CONNACHT BOSS ANDY Friend says the province still have three new signings to announce for next season, including a non-Irish-qualified [NIQ] player. The western province’s season ended on Saturday as they lost to Ulster in the Guinness Pro14 quarter-finals. It has been a positive campaign overall for Friend’s side, however, with a return to the…
Vunipola suffers ‘significant’ hamstring injury, but ‘won’t be out of World Cup’
MAKO VUNIPOLA WILL miss the climax to Saracens’ pursuit of the double after being ruled out for the rest of the season with a “significant” hamstring injury, the club’s director of rugby Mark McCall said on Thursday. Vunipola lasted just half an hour of the Champions Cup final victory over Leinster on Saturday before being…
‘We haven’t come this far to only come this far’ – MU Barnhall on the rise
IT WAS NO surprise that MU Barnhall featured prominently in the All-Ireland League Awards last week, with Adrian Flavin named AIL Coach of the Year after guiding the club to promotion from Division 2B with a stunning 18 wins from 18 games. Second row Brendan McSorley, an Ireland Students international, also picked up the Division 2B Rising…
Leinster bounce back from ‘lowest point in all of our careers’ to win Pro14
Murray Kinsella reports from Glasgow FROM DEVASTATION TO delight. Last night’s Guinness Pro14 title, the province’s sixth, won’t completely extinguish the memories of Leinster’s defeat in the Champions Cup final to Saracens a fortnight ago, but it did mean they ended their 2018/19 season with a trophy. Jack Conan kisses James Lowe. Source: Billy Stickland/INPHO…
‘Our goal is to get a Tier 2 nation into the World Cup quarter-finals’
WHEN FIJI BEAT France in Paris last November – their first-ever win against les Bleus and arguably their best result in Test rugby – scrum-half Frank Lomani was one of the stars of the show. Rewind to March of last year and Lomani was standing out as the best player at the Pacific Combine, a week-long camp…
No way I’ll coach England: Gatland eyeing Super Rugby gig after Lions tour to South Africa
WARREN GATLAND HAS ‘definitively’ ruled himself out of contention to replace Eddie Jones in the England hot-seat, and says his preference would be to take up a role in Super Rugby following the 2021 Lions tour. Gatland will depart Wales following the Rugby World Cup this year and then lead the Barbarians against the Welsh…
England defence coach a contender to succeed Jones as he signs new contract
ENGLAND DEFENCE COACH John Mitchell has extended his contract until 2021 and Eddie Jones intends to stay on as head coach for another two years. Mitchell was appointed by Jones last September after the Rugby Football Union (RFU) agreed a compensation package with Super Rugby franchise the Bulls. Click Here: Military Working Dogs Stamps 2019…
O’Gara leads the tributes as Racing 92 pay their respects to Anthony Foley
MUNSTER HAVE RETURNED to Paris this afternoon for the first time since the untimely death of their head coach Anthony Foley on 16 October. Foley passed away on the morning of what was due to be their opening fixture in this season’s European Champions Cup against Racing 92. The game was rescheduled for this afternoon…
Munster crush Racing to move to top of Pool 1 on return to Paris
Racing 7 Munster 32 Murray Kinsella reports from Stade Yves du Manoir IT WAS A strange experience for Munster returning to Paris just over 11 weeks after Anthony Foley’s death, but they delivered an efficient and ruthless performance to pay tribute to ‘Axel’ and moved to the top of Pool 1 of the Champions Cup…
Mulhall returns to captain experienced Ireland Women’s side for 7s Grand Prix
IRELAND WOMEN ARE next onto the Olympic qualification path as they head for the first leg of the Rugby Europe Grand Prix in Marcoussis. The tournament doubles as the seeding round for the European Olympic Qualifier which will take place in Kazan on 13-14 July. Captain Lucy Mulhall returns to lead an experienced group hoping…