Tag Archives: ireland rugby

Joe Schmidt has confirmed that a number of Ireland’s top players who have yet to see action so far in the current preseason, will play a part in the final warm-up game against Wales on Saturday.  Keith Earls, Robbie Henshaw and Johnny Sexton have yet to see any minutes this summer but it looks like they will be involved against …

Joe Schmidt has responded to Agustin Pichot after the World Rugby Vice-Chairman expressed his disappointment at Devin Toner’s exclusion from Ireland’s World Cup squad. The Leinster lock was the shock exclusion from Schmidt’s squad announcement yesterday after it was confirmed that South African born Munster second-row Jean Kleyn had been selected in his stead. Kleyn only qualified for Irish selection …

There are no shortage of talking points from Ireland’s confirmed 31-man Rugby World Cup squad but the inclusion of Luke McGrath ahead of Kieran Marmion is definitely towards the top of the list.  Marmion has long been considered as the front-runner to deputise for Conor Murray and the Connacht scrum-half has put in some big performances for Ireland in the …

Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt has explained a number of the tough calls he had to make in finalising his 31-man squad for the 2019 Rugby World Cup.  One of the biggest omissions is that of Devin Toner who has been left out for Munster’s Jean Kleyn. Schmidt told Irish Rugby TV that it was a difficult conversation. “I’ve coached …

Joe Schmidt has confirmed the 31-man Ireland Rugby World Cup squad which will travel to Japan in the coming weeks.  The announcement was due to take place this coming Sunday, a day after Ireland’s final warm-up game against Wales at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday. However, with the players being notified of their selection/exclusion over the last 24 hours, multiple …

Devin Toner is set to be the big omission from Ireland’s final 31-man Rugby World Cup squad according to multiple reports this morning.  Ruaidhri O’Connor of the Irish Independent reports that Toner will be left out of the final 31-man squad as Joe Schmidt opts to include Munster second-row Jean Kleyn. Kleyn made his Ireland debut in the first warm-up …

Ireland’s 22-17 win over Wales on Saturday will have ticked a number of boxes for Joe Schmidt and his coaching staff.  The production of a performance – Check. Secure a result – Check. The restoration of some confidence – Check. No further injuries – Check. With that in mind, Schmidt will be in a much better space than he was …

Ireland are back to winning ways after recording a 22-17 victory over Wales at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff this afternoon.  In what was a much-improved performance from Joe Schmidt’s charges, Ireland claimed a confidence-boosting victory which boasted a number of outstanding individual performances. Here are our player ratings from this afternoon’s action. Dave Kilcoyne – 9  Despite only lasting …

Wales 17 Ireland 22 Ireland have bounced back from their record and demoralising defeat to England by putting in a vastly improved performance against Wales in Cardiff this afternoon. A brace of tries from Jacob Stockdale in the first half set Ireland on their way with a 15-3 halftime lead before they extended that lead to 22-3 early in the …

When Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt and his staff were formulating Ireland’s pre World Cup schedule, the penultimate game against Wales which takes place today was always going to provide an opportunity for some fringe players to clinch their spot in the final 31-man squad.  In an ideal scenario, Ireland would have performed to a decent level against England. They …

Felix Jones has taken up a role with the Springboks just shy of the Rugby World Cup commencing in Japan and Joe Schmidt admits that it has put the Ireland camp in an awkward situation.  Jones stepped down as Munster’s attack coach at the end of last season and was quickly snapped up by his former boss Rassie Erasmus who …

If you have been paying attention to the news this week, you would have seen multiple potential for Ireland’s record defeat to England at Twickenham last weekend.  From heavy legs to the first hit out of the season and to a drastic lack of confidence in the squad, supporters and pundits alike have been putting their heads together to figure …

Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt has announced his team for Saturday’s clash with Wales at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff.  Like Warren Gatland, Schmidt has opted to make considerable changes to his team. Up front, there is an all-Munster front-row which consists of Dave Kilcoyne, Niall Scannell and John Ryan. Iain Henderson, who is retained from last weekend’s record defeat …

Conor Murray was one of the injury concerns coming out of Ireland’s record defeat to England at Twickenham on Saturday.  Murray and Cian Healy both left the fray earlier than expected and in the Limerick man’s case, it was getting caught on wrong side of tackling England winger Jonny May which caused the damage. May’s elbow made contact with Murray’s …

A record defeat for Ireland in the Joe Schmidt era resulted in the head coach making himself available to the media on a day which is usually hosted by one of his assistants.  Schmidt’s presence behind the microphones today was significant in that sense as he sought to explain the reasons behind Ireland’s humbling at the hands of Eddie Jones’ …

Generally, on a Tuesday of a Test match, one of Joe Schmidt’s assistant coaches would address the media.  The head coach generally only appears for media duties on team announcement day and directly after games. So it was interesting that Schmidt went against this trend in the immediate aftermath of Ireland’s record defeat to England at Twickenham on Saturday. There …

Ireland need to respond, that much is simple.  The record 57-15 defeat to England at Twickenham on Saturday has raised serious questions about Ireland’s prospects at the World Cup. The players lacked physicality, they defended incredibly poorly, they offered little in attack and their setpiece crumbled under the weight of English pressure. There are a myriad of problems which need …

The biggest talking point of the weekend was England’s demolition job on Ireland at Twickenham on Saturday. That 57-15 defeat for Ireland has raised serious questions about their prospects at the upcoming World Cup. Ireland were shambolic in defence while their set-piece crumbled under the pressure of an excellent England performance. There is no doubt that Joe Schmidt is facing …