IRISH RUGBY IS such a successful entity today that it’s hard for people who’ve grown up in the professional era to imagine a time when the team was anything other than a well-run machine who gave the players every resource to achieve success. Of course things were different in the amateur era as players couldn’t
LEINSTER’S CHAMPIONS CUP quarter-final against Bath at the Aviva Stadium on 4 April will be refereed by Frenchman Jérôme Garcès. The appointment was announced by the EPCR match officials selection committee this afternoon, with Mathieu Raynal and Christophe Berdos to serve as Garcès’ assistant referees, while Eric Guazins will be on television match official duty. Leinster have been
Murray Kinsella reports from Cardiff THE TOUGHEST GAME of Ireland’s Six Nations so far? That seems to be the case, and this is the one we felt would be the stumbling block at the beginning of the championship. Take Wales to Dublin and you might give Ireland seven-point favouritism now, but home advantage makes a
PWInsider reports that WWE has filed a trademark for “Worlds Collide,” listing the term as “Entertainment services, namely, a show about professional wrestling.” Some suspect it is a new show, PPV title, or even a cross over event being planned. It should be noted that “When Worlds Collide” was a WCW pay per view in
ALL BLACKS COACH Steve Hansen has warned rugby union risks becoming “boring” unless steps are taken to make the game more attacking and simplify its bloated rule book. Hansen said defence was dominating the 15-a-side code and detracting from the game as a spectacle. “I don’t think the game’s boring yet but it could go
Source: Cathal Noonan/INPHO LAST SATURDAY PUT us all through the emotional wringer. But those hardy Irish rugby fans who stumped up to go to Edinburgh and witness history first hand were slightly more invested than those of us watching from a safe distance. Take this guy, for instance. Pictured when Yoann Huget decided to toy
LEINSTER VERSUS HARLEQUINS in the 2009 Heineken Cup will be most remembered for ‘Bloodgate,’ but the province’s fans and players know exactly how crucial a turning point that fixture was. Nick Evans missed a late drop goal attempt after coming back on in the ‘Bloodgate’ clash. Source: Billy Stickland/INPHO After years of near misses and
MUNSTER WENT TO Edinburgh last night and delivered a dominant performance like the Irish team did on the Six Nations final day. Truth be told, there wasn’t a whole lot of interesting things to talk about in the aftermath. Sure, Munster won with a bonus point but the home side were so poor that we
OVERSEAS-BASED PLAYERS are now eligible for Wallabies selection after the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) announced a drastic change to its player contracting policy. Players plying their trade abroad will be in contention to represent the side under the new policy — effective immediately — if they have played more than 60 Tests for Australia and have
Click:香港a貨哪裡買 THEY ARE CONSISTENTLY lumped together in the one bracket, most often for the purposes of identifying the likely recruiters for Ireland’s best and brightest rugby players. But in Twickenham this afternoon Clermont and Toulon will be approaching from very different angles. Jono Gibbes talks his pack through the last details in yesterday’s captain’s run.