we will be focussing on those who were a little shy when it came to crossing the whitewash. Scoring tries isn’t the be-all and end-all. Most supporters would be happy to see their tighthead prop solely lock out a scrum for 60 minutes, for example. Nevertheless, we’re taking …

Someone’s ears were burning.  Just as former Munster out-half and current Benetton 10 Ian Keatley was speaking to the media about how family life has altered his view on life and rugby, there was a brief interruption… “My daughter’s knocking on the door!” And that’s when Keatley’s two-year-old daughter, Beth, was introduced to the world of Zoom video conferencing as …

In our latest Irish rugby quiz, we want you to name the oldest players to make their debuts for Ireland in the professional era.  For the purpose of this quiz, we’re just including the oldest players who have made their debuts between 2000-2020.  This is no doubt one of our tougher quizzes so we’re giving you 10 minutes to get …

Sport across the world is in a difficult and troubling place. And rugby is no different.  We have already seen that the US Rugby Union have filed for bankruptcy and the Australian Rugby Union have stood down 75% of their workforce. While closer to home, the IRFU have implemented pay deferrals to all professional players in the country. No one …

Finlay Bealham is speaking from his girlfriend’s house in Claregalway.  The small town about 10km north of Galway City is proving to be somewhat of a refuge for the 28-year-old as he and the rest of the country remain low in what are unprecedented and often, frightening times. All professional rugby players in the country are currently on lockdown while …

We’re testing your knowledge on the stalwarts of Irish rugby in our latest quiz.  Once you’re finished with this quiz, make sure to check out the bottom of this article for links to all the quizzes we have produced over the last few weeks which are sure to keep you busy in these rugby scarce times. Today’s quiz looks at …

In our latest throwback, we remember the 2001 British and Irish Lions Tour and the infamous attack by Duncan McRae on Ronan O’Gara.  On Saturday, June 23 2001, the British and Irish Lions took on the Waratahs just a week before they were to face off against the Wallabies in the first Test on what was a three-Test tour. The …

The nostalgic mood continues here at Pundit Arena as we look back at some of the greats to play the sport of rugby union.  In our latest quiz, we want you to cast your minds back to remember the greatest and most prolific try-scorers in Test rugby. With the current season suspended indefinitely due to the worldwide outbreak of Covid-19, …

As Covid-19 continues to put an indefinite halt on the rugby season, we’ve decided to dig out some of our favourite autobiographies in search of some interesting and memorable anecdotes.  Paul O’Connell’s ‘The Battle’, co-authored by Alan English, is a superb read. It gives a fascinating insight into the mindset of one of Ireland’s greatest ever players and the steely …

Connacht supporters would remember Pat Lam’s tenure as head coach quite fondly. A rollercoaster ride which yielded a historic PRO12 title in 2016 all the while playing an exhilarating brand of rugby. For Jack Carty, memories of the early days of the Kiwi’s tenure are a little bit different.  The charismatic New Zealander gave Carty his senior debut in the …

The IRFU have confirmed that they will make a fund available to Irish clubs who are impacted financially due to the current Coronavirus (Covid-19) crisis.  The game’s governing body will make €500,000 available to all clubs on the island of Ireland. Domestic Game Director, Colin McEntee, will be advising clubs how the fund is to be applied as soon as …

“Unchartered waters” and “the unknown” are two phrases which frequently crop up during a conversation with former Munster back and current Operations Manager with Rugby Players Ireland, Denis Hurley.  Of course, this can be applied to the livelihoods of everyone in Ireland. Irish society is attempting to get to grips with a whole new way of living due to the …

There will be no shortage of headaches for competition organisers over the coming weeks and months as the Covid-19 pandemic puts a shuddering halt to the 2019/20 season.  With the current rugby season likely to be cancelled, we immediately cast our minds to the 2020/21 campaign and the potential ramifications that this unprecedented time will have on the new season. …

On this day 20 years ago, a monumental day in Irish rugby occurred as Ireland defeated France in the 2000 Six Nations.  At the time, it was Ireland’s first win over France in 17 years and their first in Paris since 1972. It was also the day that a young Brian O’Driscoll announced himself to the rugby world with an …

Two weeks can seem like a lifetime in the midst of global health pandemic.  A fortnight ago, we spoke to former Munster man Ian Keatley to get an understanding of what the situation was like on the ground in northern Italy. Keatley, of course, is currently with Italian side Benetton, a club which is based in the city of Treviso …

Scotland’s surprise 28-17 win over Grand Slam chasing France at Murrayfield has blown this year’s championship wide open with Fabien Galthie’s side now in a three-way battle for the title alongside England and Ireland.  Galthie will have learned a lot about his squad who were disjointed and error-strewn long before Mohammed Haouas’ brainless punch on Jamie Ritchie at the end …

Ireland’s Six Nations campaign is over for the foreseeable future as their round four and five clashes look set to be played in the Autumn due to the outbreak of Covid-19 in Europe.  It was a frustrating opening campaign for head coach Andy Farrell as he will now have to wait for the two-Test tour of Australia against the Wallabies …