Category Archives: Rugby Opinion

O’Connor favourite to succeed Schmidt

Posted on April 28, 2013 by

Leicester Tigers coach Matt O’Connor is now favourite to succeed Joe Schmidt in Leinster. Schmidt’s move to Lansdowne Road will be confirmed by the IRFU tomorrow, and O’Connor is in pole position to take over in time for pre-season training … Continue reading →

Posted in Australia, IRFU, Irish Rugby, Leinster Rugby, Rugby, Rugby News, Rugby Opinion, Sports Comment | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Lions to kick off in Ireland

Posted on April 26, 2013 by

  Punters in Ireland will be able to get a close-up look at the Lions before they head Down Under thanks to Carton House being chosen for the pre-tour camp.   The tourists will begin arriving in Kildare on 19 … Continue reading →

Posted in Australia, Brendan Fanning, British and Irish Lions, Irish Rugby, Leinster Rugby, Munster Rugby, Rugby News, Rugby Opinion, Sports Comment | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Flawed system allows O’Connell to walk

Posted on April 15, 2013 by

I began to fear the worst on the Dave Kearney concussion incident when someone with much better technology than me made reference yesterday to Paul O’Connell’s shin. Not that he was hugely relieved that the tibia was still in one … Continue reading →

Posted in Brendan Fanning, Concussion, Heineken Cup, IRB, IRFU, Irish Rugby, Leinster Rugby, Munster, Munster Rugby, Refereeing, Rugby Opinion, Sports Comment | Tagged , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

O’Driscoll Open to One More Season

Posted on April 10, 2013 by

Brian O’Driscoll may well continue with Leinster and Ireland for another season, despite widespread opinion that the Lions tour to Australia is shaping up as his last act on a rugby field. I understand from sources close to the former … Continue reading →

Posted in Australia, British and Irish Lions, Concussion, IRFU, Irish Rugby, Leinster Rugby, Rugby, Rugby News, Rugby Opinion, Sports Comment | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Shorts

Posted on March 27, 2013 by

NEXT STEP FOR KIDNEY Just as one door is about to close, another one opens. And the good news for Declan Kidney is that his next gig may be a 10 minute spin from his gaff in Ballincollig. UCC, where … Continue reading →

Posted in Rugby, Irish Rugby, Rugby News, Leinster Rugby, Rugby Opinion, Melbourne Rebels, Sports Comment, Australia, Queensland rugby, British and Irish Lions, IRFU | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Kidney call puts him in make or break territory

Posted on February 20, 2013 by

  We used to look at the decision in 2008 to run with Denis Hurley and Tomas O’Leary ahead of Shaun Payne and Peter Stringer for Munster as the high water mark for Declan Kidney’s capacity to surprise. And then … Continue reading →

Posted in Brendan Fanning, IRFU, Irish Rugby, Leinster Rugby, Munster, Munster Rugby, Rugby, Rugby News, Rugby Opinion, Scottish rugby, Six Nations, Sports Comment, Ulster, Ulster Rugby | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Healy lumbered with extra helpings

Posted on February 13, 2013 by

Question: when is a three week ban not a three week ban? Answer: Eh, when it includes a week where the guilty party is not likely to be active. In which case it becomes, effectively, a four week ban. And … Continue reading →

Posted in Brendan Fanning, British and Irish Lions, IRB, IRFU, Irish Rugby, Leinster Rugby, Refereeing, Rugby, Rugby News, Rugby Opinion, Six Nations, Sports Comment | Tagged | 1 Comment

Healy not looking at lengthy sentence

Posted on February 12, 2013 by

One thing we’ve learned from ugly optics on the rugby field is that what you see is not always what you get. So the seemingly awful stamp of Cian Healy on the ankle of Dan Cole was actually not as … Continue reading →

Posted in Brendan Fanning, British and Irish Lions, IRB, IRFU, Irish Rugby, Leinster Rugby, Munster, Munster Rugby, Refereeing, RFU, Rugby, Rugby News, Rugby Opinion, Sports Comment, Ulster, Ulster Rugby | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

IRFU’s succession strategy unofficially Mullered

Posted on February 5, 2013 by

If you’re confused by the announcement earlier today that Ulster have retained the services of Johann Muller then you are not alone. You thought that under the IRFU’s ethnic cleansing programme the NIEs (Non Ireland Eligible) had to move on … Continue reading →

Posted in IRFU, Leinster Rugby, Rugby Opinion | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Good day’s work for IRFU and RTE

Posted on January 31, 2013 by

Choppy waters these days for the IRFU bean counters, but this morning’s shift in the tv landscape will smooth things out for a while. And RTE are breathing a little easier as well. The rights deal that sees Ireland’s November … Continue reading →

Posted in Autumn Internationals, Brendan Fanning, IRB, IRFU, Irish Rugby, Italy rugby, Rugby, Rugby News, Rugby Opinion, Rugby World Cup, Scottish rugby, Sports Comment, Wales | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments