RONAN O’GARA HAS confirmed he is considering a prominent coaching offer from Top14 side La Rochelle amid French media reports the club want him as their next backs coach. O’Gara, presently employed as backs coach of Super Rugby champions Crusaders, told Off the Ball that he is weighing up a number of coaching opportunities –
ALLOWING FOR THE expected physical and mental scars from the bitter disappointment of Saturday, Leinster have reported a relatively clean bill of health ahead of their Guinness Pro14 semi-final against Munster. Leo Cullen’s players reconvened at their UCD base this afternoon as a disconsolate squad bid to pick themselves back up from their first European
GLOUCESTER OUT-HALF DANNY Cipriani was named English Premiership player of the season on Wednesday, becoming just the second player after Jimmy Gopperth to land the prestigious prize in the same year as winning the Rugby Players’ Association Player of the Year title. The 31-year-old has played a key role in Gloucester’s qualification for the Premiership
DAN MCFARLAND WAS quite a late addition to the Ulster backroom before the season kicked off as contract wrangling kept him tied up with the Scottish Rugby Union until August. However, once in situ, he made his overriding message crystal clear to an Ulster squad emerging from arguably the lowest ebb in the province’s professional
EX-WASPS AND England rugby player Christian Wade enjoyed a stunning start to his NFL career, scoring a 65-yard touchdown with his first touch in a pre-season game for the Buffalo Bills. Wade, who left a rugby union career behind him last year to focus on forging a career in American Football, is battling to win
THE IRFU HAS confirmed that Ireland Women will play two November Tests as part of a 13-month “integrated season plan” to prepare them for the crucial Women’s Rugby World Cup Qualifiers in September 2020. The 13-month schedule also includes an extended five-week Women’s Inter-Provincial Championship, which begins next month. Ireland Women have a busy 13 months
YOU MIGHT REMEMBER that there was lots of chatter around the impression Dave Kearney was making in Ireland training leading into the 2015 World Cup. The Leinster man was said to be tearing up trees as he made a surge for a place in Joe Schmidt’s starting team and the talk proved to be wise
BY USING ALL 29 of his extended matchday squad on Saturday afternoon, Leo Cullen afforded himself the opportunity to cast his eye over a number of players operating at senior level for the first time, including tighthead prop Roman Salanoa. A former high school American football player from Hawaii, Salanoa has been with Leinster since
MUNSTER WILL BE without Darren Sweetnam and Andrew Conway when they take on Connacht at the Sportsground on Saturday evening. Both players require the consultation of specialists after sustaining injuries during Munster’s St Stephen’s Day victory over Leinster at Thomond Park. Sweetnam picked up a knee injury just before half-time, which is understood to have
MANY PEOPLE IN rugby are expecting a rash of yellow cards this weekend, and perhaps even a few reds thrown into the mix. World Rugby’s redefined illegal high tackle categories and increased sanctions came into effect on Tuesday, effectively meaning that any high tackles – even if accidental – will be more severely punished. This kind