ENGLAND PROP JOE Marler is expected to be available for selection for their Six Nations opener against France on Saturday just four weeks after fracturing his leg. The Harlequins loosehead was expected to be absent for at least five weeks after suffering the injury on 7 January while warming up for an Aviva Premiership game…
Read moreIRFU confirm new Heaslip contract until after 2019 World Cup
THE IRFU HAVE confirmed that Jamie Heaslip has signed a new contract until the end of the 2019 World Cup. The 33-year-old had stated that he would consider all options with his previous contract due to finish this summer, but it is little surprise to see the number eight extend his deal. Heaslip was outstanding…
Read moreHealy and Ryan start as Ireland look to bounce back in Italy
IRELAND HEAD COACH Joe Schmidt has made two changes to his starting team to face Italy on Saturday [KO 2.25pm Irish time], with Donnacha Ryan and Cian Healy coming into the XV. There is one further change to the matchday squad as Craig Gilroy comes onto the bench in place of Tommy Bowe. Healy came…
Read more‘I’m the referee, not your coach’: Italy’s ruck tactic had England perplexed and behind at half-time
EDDIE JONES DEMANDED his players to ‘take Italy to the cleaners’ a fortnight ago, but Conor O’Shea has greatly complicated matters for the reigning Six Nations champions. The Azzurri have employed a two-year-old tactic from the Waikato Chiefs which sees them opt not to engage in certain rucks and so leave them able to operate…
Read moreGeorge North returns as Wales make just one change for Murrayfield trip
WALES WILL WELCOME back George North for their Six Nations match against Scotland at Murrayfield, the Northampton Saints winger replacing Alex Cuthbert in the only change to Rob Howley’s side. North was withdrawn from Wales’ last fixture – an agonising 21-16 loss to England in Cardiff – on the day of the game, having failed to…
Read moreIreland’s Six Nations title hopes sink after frustrating defeat in Cardiff
Wales 22 Ireland 9 Murray Kinsella reports from the Principality Stadium MADNESS WAS PROMISED in Cardiff under the Friday night lights, and Wales and Ireland conspired to deliver a frenetic, chaotic and brutal affair that has almost certainly ended Joe Schmidt’s Six Nations hopes with one round left to play. George North was a key…
Read moreGarryowen tumble down the table as 1A leaders Lansdowne lose
ULSTER BANK LEAGUEDivision 1A round-up Dublin University 9-3 Garryowen College Park Garryowen’s Neil Cronin (file pic). Source: Ryan Byrne/INPHO GARRYOWEN WERE THE big losers in Ulster Bank League Division 1A this weekend, falling from fifth to eighth place courtesy of a 19-3 defeat at Dublin University. Only seven points now cover the bottom six sides…
Read moreWe’ve got the last two tickets around for Ireland v England to give away
IT’S NOT QUITE the Grand Slam decider we may have imagined, but Saturday’s Ireland-England game is still the hottest ticket in town. Joe Schmidt’s side are under pressure to finish a tough campaign with a victory while Eddie Jones will hope to mastermind an historic clean sweep for the second year on the trot. We’ve…
Read moreLeinster and Munster both facing tricky European routes
THERE’S LITTLE DOUBT about the standout tie in the Champions Cup round-of-16 on Easter weekend. Click Here: Luis Suarez Jersey Sale Munster hosting Toulouse at Thomond Park really should involve a sold-out crowd lighting up Limerick but, sadly, it will be behind closed doors instead. Even still, it promises to be a European epic on…
Read more‘I’m impressed by the whole team’: Wasps and Young wary of much-improved Leinster
IT’S ONLY TUESDAY, but already Leinster and Wasps are on the charm offensive ahead of Saturday’s Champions Cup quarter-final at the Aviva Stadium. Both camps have been building each other up over the last few days as we edge closer to the eagerly-anticipated clash, and Dai Young has continued that trend by waxing lyrical about…
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