#Garry Ringrose

Of the 26 titles handed out over the course of the Heineken Champions Cup, 13 of them sit in the bottom half of this season's quarter-final draw. The last eight of this years competition is interestingly split. One one side of the draw you have Racing 92, Sale Sharks, La Rochelle and Montpellier - new money and new challengers. On the bottom half…

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…

Leinster reached their first Heineken Champions Cup final in three years after dethroning Toulouse in a sure-footed 40-17 win at the Aviva Stadium. The defending champions struggled to cope with the pace of the hosts' attack, with James Lowe, the tournament's top-scorer this season, claiming two of their four tries. Leinster recovered from Antoine…

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 -…

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…

Scott Barrett has been replaced at blindside flanker by Akira Ioane, with Tupou Vaa'i moving onto the bench, while Karl Tu'inukuafe replaces prop Aidan Ross on the bench. Barrett is understood to have an Achilles injury which has hampered him all week. Seconds out, round three. After the poor display and historic loss in Dunedin last weekend, the…

Scotland recorded their first win over England in a decade a fortnight ago, Huw Jones' first-half double and a try from Sean Maitland leaving the defending champions reeling. England could not mount a comeback and lost 25-13, only their second defeat since the 2015 Rugby World Cup debacle. The result echoed around Ireland and Joe Schmidt's side…

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…

One of these sides' hopes of a Grand Slam will come to an end on Saturday, as the two bookies' favourites to win the Six Nations go head-to-head in Paris Arguably the two best sides in the Six Nations go head-to-head on Saturday afternoon, as France welcome Ireland to Paris for their second match of the tournament. Both sides harbour hopes not just…

IT IS a top-of-the-table interpro clash in the URC this weekend as Leinster welcome Ulster to the RDS. Leinster are first in the table with a 100% record from eight games while Ulster sits second having won six of their seven games to date. The sides have already met this season with Leo Cullen's men getting the win in Belfast. A victory, coupled…

Ireland have a shot at keeping their Six Nations 2022 title hopes alive when they face Scotland on Super Saturday in Dublin. The permutations for the Irish are simple. Win the game and hope France lose or lose the game and that's the end of the matter. Andy Farrell's side made a meal of their clash with England, who were down a man for 78 minutes…

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…

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…

With the rugby world cup coming up in 2023, many punters will be looking to get their bets in for the winner. There's plenty of odds being offered by the top betting sites right now, so let's take a look at what's available, and what deals are on offer. Who's Most Likely To Win? This is the biggest question that you'll have going into the world cup…

This will be a tightly fought Irish derby in the URC. Ulster are slight favourites and after beating Leinster twice last season, I'm backing the hosts to get this one over the line. Ulster vs Leinster Predictions Head to Head Ulster Form Ulster Injuries & Team News Leinster Form Leinster Injuries & Team News Ulster vs Leinster Live Stream…

1902 total views, 1902 views today Connacht wouldn't have had too much time to enjoy their win against Munster last weekend as preparations for the arrival of Leinster would have dominated the thoughts of coaches and players this week. Arguably the toughest test in the URC but also the greatest win if you can pull it off. The Visitors: Leinster…

Saturday, May 28th. Kick-off is at 4.45pm Irish time (5.45pm local) at the Stade Vélodrome in Marseille. Can I watch? You can indeed. BT Sport as usual has the rights to European matches, but both Virgin Media 2 and Channel 4 always get one free-to-air game a week, and the final is no exception. You can also follow on our liveblog which will get…

The 2022 Six Nations looms in four weeks time. Six storylines are apparent. Five are about the rugby. Take your pick. Parity is the new rarity Five of the teams are capable of winning the tournament. Three (France, England, and Ireland) seem able to win a Grand Slam. Whilst France is the clear favourite of the bookmakers, courtesy of a dream draw…

FULL TIME: Ireland 23 New Zealand 12 A historic day for Irish rugby. Ireland deserved winners as Ta'avao's red card proved costly for the All Blacks. Big heroes across the pitch from Peter O'Mahony to Tadhg Beirne, to two-try hero Andrew Porter. The scoreline could have been more as they executed their game plan perfectly. Read Gerry Thornley's…

We were treated to a stunning spectacle of rugby last weekend which saw all four Southern Hemisphere nations take the chocolates, while France was the only team from up north to collect a win. With several series on the line can England, Ireland or Wales fight their way to victory in Game 2? Read on for all the line-ups and key team news as it…

Are you a big fan of rugby? If the answer is "yes", then we are 100% sure that you are barely waiting for the World Cup to come. In 2023, some of the best teams on the worldwide rugby scene will get the chance to confirm their quality. In most cases, you will hear sports analytics that neither of the teams has some big advantage over the others. We…

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…