Month: November 2022

RONAN O’GARA IS hopeful that Dan Carter and centre Casey Laulala will be ready for the start of the Champions Cup in less than three weeks against his native Munster. The Racing 92 pair had to go off injured in Saturday’s 31-23 loss away to Castres and could be doubtful for the visit of MunsterRead moreRead more

Leinster 24Glasgow Warriors 39 Daragh Small reports from the RDS LEINSTER TASTED DEFEAT at home for the first time this season as Glasgow reclaimed top spot in Conference A with a bonus point win at the RDS. The Kearney brothers, Rob and Dave scored two tries each, but Zander Fagerson’s try secured a bonus pointRead moreRead more

FORMER MUNSTER HOOKER Duncan Casey has announced that he will retire from professional rugby at the end of the season, aged 28. “I’ll be retiring at the end of the season after 6 brilliant years of pro rugby,” the Grenoble player wrote on Twitter this afternoon. “How lucky I’ve been to experience so many thingsRead moreRead more

ANGUS LLOYD PUT everything on hold in hope of making a crust from rugby once before. This time around, all systems will remain firmly set to go. The 26-year-old will run out with Clontarf in Sunday’s All-Ireland League final at the Aviva Stadium, the culmination of what has been another terrific season for the scrum-half.Read moreRead more

Murray Kinsella reports from Newcastle WHEN NEWCASTLE FALCONS played at St James’ Park for the first time last year, Fijian wing Vereniki Goneva gave a nod to Alan Shearer when he scored a try, raising his right arm to salute the crowd just like the England striker did in his time. It remains to be seen whetherRead moreRead more

THE CRUSADERS AND New Zealand Rugby [NZR] have launched a joint investigation into allegations about the behaviour of players on the Super Rugby champions’ recent trip to South Africa. Scott Robertson’s squad were in Cape Town for a Super Rugby clash with the Stormers last weekend and have since been accused of what the CrusadersRead moreRead more

IRISH-BORN SCRUM-half Michael McDonald helped the junior Wallabies to a winning start in this year’s World Rugby U20 Championship as they powered to a 36-12 victory over Italy. Registered with Dundalk RFC before his family moved to Australia when he was 13, McDonald has earned himself a regular starting berth with the green and goldRead moreRead more

VETERAN REFEREE WAYNE Barnes will officiate Ireland’s pivotal Rugby World Cup opener against Scotland on 22 September. The English barrister, taking a whistle in his fourth World Cup, will be joined for the Yokohama Test by French assistants Pascal Gauzere and Alexandre Ruiz, with compatriot Graham Hughes in the TMO booth. Barnes has been theRead moreRead more

GALWAY IN JULY feels a long way from the intense heat and humidity of Yokohama in September, but on the day Ireland’s World Cup jersey was launched, there is no doubt that preparations are now moving through the gears. After a two-week block of training in Carton House, Joe Schmidt’s squad — now up toRead moreRead more

A RARE, insightful, glimpse inside the bubble. Mid-July and Ireland are into their fourth week of World Cup preparations, and for the second Friday running, Joe Schmidt has thrown the doors open for the public, and media, to come inside. Click Here: newcastle knights rugby store Deep in the bowels of Thomond Park, the settingRead moreRead more