Tag Archives: wales rugby

With a summer that yielded three losses out of four, you could forgive Wales head coach Warren Gatland for being a little bit worried heading to the World Cup.  However, like all head coaches, Gatland will be confident that he will have his players primed for their opening match of the World Cup, which in Wales’ case, is a match …

Ireland are the number one side in the world.  Well, that’s according to the official rankings. Ireland’s 19-10 win over Wales at the Aviva Stadium this afternoon has lifted them above New Zealand and into first place for the first time in history. Of course, this comes with a caveat. Ireland are not the best team in the world and …

Sean McMahon reporting from the Aviva Stadium The only blight on what was a very good performance from Ireland in their 19-10 victory over Wales at the Aviva Stadium was a member of the Irish medical staff accompanying Keith Earls from the pitch during the second half.  On 53 minutes, just as Tadhg Furlong scored Ireland’s second try of the …

Ireland 19 Wales 10  Sean McMahon reporting from the Aviva Stadium  It was a day of ‘lasts’ at the Aviva Stadium this afternoon. Last appearance for Rory Best at the Aviva Stadium, last appearance for Joe Schmidt at the Aviva Stadium and most importantly, the last game for Ireland before they open their World Cup campaign on September 22 against …

Ireland and Wales are in the midst of a heated battle at the Aviva Stadium as the two sides round off their summer warm-up series before heading to the World Cup in Japan. Ireland looked the better side throughout the majority of the first half despite, again, losing two of their own lineouts. Rob Kearney opened the scoring for Ireland …

Ireland have named a strong team for the clash with Wales at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday.  The big news is that Johnny Sexton returns to start at out-half in what will be his first appearance of the season. He will partner Conor Murray who makes his first appearance since the heavy loss to England at Twickenham. Ireland Team To …

Wales head coach Warren Gatland has named a very strong side for Saturday’s clash with Ireland at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.  As expected, Gatland has named many of his front-liners in the starting XV which sees Alun Wyn Jones captain the side. Wyn Jones, Elliot Dee and Tomas Francis pack down in the front-row while Jake Ball and Alun …

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 …

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 …

The World Rugby rankings could be set for a major shakeup this weekend as three different teams could overtake the All Blacks as the world’s number one side just a few weeks out from the 2019 Rugby World Cup.  Wales, who had a huge opportunity last weekend to become the number one ranked side if they had beaten England, will …

Eddie Jones has made three changes to the team from Sunday’s win over Wales at Twickenham for the return fixture in Cardiff this weekend.  Saturday’s clash at the Principality Stadium will see an international debut for Bath’s Ruaridh McConnochie as he has been named to start on the right wing. Maro Itoje has been named in the second row where …

Warren Gatland and Wales have received a massive blow with the news that out-half Gareth Anscombe has been ruled out of the 2019 Rugby World Cup.  Anscombe suffered a knee injury in the 34th minute of Wales’ clash with England at Twickenham on Sunday afternoon. It has now been confirmed that the 28-year-old has damaged his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) …

The recent weekend of international rugby has had a major bearing on the latest World Rugby rankings.  The last few days have seen a welcome return to top international rugby as countries around the world prepare for the upcoming 2019 Rugby World Cup. Australia’s emphatic win over the All Blacks in the opening match of this year’s Bledisloe Cup saw …

Wales are going into the 2019 Rugby World Cup in pretty good nick.  Warren Gatland’s side is currently on a 14-match winning streak which coincided with a Grand Slam victory in the Six Nations earlier this year. It all began with a win over Italy in last year’s Six Nations and continued throughout their summer tour, the Autumn internationals and …

Warren Gatland and Wales have received a huge blow with the news that Taulupe Faletau has been ruled out of the 2019 Rugby World Cup.  Faletau suffered an injury to his clavicle (collarbone) in an “innocuous” training ground incident, the Welsh Rugby Union confirmed today. “Taulupe Faletau has been ruled out of Rugby World Cup contention due to a clavicle …