IT’S EASY TO forget how far Rory O’Loughlin has come in a relatively short period of time. In a season of breakthroughs and outstanding performances at Leinster, his rise has been the story of the year. As O’Loughlin presents himself for media duty at the province’s UCD headquarters, he does so in a hoody with…

Conor Murray tackled by Josh Strauss last weekend. Source: Dan Sheridan/INPHO CONOR MURRAY HAS turned the heat ahead of Ireland’s Six Nations opener against Scotland by claiming that Glasgow Warriors deliberately targeted him last weekend. And the Irish scrum-half said he is lucky not to have suffered a serious injury after, he says, Glasgow targeted…

CONNACHT CAPTAIN JOHN Muldoon says he is ‘honoured’ to sign on for a 15th year with the province and that his experience will be crucial at the Sportsground next year after Pat Lam’s departure. Yesterday Connacht announced that Muldoon had signed a new one-year contract extension at the Sportsground, but he says Lam’s decision to…

CONNACHT SECOND ROW Ben Marshall has retired from professional rugby on medical advice after suffering a concussion-related injury. Marshall played just five times for Connacht. Source: Ryan Byrne/INPHO The 26-year-old has been out of action all season and the Guinness Pro12 champions confirmed the unfortunate news this afternoon. Marshall joined Connacht at the start of…

WHILE IRELAND AND their supporters will be confident that Paddy Jackson is more than capable of doing a fine job at Murrayfield on Saturday, Scotland will have been encouraged by news that Johnny Sexton has been ruled out of the Six Nations clash. The Leinster out-half’s calf issue continues to bother him and Ireland say…

Updated 18.45 THIS THIRD ARTICLE in our series on mental skills is focused on Strength-Based Thinking (SBT) and how to apply it in sports and other areas of life or performance. Read the first two articles in this series here.  In basic terms, SBT involves reminding yourself, in particular your brain/mind, of the various aspects…

Roger Federer celebrates after beating Rafael Nadal in an incredible Australian Open final Source: Aaron Favila Slaughtneil players celebrate at the final whistle of their All-Ireland semi-final Source: Donall Farmer/INPHO England head coach Eddie Jones wasn’t in the best of shape at the RBS 6 Nations Media launch Source: PA Wire/PA Images Carl Frampton dejected…

JORDAN LARMOUR ISN’T the type of guy who lacks confidence, particularly on a rugby pitch, but this is all new territory for him; the cameras, the questions and the glare of publicity. ‘This is my first one,’ he announces upon his arrival for media duty in the hotel lobby. In the limelight: Ireland U20 winger…

Murray Kinsella reports from Stadio Olimpico ALL VERY RELAXED in Rome, but then how could it not be with clear skies and a soul-warming sun sitting over the Italian capital. Conor O’Shea gathers his team around him and delivers a speech containing an impressive amount of Italian, as well as a few key messages in…

IT COULD HAVE been worse. Ireland false-started this year’s Six Nations, conceding three tries in the opening 30 minutes of the tournament. But they could have thrown in the towel, failed to respond by re-taking the lead or let Scotland kill them off, score a fourth try and put five points between the sides on…