#Jamison Gibson Park

It's been a year when disciplinary decisions have been in the spotlight like never before. We've had the Joe Marler gypsy-boy row, Argentine assaults, a vicious hit on a female referee and a suspension following a bizarre incident in an airport toilet cubicle! Rugby correspondent Simon Thomas looks back on these and the players who picked up bans…

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…

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,…

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…

It is 67 years since a Wales team travelled to Colombes on the north-west edge of Paris and denied the hosts a Grand Slam. Since then, on four occasions when the Grand Slam has been on the line on home turf, France have converted their chance to win the clean sweep. England will have to overturn recent form as well as decades-old history to win on…

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 -…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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 take on South Africa in heavyweight rugby clash today, pitting the No1 side in the world and the reigning World Cup holders. It is the first of Andy Farrell's side's November internationals, which will also see them face Fiji and Australia. Here's everything you need to know about the match. Ireland vs South Africa takes place this evening…

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 spring-autumn tours ignite in earnest this week as the unlucky Scots accept a different challenge from Fiji, the perpetually dinged up Welsh host presumably fired up New Zealand, the confident Irish clad in blue welcome swaggering South Africa in green, the highly touted French invite the Wallabies to a late night rugby discotheque and the…

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…

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…

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…