EXETER CHIEFS PRODUCED a rip-roaring second-half display to keep their 100 per cent record intact and go top of the Premiership table with a 39-24 bonus-point win at Bath on Friday. The Chiefs — who welcome Munster to Sandy Park in the Heineken Champions Cup opener next Saturday — arrived at the Rec with five […]
WITH EIGHT EUROPEAN titles evenly divided between them, there is no doubt that Toulouse and Leinster have looked across at one another with admiring glances. Yet while they are peers at the top of the Heineken Champions Cup honour roll, the overlapping time of their superpower eras was brief. “I have nightmares of that game,” […]
MUNSTER AND IRELAND wing Keith Earls has agreed a new two-year central contract with the IRFU, which will keep him on these shores until 2021. Despite being afflicted with unfortunate injuries at various stages of his career, the Grand Slam-winner has scored 27 tries in 70 international caps. The 31-year-old is fourth on Ireland’s all-time […]
JOE SCHMIDT HAS come across as very relaxed in his dealings with the media in recent weeks, giving off the air of someone who has come to a big decision and is at ease with the call they’ve made. We don’t know for sure whether that means Schmidt will stay with Ireland after the 2019 […]
Murray Kinsella reports from Chicago IRELAND FLY HOME from the Windy City in two groups today and there are likely to be mixed feelings about the past week en route to Dublin. For some – Jordan Larmour, take a bow – it was a brilliant experience but others struggled to stand out as they were […]
IRELAND DEFENCE COACH Andy Farrell refused to be drawn on comments from IRFU chief executive Philip Browne suggesting he would be ‘more than capable’ of succeeding Joe Schmidt. The Kiwi will announce if he’ll sign a new contract with the IRFU beyond next year’s World Cup at the end of the current November series, with […]
IT WAS TADHG Furlong’s birthday yesterday and although he had a quiet day at home, he was hoping for a little surprise when he got back to Ireland’s team hotel last night. Wednesdays are down days for Ireland during these big Test windows, meaning players can head home on a Tuesday night and get some […]
MANU TUILAGI MOVED closer to a long-awaited Test comeback after being named on the bench for England’s concluding November international at Twickenham against Australia. Also among the replacements was England co-captain Dylan Hartley — the first time the hooker has been left out of the starting XV by England coach Eddie Jones when available against […]
CONOR MURRAY IS set to make his long-awaited return after being named on the bench for Munster’s trip to Zebre this Sunday [KO 3.30pm, eir Sport]. The Ireland scrum-half hasn’t featured at all for province or country since the tour of Australia this summer, citing a neck injury for keeping him on the sidelines. Click […]
WHEN CONNACHT DEFENCE coach Peter Wilkins is speaking about his area of expertise, he continually comes back to the “behavioural” element of it. Wilkins, an Englishman who broke into top-level coaching in Australia and came to Connacht via a two-year stint with Edinburgh, is passionate about his craft and the western province have been benefitting […]