Tag Archives: Rugby

Gordon D’Arcy believes Conor Murray will need to stamp his authority in their Heineken Champions Cup semi-final against Saracens in order to fill the void left by Joey Carbery. Carbery has been deemed as “highly unlikely” to start the game after being withdrawn during their quarter-final win over Edinburgh after 36 minutes with the hamstring injury that prematurely ended his …

Ireland and Ulster captain, Rory Best, has confirmed that he will retire from rugby following the World Cup in October.  Best is Ulster’s most-capped international with 116 appearances (10 tries) and has helped Ireland win the Six Nations Championship on four occasions, including two Grand Slam successes (one as captain). He made his competitive debut for Ulster in 2004 and …

Former Leinster and Ireland rugby player, Gordon D’Arcy, believes anyone who wants to participate in sport must accept and live by approved societal norms. His comments come as Rugby Australia announced the termination of Israel Folau’s contract due to a “high level” breach of the professional players’ code of conduct, while stating that he had ignored formal instruction not to …

Nigel Owens has opened up on his powerful story about discovering his sexuality and the struggles he had with his mental health as a result. The highly respected rugby referee, who came out as gay in 2007, was speaking on the Jim White show on TalkSPORT, about the recent controversies surrounding Israel Folau’s anti-gay Instagram post which was ‘liked’ and …

Munster head coach, Johann van Graan, has refused to rule out the possibility of Ronan O’Gara and Paul O’Connell joining his coaching ticket at the province in the near future. The South African signed a contract extension with the province last week that will see him remain in his post until 2022, however, he has indicated that he may look …

Saracens and England player, Billy Vunipola, has addressed the recent controversy over his social media post defending the views of Australia’s Israel Folau. Last week, the 26-year-old ‘liked’ Folau’s Instagram post in which he warned gays, drunks, and adulterers, among others, that ‘hell awaits them’. Vunipola then took to Instagram to defend his actions, explaining that it was the point …

Controversial Australian rugby player, Israel Folau, has said that the outraged response to his recent social media post has not made him change his stance.  In a post on Instagram last week, the 30-year-old warned drunks, homosexuals, adulterers, liars, fornicators, thieves, atheists and idolators, that hell awaits them. Rugby Australia soon released a statement saying that they intend to terminate …

Connacht 29 Cardiff Blues 22 Connacht have secured their place in the Guinness PRO14 play-offs with a seven-point win over Cardiff Blues in the Sportsground this afternoon.  First half-tries from Caolin Blade and Gavin Thornbury saw the home side seven points ahead at the break but it wasn’t until Matt Healy crossed for an opportunistic try that a win looked …

Benetton 28 Munster 37 Munster continued their hunt for the top spot in Conference B with a hard-fought win over Benetton in Italy this evening.  Seventeen points from the boot of JJ Hanrahan, as well as tries from Rhys Marshall, Dan Goggin, Shane Daly and Alby Mathewson, saw Johann van Graan’s men eventually secure the win following a topsy-turvy beginning …

Munster player, Sam Arnold, has urged people to give blood, revealing that his sister receives regular donations for a rare genetic disorder.  According to the Irish Blood Transfusion Service, only three percent of eligible Irish people give blood while 3,000 blood donors are required every week in this country. The Munster centre revealed that his sister has needed blood donations …

Saracens have responded to social media posts by their England international, Billy Vunipola, in which he defended Israel Folau following his homophobic Instagram post. Vunipola “liked” Folau’s initial post which was captioned, “those that are living in Sin will end up in Hell unless you repent. Jesus Christ loves you and is giving you time to turn away from your …

New Zealand flanker, Sam Cane, has been cleared for contact training six months after suffering a broken neck during their narrow win over South Africa. The 27-year-old underwent surgery after he sustained a small fracture in a vertebra on the lower right side of his neck in the 32-30 win in Pretoria last October but has been involved in light …

Captain, Rory Best, has praised Ulster’s signing of “world class” player, Jack McGrath who will join from Leinster at the end of the season.  The 29-year-old has won 54 caps for Ireland to date and featured in all three Tests on the 2017 British and Irish Lions Tour of New Zealand. Having fallen down the pecking order in Leinster, McGrath …

Connacht are back in PRO14 action this weekend following their exit for the Heineken Challenge Cup at the hands of Sale Sharks, and head coach, Andy Friend, has named a strong team to face Zebre. Jack Carty has recovered from the arm injury that forced him off the field during last week’s 20-10 loss in the AJ Bell Stadium and …

Edinburgh 13 Munster 17 Munster are through to the Heineken Champions Cup semi-final following a hard-fought win over Edinburgh in BT Murrayfield this afternoon.  It was a Munster display littered with mistakes and despite Edinburgh’s dominance, Richard Cockerill’s side were left to rue early opportunities that they turned down as a 72nd minute try for Keith Earls, his second, secured …

Donnacha Ryan is more than settled into life in Paris at this stage. He has almost mastered the language, though his accent is still “appalling”, his daughter has just turned one and he is enjoying his rugby as much as ever.  While the move of Simon Zebo to Racing 92 has brought with it another level of comfort for the …

Munster fly-half, Joey Carbery says he is “delighted” to have signed a new two-year deal that will see him remain with the province until 2022.  The 23-year-old made the move to Munster from provincial rivals, Leinster, last summer, initially agreeing to stay until the end of the 2020 season. Carbery became an immediate favourite with the fans with a string …