Remember when Tadhg Furlong came off after 3:41 against Italy as ‘a precaution’? It was more of the same from Joe Schmidt after Ireland’s 37-27 victory over Wales at Lansdowne Road. Schmidt had just witnessed Ireland score five tries on a Welsh side, who they had not beaten in a competitive match since 2014, before […]

8 years ago

Didn’t go according to plan

8 years ago

Ireland were in a hole but they managed to dig themselves out just before half time. Despite have the lions’ share of possession, territory and scoring opportunities, Ireland found themselves trailing 10-6 after the half-hour mark. Johnny Sexton was missing simple kicks and Ireland were guilty of a series of uncharacteristic errors. And then it […]

8 years ago

Warren Gatland gave Ireland some credit after their victory over his Wales side, but was careful not to get too effusive about it. Gatland witnessed his Wales side get close to winning a game they realistically never should have had a chance to. Johnny Sexton’s kicking radar was off and Wales were within a try […]

8 years ago

Is there anything that Conor Murray can’t do?! Lineout jumper, line-breaker, box-kicker, tempo dictator, try-scorer, big-tackler, goal-kicker… match-winner. Conor Murray is building a tidy legend for himself. In the red of Munster, green of Ireland and for the Lions, Murray is producing the goods. The Limerick native is, without doubt, the best No.9 in world […]

8 years ago

IRELAND 37-27 WALES Ireland are 3 from 3 after a nerve-jangler in Dublin. Chris Farrell and Jacob Stockdale were crucial in keeping Ireland’s Grand Slam hopes alive. The entire nation fretted, in the first half, as Johnny Sexton missed three kicks at goal and Gareth Davies got over after a rare Welsh foray forward. It […]

8 years ago

The pair have played together for the past 20 months at Scarlets. Aaron Shingler knows what it is like to be on the outside, looking in. The Scarlets flanker was not the flavour of 36 straight months for Wales as Warren Gatland selected a slew of back rowers but left him with his club. Shingler […]

8 years ago

Nothing like mates to keep you grounded… after Johnny Sexton grounds you. Jacob Stockdale will face his toughest examination in an Ireland jersey, so far, when he faces off against Wales at the Aviva Stadium. Six Tests into his international career and Stockdale has done superbly well. He scored a try on his debut, punished […]

8 years ago

Caused a bit of debate

8 years ago

We’d be well up for this. John Kavanagh would definitely be up for it. On Friday, it was reported that the UFC was planning to return to Dublin for the first time since October 2015. A May 27 event is in the works and would certainly be a sell-out affair, like the three previous occasions […]

8 years ago

That is the championship gone but there is some hope for the future, at least. Ireland will not be winning the 2018 Six Nations after they lost their second game from three championship outings, at Donnybrook Stadium. Noel McNamara’s side are still in with a mathematical chance of getting their hands on the title but […]

8 years ago

He definitely got a kick out of that. Ryan Giggs spent two seasons under Louis van Gaal at Manchester United. For the most part, he did not look to be having the best of times. There were good times, too. Van Gaal, buoyed by Champions League qualification at the end of the 2014/15 season, was […]

8 years ago

Holy smokes. Kerry may not be proving too adept at shutting down the opposition dangermen, and conceding poor scores, but they sure as hell have an exciting set of forwards. Still, without Kieran Donaghy, Darran O’Sullivan and James O’Donoghue, Kerry boss Eamonn Fitzmaurice is able to select a potential lethal half- and full-forward line. Having […]

8 years ago

The 2017 Footballer of the Year is back. Mayo are in desperate need of an Allianz Football League victory and they have made some interesting changes to their starting team. Stephen Rochford’s men have lost to Kerry and Galway and are up against their old foes, Dublin on Saturday. Andy Moran returns to the Mayo […]

8 years ago

The five-time All Star, former Hurler of the Year and All-Ireland champion takes no short-cuts in the gym. Joe Canning was finally rewarded, last September, for a life-time of commitment towards Galway and hurling as he helped them to their first Liam MacCarthy Cup in 30 years. Canning was the toast of the country after […]

8 years ago

Clear your schedules fight fans. The UFC is reportedly looking into a return to Ireland. It has been two and a half years since the promotion came to these shores but, according to MMA Fighting, the powers that be are targeting a trip to Dublin in the next three months. Sunday, May 27 is the favoured […]

8 years ago

Devin Toner had his ear burnt by the former Ireland captain down in Athlone. Paul O’Connell made a beeline to his former second row partner, last week, when Ireland’s senior and U20 teams met up at Buccaneers RFC’s Dubarry Park. Caked in mud, after a gruelling session, Toner commented: “I’ve seen the blueprints of a […]

8 years ago

Some top-class stories from both men and some interesting predictions for a crucial Six Nations match. Ireland versus Wales have had a deep-seated rivalry over the past decade and enjoy taking each others’ scalps. Ahead of Saturday’s Six Nations clash, in Dublin, The Hard Yards was joined by Ireland tighthead Tadhg Furlong and Wales legend Shane […]

8 years ago

Shane Williams will always be welcome up in the Glenswilly GAA clubhouse. The former Wales and Lions winger was the toast of the nation, early last year, as he switched sporting codes with Donegal forward Michae Murphy as part of AIB’s ‘The Toughest Trade’. While Murphy headed off to Clermont Auvergne, in the South of […]

8 years ago

Ireland also lose out in the head-to-heads. There is growing confidence in Wales that their team can drop another hurt bomb on Ireland. Wales have won three of their previous five meetings with Ireland – drawing another and losing a 2015 World Cup warm-up, and you have to go back to 2014 to find a […]

8 years ago

Ireland are a loosehead and outhalf short of having a pretty stellar ‘Injured XV’. Confirmation of Ireland’s team news for this weekend’s game against Wales meant Tadhg Furlong and Iain Henderson would join the dozen other internationals on the sidelines. Going into round three of the 2018 Six Nations, here are the players Joe Schmidt […]

8 years ago

11 caps and five starts between them. Joe Schmidt had a good point when he mentioned Ireland lost three Lions on the same week as Wales welcomed back three Lions of their own. He followed that up by suggesting Ireland was short on experience against a strong Welsh side but it was soon pointed out, […]

8 years ago

Keith Earls has his priorities in order, and no doubt about it. Each and every time Earls is interviewed, we reveals another piece of himself. Many players keep themselves hidden behind clichés and buzz words but that is not in the Limerick man’s nature. As he is soft-spoken, it is often mistaken that Earls does […]

8 years ago

Confirmation that Ireland will go into Saturday’s game without two top forwards, and Lions. Tadhg Furlong and Iain Henderson will sit out Ireland’s Six Nations clash with Wales. The news was confirmed when Joe Schmidt announced his Ireland team at Carton House this afternoon. As predicted, Andrew Porter starts at tighthead while James Ryan is […]

8 years ago

Both men were Lions in 2009 and 2013. Rob Kearney appears to have held off the competition for another Six Nations championship. He is Joe Schmidt’s No.15, when fit, and he is on course to reach 100 Test caps by the 2019 World Cup. Andrew Conway, Simon Zebo, Jared Payne and Tiernan O’Halloran have all […]

8 years ago

Ireland have some tough medicine to swallow here. Joe Schmidt tried to assure us, following his side’s 56-19 win over Italy, that Tadhg Furlong had been brought off as precautions and that the plan was always to give Iain Henderson just a half of rugby. That may well have been wishful thinking as both men […]

8 years ago

“I borrowed a line from The Shawshank Redemption and told him he had to get busy living.” Sometimes it is easy to lose track of why we got involved in sport in the first place. It often starts out as the following of an impulse, the urge to get involved with older siblings or children […]

8 years ago

Taking a punt on the young guns. Joe Schmidt will officially announce his Ireland squad to play Wales just after lunchtime on Thursday. He is expected to make four changes from the XV that started against Italy. Unfortunately, he may have to make a fifth and it could be a big one. As positive as […]

8 years ago

Back in the early days of professionalism in Ireland, the big players got £30,000 (punts) but the biggest and best got that annual fee AND a Ford Mondeo. Shane Williams’ first car, secured soon after he signed a pro contract, was a little less grand. The former Wales and Lions winger joined The Hard Yards to […]

8 years ago

Tommy O’Brien had a hard enough time keeping on top of the studies in school… then college and a Leinster Academy deal came along. O’Brien is one of those special talents that made his Ireland U20 debut as an 18-year-old as there was simply no holding him back any more. The Leinster back impressed in […]

8 years ago

Ireland have added three new faces to their Six Nations squad. Garry Ringrose is back in his first Ireland squad since the summer tours to the USA and Japan. The Leinster centre, who has not played since injuring his ankle on Leinster duty at the start of the year, is one of three call-ups for […]

8 years ago

As double blows come, this would be a big one. There is a current EPCR rule that prevents teams playing more than two Australians and New Zealanders in the Champions Cup. There are a couple of stipulations and end runs that clubs utilise to get their Kiwis and Aussies out on the park. Unfortunately for […]

8 years ago

Every Kilkenny loss is treated as a disaster and every victory a possible new dawn. The truth is, Kilkenny are not back but they are heading in the right direction. It has been 30 months since Kilkenny last won an All-Ireland but some naysayers would have you convinced it is coming on 30 years. The […]

8 years ago

Kilkenny got the win so this incident will soon be forgotten, but it should be the catalyst for change. Brian Cody’s side were worthy winners over Waterford in their Allianz Hurling League encounter, winning out 1-20 to 1-12 after an impressive display. The Cats accumulated points at a steady rate, all afternoon, and were buoyed […]

8 years ago

A pulsating game played out in pretty slick conditions at Iniskeen this afternoon. David Clifford came off the Kerry bench to inspire a second half rally but it was Conor McManus that settled matters for Monaghan in their Allianz Football League encounter. Clifford was a surprise inclusion on the Kerry bench and he was sprung […]

8 years ago

Cork knocked on the door several, several times. Donal Tuohy had one of those days, today, as Clare doled out a four-point defeat to Cork in their Allianz Hurling League clash. The Clare goalkeeper was in fine form before the game – with his brilliant Q&A in the match programme [below] – and took that […]

8 years ago

Just the 8 changes… Kerry and Monaghan have given their Siegerson Cup winners a bit of a rest as they go at it in Allianz Football League action. Both sides had named unchanged starting 15s for their Sunday afternoon league clash, in Division 1. The game was supposed to take place last Sunday but was […]

8 years ago

The squad for round three of the 2018 Six Nations is due to be announced on Monday morning. Joe Schmidt will get his Ireland players back, at Carton House, this evening after most of them had a few days off. Ireland broke up for three days, amid their championship campaign, after two days of training […]

8 years ago

Greater Western Sydney Giants have recorded their first win of the season. Cora Staunton and GWS Giants had lost their first two games of the season but all that changed in front of a crowd of 3,600 at Olympic Park Oval. The Giants defeated Collingwood to give themselves a fighting chance, still, of reaching the Grand […]

8 years ago

Born in May 2001. He was 13 months old when Robbie Keane scored that last-ditch equaliser against Germany at the World Cup. Preston North End have done wonders for giving Irish players a chance over in the English Championship. P.N.E have five players, currently, in their senior squad and another three out on loan. Simon […]

8 years ago

It was an odd end to what was a decent post-match interview. Jack O’Donoghue would have cut a forlorn figure in Cardiff, on Saturday night, as he reflected on his first game as Munster captain. The 24-year-old Waterford native has settled into the Munster senior squad well and, having previously captained Ireland U20s, was earmarked […]

8 years ago

The Kiwi has settled fast at Leinster but still hasn’t quite got all the names down. 6 games into his Leinster career and James Lowe has five tries, three assists, 12 line breaks, 16 offloads 92 carries and 570 metres gained for his new side. He’s not doing too badly at all. The Nelson native […]

8 years ago

We’ve held a candle long enough. It’s time to let go. For the first time in over a year, we can confidently predict an Irish match-day squad. Settling on the starting XV may prove a tad tougher but not so if, as expected, Tadhg Furlong and James Ryan train fully by Tuesday. Iain Henderson also […]

8 years ago

#GreatestLeagueInTheWorld Holy mother of the sweet divine! Some comeback for Bohemians. Shamrock Rovers got one hell of a shock at Dalymount as they let a 1-0 lead slip against their fierce rivals Bohemians to lose 3-1. Rovers captain Ronan Finn had put his side a goal up in their Airtricity League opener but they dropped […]

8 years ago

A show of faith from Kerry boss Eamonn Fitzmaurice. Kerry’s footballers may have had plans for their February 16-18 weekend off but all that changed, last Sunday, when poor weather led to the postponement of their game. The Kingdom were all set to play Monaghan on Sunday morning but a fair amount of snowfall saw […]

8 years ago

The rules are the rules and Mayo’s captain may well benefit from this one. In the final minutes of Mayo’s Allianz Football League Division 1 clash with Galway, Cillian O’Connor lost the run of himself. There were heated scenes in the last 15 minutes of the game, in Salthill, with two brawls and three red […]

8 years ago

You can be sure that many of the Ireland squad are already thinking about the Grand Slam. It’s not particularly helpful but it is completely natural. Ireland are two wins from two in this year’s Six Nations and have two home games against Wales and Scotland next. They were beaten by both sides in the […]

8 years ago

The Tipperary native feels he will always be stirred when watching a Munster game, this season, next and for plenty of seasons to come. It has only been eight months since Donnacha Ryan left Munster. He spends most of his time in Paris, or on the road across France for rugby duty. When he gets […]

8 years ago

The Connacht man is made of concrete, but he is surprisingly light on his feet. Bundee Aki was in top form during Ireland’s open training session, in Athlone, and many of his involvements drew cheers for the packed stands and galleries. A proud Galwayman, Aki did all that Joe Schmidt and his coaching staff asked […]

8 years ago

It was always going to be a stretch but Joe Schmidt is not panicking to get his star flanker back. Ireland were given a decent going over by the Under 20s at Buccaneers RFC this morning and are now on leave until Sunday. 21 players were brought down to Athlone and even if James Ryan, […]

8 years ago