#James Ryan

Ireland kept their Six Nations titles hopes alive with a bonus point victory over a 14-man England at Twickenham. The home side had to play nearly all of the match a man down after Charlie Ewels saw red for a high tackle that saw James Ryan leave the field. Ireland were quick to take advantage of the extra man. In the the sixth minute an…

Ospreys' Wales quartet Adam Beard, Alex Cuthbert, Rhys Webb and Jac Morgan will miss the visit of United Rugby Championship (URC) leaders Leinster. Head coach Toby Booth has made eight personnel changes from the side that defeated Cardiff. Ireland captain Johnny Sexton is missing through injury with flanker Rhys Ruddock leading Leinster. World…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

reland face France in a meeting of the teams considered the top two contenders to win this year's Six Nations after impressive opening wins. France overwhelmed Italy 37-10 and Ireland beat champions Wales 29-7. Ireland travel to Paris without their captain Johnny Sexton he strained a hamstring in training. Without Sexton, the Irish will be seeking…

reland will be expected to brush aside Italy when the two sides clash in the Six Nations in Dublin this afternoon. Andy Farrell's hosts are hoping to keep their championship hopes alive after suffering a potentially crucial defeat to France last time out. Ireland more than played their part in a thrilling tussle in Paris in round two with tries…

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 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…

Ireland kept their hopes of a Six Nations title alive as they finally saw off a valiant, spirited England who played 78 minutes with 14 men after Charlie Ewels' red card. Ewels was dismissed with just 82 seconds on the clock after clashing heads with James Ryan in an attempted tackle. Ireland, the pre-match favourites, seemed set for a procession.…

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…

The Champions Cup gets under way this weekend, with the competition continuing with the format it adopted last year due to Covid. In this format, there are 24 teams in the competition split into two pools. Each team plays two sides, home and away, from their side of the draw. The top 16 sides, eight from each pool, will progress into the round of…

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…

It's a URC interpro this weekend as Leinster travel north to visit Ulster. Here's all you need to know about the game. Where and when is it on? The match takes place at the Kingspan Stadium in Belfast and kicks off at 7.35pm on Friday. What's the team news? We'll bring you confirmed team news from both camps on Independent.ie when we have it but…

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…

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…