Jack Kyle was one of the stars of the Ireland team of 1948: (pic Paul Faith/PA) It’s the year that still defines Irish rugby, a date repeated so frequently in the last month and so urgently in the last week that it seems to have raced from history into the present. 1948, when Ireland last […]
Our World Cup-winning squad was full of players happy to express themselves – even if we did hate each other’s guts, says Austin Healey Funny things, mavericks. And the effect they can have on a team. Too many mavericks, too many loose cannons, and you can spoil the broth. Too few and you can go […]
We take a look at the issue of offloading and ask ‘when is the right time to offload?’ THERE’S BEEN QUITE a bit of discussion around Simon Zebo’s offload attempt in the build-up to Nick Phipps’ try for Australia against Ireland on Saturday evening in Dublin. The Irish player in question means it’s arguably been […]
Player of the year: Andrew Trimble with his award this week. Photograph: billy Strickland/INPHO see more at :- https://twitter.com/Inphosports Rugby’s Andrew Trimble: ‘I’m a mistake’… by Ann Marie Hourihane The Ulster and Ireland rugby winger is watching a lot of television following a ligament injury to his big toe. So how did it feel to […]
Travelling around as we do to clubs and schools to each community of players and supporters in Ulster is constantly a demonstration of commitment, togetherness, intense concentration, love of the game and great organised clinical rugby, the implementation of scrums, rucks, lineouts, attack and defense off loads, we shimmys, put good solid concentration on tackling […]
Whatever you think of Sale’s Danny Cipriani and his Barclays Premier League lifestyle he can run a backline Well, this is the season when the Irish provinces get theirs. They apparently play in a Mickey Mouse League and they play their second teams in 75pc of games, only rolling their superstars out when they play […]
Bears Blitz 28 Sep 14 A warm dry morning greeted all 5 of the clubs (almost 100 players) at this Sundays’ Ballymena Bears blitz. Teams from Newforge Taggers, Portadown Panthers, Coleraine Chargers and Ballyclare Hares all made the journey up to Eaton Park and all gave a fantastic display of special needs tag rugby. The […]
Gareth Gill*, Nick Finlay, Matthew Hadden (Ballynahinch Rabbitohs) Curtis Stewart*, Matthew Cahoon*, Wayne Kelly (Belfast Met Scholars) Ireland ‘A’ Secure Inaugural Celtic Nations Championship A 28-22 victory for Ireland ‘A’ against Wales in Colwyn Bay secured the Wolfhounds their first Celtic Nations Championships. Going into the game the Wolfhounds knew that they didn’t necessarily have […]