#Andy Farrell

1 - Who will win the World Cup? On home soil, and with a star-studded squad full of pace and power, there is no doubt that France are the team to beat. However, this looks like being one of the most open World Cups ever, with at least six teams capable of going all the way. Bring it on. 2 - Can Ireland break their glass ceiling? Heart says yes,…

Ireland will look to get back to winning ways in the Guinness Six Nations as they welcome Italy to the Aviva Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Andy Farrell's side saw their Grand Slam hopes go up in smoke in Paris two weeks ago as they were dismantled by a classy French side. Ireland were beaten 30-24 by a powerful French side at Stade De France as,…

Ireland travel to Rome to face Italy in the Six Nations this weekend. This year's tournament has not gone to plan so far for Andy Farrell, with his side losing their opening two games against Wales and France. They face an Italian side who are also winless in the competition after defeats to France and England. Farrell has made seven changes to the…

Lineen played for the Scots from 1989 and 1992, sharing in their 1990 Five Nations grand slam. There has since been a continuous Kiwi influence in the Five Nations/Six Nations since 1994. This year's tournament kicks off this weekend, with seven New Zealand-born players and two Kiwi head coaches involved. Some - notably French prop Uini Atonio -…

The official men's World Rugby rankings have, for some time now, been widely dismissed. Too often the prescriptive modelling does not accurately reflect the true balance of power. At present World Rugby's top fivereads: 1. South Africa (90.61) 2. France (88.88) 3. All Blacks (88.75) 4. Ireland (88.22) 5. England (84.50) This week, following the…

Ireland travel to Paris this Saturday for a daunting clash with France in the Six Nations. ere is everything you need to know about the game: What are the teams? It was confirmed today that Johnny Sexton will miss out after picking up a hamstring injury in training, with Joey Carbery set to make his first Six Nations start. Robbie Henshaw and Iain…

This week we will mostly be concerning ourselves with profligacy, inconsistency, Rugby World Cup qualifying and the narrow sliver of space between the rock and the hard place where rugby now resides… There'll be a more detailed rumination on the Italy farce shortly, but there must be some Irish players mightily relieved that they are not more under…

Ireland travel to Paris for a massive Six Nations showdown with France this weekend that could go a long way to deciding who wins this year's Championship. Andy Farrell's side began their campaign with a 29-7 win over Wales at the Aviva Stadium last week, but know that things will be much tougher in the French capital. They will be without Keith…

Here are your rugby morning headlines for Monday February 28. Nigel Owens has waded into the big England versus Wales try furore and insisted it should have been ruled out by referee Mike Adamson. Alex Dombrandt's decisive score became the main talking point after the game with Wales claiming Adam Beard had been pushed out of the lineout, the…

You normally come away from an opening Six Nations weekend with a pretty good idea what teams you want to keep on side, from a handicap point of view at least, for the rest of the tournament. But, with the exception of England, the performance of the other five countries sent out some very mixed messages indeed. And it would appear that the coaches…

Here are the latest rugby headlines for Tuesday, July 5. Jamie Roberts has rubbished the narrative that Wales have missed their best chance of beating South Africa, and believes they can be even better in Bloemfontein this weekend. Wales lost agonisingly in the dying minutes in Pretoria last weekend, but Roberts saw enough to be encouraged heading…

Leinster will look to start putting their heartbreaking Champions Cup final defeat to La Rochelle behind then with a URC quarter-final at home to Glasgow this weekend. Here's all you need to know about the game. Where and when is it on? The match takes place at the RDS in Dublin and kicks off at 3.15pm on Saturday. What's the team news? Leinster…

Eddie Jones has been keen to manage expectations and play down England's tag as favourites to win the 2020 Six Nations, pointing to how sides have "deteriorated" after playing in a World Cup final, but the state of the teams around England suggest he should be quietly confident. England were some way ahead the other northern-hemisphere sides in…

And although Ireland finished second behind Grand Slam winners France, this campaign only reaffirmed that they are moving in the right direction under head coach Andy Farrell. TALE OF THE CHAMPIONSHIP Ireland demonstrated their title credentials in Round 1 with a comprehensive 29-7 victory over Wales at Dublin's Aviva Stadium. Bundee Aki strolled…

The wait is almost over as this Saturday, the Six Nations returns to our screens and with fan-filled stadiums to boot. After last year's tournament was played behind closed doors, players, coaches and fans will be thrilled that all matches are set to feature no such restrictions after the Welsh government dropped relevant Covid-19 rules in…

IRELAND have secured their first ever win in New Zealand as they overcame a 14-man All Blacks side. Andrew Porter scored an early try for the Irish and their chances have now dramatically improved after Angus Ta'avao was given a red card for a head-on-head collision. Beauden Barrett then scored on the stroke of half time to get the All Blacks back…

Free rugby union tips, best bets and analysis for Saturday's Autumn Nations Cup matches. Channel 4 & Amazon Prime, 3pm Saturday England to win by one to 12 points 1pt 2-1 Betfair England coach Eddie Jones says he has picked "the strongest team possible for the most important game of our season," and his charges may be made to work against an…

AN ILLNESS plagued Ulster return to action this weekend when they face Munster in the United Rugby Championship. The province's clash against the Cell C Sharks was postponed last weekend following an outbreak of gastroenteritis. Here's everything you need to know about the match. Munster vs Ulster takes place on Saturday, October 29 at Thomond…

England star Burgess admits he's doing front-rows an injustice with his current prolific scoring run. Props aren't renowned for try-scoring feats but the big South Sydney forward is in terrific form in this World Cup. "It's four tries in four games - but I'm not really counting," he deadpanned, having only scored four in his previous 25 Tests. "I…

Next weekend, the 2022 edition of European rugby's treasured showpiece begins and there is huge expectation of a classic Six Nations campaign. Sportsmail's panel of experts - columnists Sir Clive Woodward, Danny Cipriani and Andy Nicol, along with former Wales coach and captain Rob Howley and former Ireland full back Geordan Murphy - debate the…

Rugby's Greatest Championship concludes this weekend with'Super Saturday' as Wales host Italy, Scotland head to Ireland and France meet England in Le Crunch. The 2022 Six Nations Championship comes to an end with Round Five this weekend and it's all to play for ahead of Super Saturday. Following our Round Four predictions, we are 10 for 12 in our…

While England's failures this month have been well documented, the other home nations experienced a range of fortunes during the Autumn Nations Series. In the rugby world rankings, European pair Ireland and France have maintained their hold at the summit while New Zealand have jumped South Africa for third. Beyond that, Wales have plummeted from…

IRELAND look to go two-for-two when they face Fiji in their second November international. Andy Farrell's men got their Autumn series underway in sensational style with a 19-16 win over South Africa. Here's everything you need to know about the match. Ireland vs Fiji takes place at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday, November 12. Kick-off will be at 1…

Joey Carbery starts at fly-half for a much-changed Ireland side Free rugby tips, best bets and analysis for Saturday's autumn international between Ireland and Fiji. Amazon Prime, 1pm Saturday Fiji+28 1pt 10-11 Coral, Ladbrokes After coming through a tough workout against world champions South Africa, Ireland take on tier-two opponents in the shape…

Ireland follow up their outstanding win over world champions South Africa by taking on Fiji n an autumn international this weekend. Here's all you need to know about the match. Where and when is it on? Saturday's match takes place at the Aviva Stadium on Lansdowne Road in Dublin with a 1.00pm kick-off. Where can I watch the match? The game will be…

Week two went next level in the drama and force of the north-south conflict. Despite the win-loss count, the south made some ground back. North No. 1 (Ireland) struggled to put an experimental version of South Africa (south No. 2) away, their attack stymied and depending on marginal passes, looking spent in the last ten minutes and like the final…

Connacht have Welsh visitors this weekend with Scarlets in town. Here's all you need to know about the game. Where and when is it on? The match takes place at the Sportsgorund in Galway and kicks off at 7.35pm on Friday. What's the team news? Connacht have made six changes from last week's side, with Denis Buckley, Leva Fifita, Conor Oliver, Kieran…

The annual Autumn Internationals rugby carnival is underway, with England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland to be tested by the best the southern hemisphere has to offer. New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and Argentina are all in action over a five-week period, which began with Scotland's narrow defeat to Australia at Murrayfield last…

Ireland skipper Johnny Sexton kept New Zealand at bay with his kicking game in Dunedin Free rugby union tips, best bets and analysis for Saturday's third Test between New Zealand and Ireland at Sky Stadium, Wellington. Sky Sports Main Event & Action, 8.05am Saturday Ireland+10.5 2pts 8-11 bet365 New Zealand rugby is still reeling after the All…

Ireland take on world champions South Africa in an autumn international this weekend. Here's all you need to know about the match. Where and when is it on? Saturday's match takes place at the Aviva Stadium on Lansdowne Road in Dublin with a 5.30pm kick-off. Where can I watch the match? The game will be shown live on Virgin Media Two with coverage…

If you're Irish, I bet you are thinking that the results are already in for the Rugby World Cup 2023, given the form of the Irish in 2022. Only Les Blues could beat the Irish in the 2022 Six Nations which saw the Irish take second place. The 2022 Summer Internationals saw the Irish go down to the Maori All Blacks in their warm-up game 32-17. This…

Hardcore rugby fans the world over will be licking their lips as the armada of Southern Hemisphere giants steams north to take on the old world powers of the Six Nations. New Zealand laid down a statement of intent last weekend when they stopped off in Washington DC to cuff around a callow United States Eagles team, shorn of their more experienced…

The Autumn Nations Series is set to begin, where the best teams in the world are primed to face off in what will almost definitely be a thrilling month of action. There are a variety of intriguing subplots and this delves into the big talking points ahead of the action starting. Just under four points separates the top five teams in the…

Ireland's Jonny Sexton of Ireland should see plenty of action in the second half Free rugby tips, best bets and analysis for Ireland v Italy in the Six Nations. ITV & Virgin Media One, 3pm Sunday Ireland -38 2pts Evs bet365 When Italy famously beat Ireland in Rome in the 2013 Six Nations, it was to prove a turning point, but not the sort that the…

Last year's Six Nations was the perfect illustration of just how tight the tournament is and how fine the margins are. Winners Wales were sent off 16-1 shots after a poor 2020 campaign, 6-5 favourites England finished fifth, while the three teams who finished between the pair ended up with identical records of three wins and two defeats. Of the ten…

There was a lost to take in during game week one where we got plenty of questions answered but a few new ones opened up. What next for England after their defeat? Can Scotland challenge for the title? Will anybody be able to stop France this year? Here are six talking points from the opening weekend of the 2022 Six Nations Championship: Paolo…

New Zealand could not cope with the precision and accuracy of Ireland's phase-play Clearly, courage is a fairly valuable attribute in rugby union. But, to cite Commodus, the villain of Ridley Scott's epic film'Gladiator', played wonderfully by Joaquin Phoenix, there are many forms of courage. The C-word was obviously an in-house theme of Ireland's…