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Mack Hansen dejected after the game 21/12/2024
Mack Hansen: 'It's bullshit and it's starting to get really frustrating"
Connacht were edged out by Leinster at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday night. 

Sat, 21 Dec, 2024

Jordie Barrett is tackled by Sean Jansen 21/12/2024
Imperfect Leinster make it a perfect 10 with defeat of Connacht
It's Munster next up for Leo Cullen's side.

Sat, 21 Dec, 2024

Ulster v Munster - United Rugby Championship
Ian Costello hails Tom Farrell’s hat-trick heroics on a mixed night for Munster 
“Loads to concern ourselves with around the performance to improve on, but loads to love about the character, the belief in the squad to score some cracking tries."

Sat, 21 Dec, 2024

Ross Byrne 17/12/2024
Opportunity knocks for Byrne brothers as Leinster ring the changes
Both Ross and Harry have been bumped down the pecking order with the rocketlike rise of Sam Prendergast.

Sat, 21 Dec, 2024

Ulster v Munster - United Rugby Championship
Niall Scannell praises Munster's character after hard-fought win over Ulster
Scannell also singled out man of the match and hat-trick hero Tom Farrell for particular praise.

Fri, 20 Dec, 2024

Tadhg Beirne leads his team through the team tunnel dejected after the game 13/12/2024
S Ronan O'Gara: Munster's snakes and ladders isn't my game now, but . . .
Massive frustration at the issues and standards and culture that has seen the former European champions tumble backwards so far into the pack that they are no longer distinguishable, even in Europe, once their crucible

Fri, 20 Dec, 2024

Ulster v Munster - United Rugby Championship
Tom Farrell hat-trick gets Munster victory over 14-man Ulster
Ulster’s cause was not helped by a first-half red card for Ireland prop Tom O’Toole and head coach Richie Murphy lost backs Zac Ward and Stuart McCloskey to injuries before half-time

Fri, 20 Dec, 2024

Japan v Russia - Pool A - 2019 Rugby World Cup - Tokyo Stadium
Bill Beaumont named interim chairman at RFU as Tom Ilube resigns amid scandal
Ilube stepped down on Friday morning in response to the outcry over the executives’ pay and bonus scandal.

Fri, 20 Dec, 2024

Wales v South Africa - Autumn International - Principality Stadium
Warren Gatland to stay as Wales coach but must ‘change fortunes on the pitch’
Gatland’s position has been under intense scrutiny after a dire autumn.

Fri, 20 Dec, 2024

Mack Hansen 10/12/2024
Aki, Hansen and Bealham start for Connacht as Leinster shuffle pack 
For Leinster, head coach Leo Cullen has named five academy players in his starting 15. 

Fri, 20 Dec, 2024

Ireland Women's Rugby Squad Training
Clovers and Wolfhounds name teams for Celtic Challenge
Enya Breen will captain the Clovers while Claire Boles captains the Wolfhounds.

Fri, 20 Dec, 2024

Tom Ilube handout photo
Tom Ilube resigns as RFU chairman amid pay controversy
Sir Bill Beaumont could reportedly fill the role on an interim basis.

Fri, 20 Dec, 2024

Shane Daly 17/12/2024
Safety first but Daly determined to string Munster run together
The winger was left out of the Castres game last week after shipping a heavy head knock.

Fri, 20 Dec, 2024

Kieran Reid 19/12/2024
Read impressed that Barrett chose Leinster over 'free ride' in Japan
Kieran Read's old teammate Jordie Barrett has hit the ground running on his arrival at Leinster.

Fri, 20 Dec, 2024

Just Eat Leinster Rugby Partnership Announcement
Tommy O'Brien: 'Definitely my patience has been tested the most in Irish rugby'
"Fingers crossed, I’ve got my injury out of the way for the year early and get a good run at it now for the next six months.” 

Fri, 20 Dec, 2024

Tom O'Toole dejected after the game 8/12/2024
O'Toole targets 'huge' provincial win over Munster
The 26-year-old tighthead is determined to put an end to Ulster’s recent four game losing streak in all competitions.

Fri, 20 Dec, 2024

Paul Boyle 17/12/2024
Paul Boyle: 'The thing that incentivises me about playing Leinster is that I'm yet to beat them'
Wexford's Paul Boyle is already Connacht's top-scoring forward after 100 appearances for the province

Fri, 20 Dec, 2024

Mossy Lawler 17/12/2024
Mossy Lawler: 'We have to be at our best defensively, and making sure that we're disciplined'
"It's a huge challenge, Ravenhill is a great place to go and play, and it's an Irish derby."

Fri, 20 Dec, 2024

World Rugby Media Conference - Rugby World Cup France 2023
Bill Beaumont could take over as RFU chair with Ilube on brink over pay row
Grassroots rebellion set to force vote of no confidence

Thu, 19 Dec, 2024

Gavin Coombes 17/12/2024
Coombes and Daly return as Munster ring the changes for Ulster clash 
Peter O’Mahony (calf) and Diarmuid Barron (shoulder) are unavailable due to the knocks they picked up in Castres.

Thu, 19 Dec, 2024

Ulster v Leinster - United Rugby Championship
Michael Lowry hoping to get Ulster back to winning ways against Munster
“This is a great opportunity and another huge test in the league with a point between us."

Thu, 19 Dec, 2024

Leinster Rugby Squad Training
Taste of Irish involvement has Boyle hungry for more
Jack Boyle started in Leinster’s United Rugby Championship triumph over Connacht in Galway on October 19 and was subsequently selected as a training panellist in the Ireland camp for last month’s Autumn Nations Series. 

Thu, 19 Dec, 2024

Munster Rugby Squad Training
Munster's Fineen Wycherley relishing chance to lock lineout horns with Ulster
“So we’ve looked at what they might do but we've really focused on getting the max out of our stuff, and we feel like that if we get the max of our stuff that'd be good enough to beat their defence."

Thu, 19 Dec, 2024

Paddy Patterson, Shane Daly and Gavin Coombes arrive for training 10/12/2024
'We need to keep our big players fresh' - Lawler defends Munster's rotation policy
Both back-rower Coombes and back-three player Shane Daly sat out last Friday’s Champions Cup narrow pool loss at Castres.

Thu, 19 Dec, 2024

Ben Carson scores a try 29/11/2024
Ben Carson pens new three-year deal with Ulster
Carson has added seven caps to day notably scoring a brace of tries against Leinster in the Kingspan Stadium last month.

Wed, 18 Dec, 2024

Donal Lenihan on 'Unbreakable': We laughed at old times, secretly relieved we could all still do so
S Donal Lenihan on 'Unbreakable': We laughed at old times, secretly relieved we could all still do so
Watching the documentary on England's 2003 World Cup winners proved a fairly harrowing watch. On the surface, they were hard-nosed, mentally strong and highly committed group of 'unbreakable' men. We now know different 

Wed, 18 Dec, 2024

Jacques Nienaber 17/12/2024
Jacques Nienaber: Leinster must always cherish victories because they are not a given, look at Man City
Nienaber insisted the province were ultimately satisfied to come away with a 15-7 win over Clermont at the Aviva Stadium last Saturday.

Wed, 18 Dec, 2024

Castres Olympique v Munster - Champions Cup Pool 3
Munster still awaiting timeframe on injured Casey
Skills and assistant attack coach Mossy Lawler, also Casey’s uncle, believes the number nine was advancing his Test claims, such was the form the 25-year-old was in.

Wed, 18 Dec, 2024

Mike Prendergast and Mossy Lawler 30/9/2023
Mossy Lawler: Mike Prendergast and Denis Leamy contracts show where Munster want to go
The candidacy of current attack coach Prendergast is the preferred route for a smooth transition of power with Lawler describing his close associate and former team-mate as “world-class”.

Wed, 18 Dec, 2024

Jean Kleyn 31/10/2024
Munster's Jean Kleyn undergoes surgery after suffering quad issue
The province reported on Monday that Kleyn was to see a specialist this week concerning a thigh issue, but Kleyn has now confirmed, via an Instagram post, that he is getting surgery to rectify the problem. 

Tue, 17 Dec, 2024

Mossy Lawler 17/12/2024
Mossy Lawler the latest Munster coach to extend stay at province 
'I'm fortunate to have someone like Mossy Lawler there who's an experienced attack coach,' Prendergast said recently.

Tue, 17 Dec, 2024

Ireland v South Africa - Bank of Ireland Nations Series
World Cup winner Steven Kitshoff reveals injury left him 'two millimetres' from death
The former Ulster prop underwent a successful operation in November. He still holds hope of returning to the rugby pitch. 

Tue, 17 Dec, 2024

Vodacom Bulls v Northampton Saints - Investec Champions Cup 2024/2025
Champions Cup rugby reboot: no pools, FA Cup-style and play it after Christmas
The global calendar remains a mess and rugby’s power-brokers need to get a grip after a controversial weekend

Tue, 17 Dec, 2024

Bundee Aki 17/12/2024
Bundee Aki and James Ryan pen new IRFU deals
The deal brings an end to speculation on Aki's future in both the green of Connacht and Ireland, with the 34-year-old previously linked to a move to Top 14 outfit Toulon. 

Tue, 17 Dec, 2024

Sam Prendergast celebrates scoring a try 8/12/2024
Sam Prendergast: 'I'd see myself as a different person to him but I get along great with him'
“It was just great to read about his different little situations and he has a different back story to a lot of people. I would have known a bit of it maybe from his brother Mark [who was attack coach on Prendergast’s Ireland U20s side] but it was a good read, I thought.” 

Tue, 17 Dec, 2024

Castres Olympique v Munster - Champions Cup Pool 3
Jeremy Davidson feels he needs 'more credibility' for job on home soil
Davidson's coaching career has continued uninterrupted and seemingly unnoticed by Irish rugby for the past 13 years, all of it in France.

Tue, 17 Dec, 2024

Leinster v ASM Clermont Auvergne - Champions Cup Pool 2
Donal Lenihan: If Leinster's squad runs deep, so do Munster's problems
With all the noise surrounding the occupancy of the No 10 shirt for the forthcoming Six Nations, Munster's Jack Crowley appears to be making the classic mistake of just trying too hard.

Mon, 16 Dec, 2024

Patrice Diggin celebrates with teammates after the game 15/12/2024
Clanmaurice captain Patrice Diggin: We lit up Croke Park in the second half
Diggin and her teammates are now looking forward to testing themselves at senior level.

Mon, 16 Dec, 2024

Jack Crowley dejected after the game 13/12/2024
Munster boss Costello: 'You’d back Jack Crowley to bounce back from anything'
Not a month goes by when it seems the 24-year-old is not required to tap into his renowned mental strength and respond with a performance to restore faith among the wider rugby public that this is a playmaker of rare talent.

Mon, 16 Dec, 2024

Sam Prendergast 14/12/2024
Leo Cullen: 'Some lads didn't go as well as we'd have hoped. Is that the way that we're preparing them?'
Leo Cullen took stock afterwards and, in admitting his frustrations at the day’s work, put it out there that his side was not operating at the level Toulouse had displayed a week earlier when putting 61 points on a flawed Ulster.

Mon, 16 Dec, 2024

Connacht players celebrate after Adam McBurney scores a try 15/12/2024
Connacht skipper Prendergast gets ready for showdown with Leinster
Connacht are the only side with the maximum ten points on board after two rounds of the Challenge Cup and can wrap up a knockout place when they host Lyon in January in Galway.

Mon, 16 Dec, 2024

Craig Casey dejected after the game 13/12/2024
Munster have anxious wait for full assessment on Craig Casey's knee injury
Wing Abrahams suffered a dislocated shoulder, loosehead prop Dian Bleuler failing to return from a head knock and Peter O’Mahony receiving a stud on the back of a calf, the attrition rate in Castres was high.

Mon, 16 Dec, 2024

Antoine Dupont breaks free to score his sides first try 15/12/2024
Antoine Dupont orchestrates Toulouse’s Champions Cup thrashing of Exeter
Lebel and Barassi score twice as visitors run in 10 tries

Sun, 15 Dec, 2024

Chay Mullins after scoring a try 15/12/2024
Connacht dig deep to secure bonus point win over Perpignan 
Sean O'Brien and Andrew Smith went off with injuries early in the first half. 

Sun, 15 Dec, 2024

John Hodnett dejected after the game 13/12/2024
'We have to get our heads up' - Hodnett calls for Munster resolve ahead of season-defining run
Openside insists province cannot afford to dwell on Friday's dispiriting defeat to Castres with Ulster test approaching, kicking off a month which will go a long way to defining team's campaign 

Sun, 15 Dec, 2024

RUGBYU-EUR-CUP-LA ROCHELLE-BRISTOL
Five-try La Rochelle blitz Bristol as O'Gara's side edge above Leinster atop Pool 2
Bidding to regain the trophy they won back-to-back in 2022 and 2023, La Rochelle made it two pool stage wins from two with an emphatic victory over their English visitors

Sat, 14 Dec, 2024

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Donal Lenihan
Donal Lenihan

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