First up, the champ champ. If that hits the skids, ‘The Eagle’ has a a great fall-back idea. Khabib Nurmagomedov is back in training. Who he fights next is up for debate but the UFC lightweight champion knows he will be fighting again before the year is out. Since claiming 155lbs gold back at UFC […]

8 years ago

We can see why Fifa would go after players for expressing political sentiments while competing at the World Cup but lay off the socks and tributes. While football fans have had to endure the comedic side-show of Fifa president Gianni Infantino gurning and throwing his arms up in mock surprise – sitting between dignitaries from […]

8 years ago

That week on the town during the Galway Races sounds like some introduction to Irish life. It was a blessing and a curse that Paul Warwick was such a talent at Sevens rugby. The Brisbane native was 23 and playing club rugby for Sydney side Manly when he got the chance to go fully professional. […]

8 years ago

There have been 31 headers scored in the 2018 World Cup but one man has dominated the skies. Aside from own goals, 28 players have scored headers in the tournament. England have scored five headers in five games, shared between four players, and are still going strong. One player has two headers to his name […]

8 years ago

The Portuguese star still feels he has what it takes to continue playing in the world’s toughest leagues and competitions. He may be 33 and a World Cup triumph may now be beyond his reach but Cristiano Ronaldo is far from finished. Having helped Real Madrid to their third successive Champions League title, Ronaldo hinted […]

8 years ago

It is worth noting that Jordan Pickford had not made a competitive appearance for England until he lined out against Tunisia in the World Cup. Pickford came into the world Cup with a handful of international caps, the backing of Gareth Southgate and a lot of hype about his abilities. He was not tested too […]

8 years ago

“Just one from me Dana…. “ The UFC president was almost through an entire post-fight press conference at a major pay-per-view event without getting a Conor McGregor question when it arrived at the very end. White had spent the guts of 30 minutes talking about an engaging UFC 226 and the possibilities at hand for […]

8 years ago

One of the memories that sticks out for Conor Murray, in his early days at Munster, was being in a dressing room at half-time in a Magners League game and Paul O’Connell calling a meeting. O’Connell was not happy with how the first half went so, with head coach Tony McGahan looking on, he called […]

8 years ago

The Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby Festival did not disappoint on day one. The sun was out and the racing action was gripping at The Curragh, and we even picked the winner of our own race! The action got underway at 5.35pm JOE Handicap at 6.35pm and Shore Step [below, centre] was the deserved winner […]

8 years ago

Mayo are stretched to breaking point but this could be an inspired move. The westerners are taking on Kildare in Newbridge NOT Croke Park in their All-Ireland SFC Qualifier Round 3 clash on Saturday evening. Throw-in at St Conleth’s Park is 7pm and the home supporters are likely to be outnumbered by Mayo fans, due […]

8 years ago

Not many of us saw this one coming. Brian Cody has introduced a fresh face into the Kilkenny team for Sunday’s Leinster Senior Hurling final against Galway [4pm throw-in]. Billy Ryan will make his senior debut for the Cats against the All-Ireland champions in the Leinster decider at Croke Park. The Graigue-Ballycallan player appeared in […]

8 years ago

Derek McGrath’s journey with many of the Waterford hurlers did not begin when he took over the senior side. For McGrath, and many of the players that would go on and star for the seniors, it began at De La Salle College. He came to prominence by leading that team to Harty Cup and All-Ireland […]

8 years ago

Many GAA fans, at home and abroad, will be following this one closely. Dublin secured their 13th Leinster title in 14 championship summers, last weekend, but Diarmuid Connolly was not out on the Croke Park pitch to share the triumph. The two-time All Star has opted to head to America for the summer. He only […]

8 years ago

Looking back at all the matches, moments, scores, turning points and player ratings and certain names crop up time and again. Ireland finished 2017/18 with a Grand Slam, Triple Crowm Six Nations and Lansdowne Cup in the trophy cabinet. They are second in the world rankings, on a best-ever points total. Joe Schmidt’s men are […]

8 years ago

Steven Gerrard has arrived at Rangers at a time when they are a distant second to rivals Celtic and are without a league title in eight years. The former Liverpool player has it all to do. Gerrard’s situation is very similar to the situation facing Graeme Souness when he took over at Ibrox in 1986. […]

8 years ago

And he was so convinced of it too… Gary Neville, Ian Wright and Slaven Bilic got deep into it on ITV, on Wednesday, ahead of England’s Group G clash with Belgium. The former England internationals felt it would suit Gareth Southgate’s men best to lose to Belgium and go into the bottom half of the […]

8 years ago

The Rubin Kazan striker has had enough. Iran are headed home from the 2018 World Cup and they can consider themselves unlucky. Carlos Queiroz’ side defeated Morocco and drew with Portugal but their group stage loss to Spain, second match out, did for them. Sardar Azmoun featured in all three games and, as a forward, […]

8 years ago

The Croatian was not fond of this from Neville. Like the studio lights, Slaven Bilic seems to be a permanent fixture for ITV’s World Cup coverage from Russia. The former West Brom and Croatia boss is one of the key faces on ITV for their coverage of the tournament and he has already brought us […]

8 years ago

Ahead of the World Cup, then Spain boss Julen Lopetegui reportedly informed his squad that vice captain David Silva would call the set-piece shots in Russia. The Manchester City midfielder was told by Lopetegui that he would be Spain’s penalty taker should his team be awarded one during the tournament. Lopetegui was given the boot by […]

8 years ago

Ireland’s top rugby players will only get four weeks off before they return to their provinces for 2018/19. While the likes of Conor Murray, Johnny Sexton, Jacob Stockdale & Co. are setting off on summer breaks, after the series win over Australia, the provinces are already back at it. 2017/18 wrapped up, for Ireland, Down […]

8 years ago

Ireland pip New Zealand to have the most representatives, but it was a close-run thing. Another season of rugby has officially wrapped and, with it, so are the rugby shows and podcasts. The Irish lads are now off for the next four weeks but we’ll not be seeing many of the in action again until […]

8 years ago

Has it really been that long? June 25, 2006 at the Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion, in Stuttgart, and David Beckham scored in the 60th minute to give England a 1-0 win over Ecuador. Gary Lineker was in the BBC studio for that one and was understandably excited about a promising England side reaching the quarter finals. The likes of […]

8 years ago

Sitting on the Hill 16 end of the Cusack Stand, in the sweltering summer sun, we looked enviously at those in shaded comfort of the Hogan Stand. Kildare had just seen off Meath in the junior final and Dublin were up next, against Laois. Most eyes were on the Dublin warm-ups and on the notable […]

8 years ago

“I’ll either be in Australia or on a beach in Thailand.” That was John Cooney’s take, back in May, on the hot-topic of him possibly making Ireland’s squad for the Australia tour. Cooney had just come off another impressive season of provincial rugby – winning a slew of personal accolades at Ulster Rugby – and […]

8 years ago

We’re sure the Munster winger will let this one slide. Keith Earls completed a season in which he won Ireland’s Players’ Player of the Year and a Grand Slam by helping his country win their first Test series Down Under in 39 years. He was concussed in Brisbane, early in the First Test, but returned […]

8 years ago

Newbridge or nowhere. We are less than four days out from Kildare’s Round Three Senior Football Championship Qualifier against Mayo and we are no closer to knowing where the game is taking place. We are no closer to knowing IF the game is taking place. Kildare – aggrieved that the GAA switched their ‘home’ tie […]

8 years ago

An interesting positional switch but no drop-off in the quality of his out-put. One of the players left out of conversations, after the First Test, when discussing the breakdown battle was CJ Stander. Michael Hooper, David Pocock and Caleb Timu were all praised, and rightfully so, while both Peter O’Mahony and Dan Leavy took flak […]

8 years ago

“Hello from the land of the vanquished!” Iris rugby supporters, and especially ones from Leinster, are getting more and more used to their side winning and claiming trophies. Between Leinster and Ireland, our teams have claimed every piece of silverware going and have gained a reputation as world-class operators. It’s amazing how quickly winning becomes […]

8 years ago

Peter Stringer has tapped his last ankle… Seven years after he last lined out for Ireland, at the age of 33, Peter Stringer has officially announced his retirement from professional rugby. The Cork native, who’s career highlights include a Grand Slam and two Heineken Cups, played 21 seasons in the pro game. He spent 16 […]

8 years ago

What a hammer blow for Declan Bonner’s side. Donegal’s most dangerous forward this year has suffered a nasty cruciate ligament injury. Paddy Brearty has suffered a knee injury that will most likely mean the end of his championship. https://twitter.com/thomasniblock/status/1011565713469865984 The full forward was already looking like a shoe-in for an All Star after a string […]

8 years ago

We want you! It’s summer, it’s championship, and the nation’s biggest GAA show is on the road again. The GAA Hour is coming to Rebel territory this Thursday, June 28 to look ahead to the Munster Hurling Final between Cork and Clare. Both teams successfully made their way through the Munster Championship league stage and […]

8 years ago

“A convenient untruth.” That is the take of Kildare boss Cian O’Neill on the GAA’s decision to switch their Round 3 SFC Qualifier clash with Mayo to Croke Park. Kildare were drawn out as the home side for this weekend’s meeting with Stephen Rochford’s side. The tie was expected to take place at St Conleth’s […]

8 years ago

Four games on Day 13 of the World Cup and we could be seeing the end of Lionel Messi. Groups A and B wrapped up on Monday and we had Russiam Uriguay, Spain and Portugal all advancing to the knock-out stages. Groups C and D are on the footballing menu and we have a 60/1 […]

8 years ago

Fissures are emerging all over the punditry landscape after a night of high drama in Russia. Cristiano Ronaldo must have been worried as hell as referee Enrique Caceres was summoned to the TV screen near the Portuguese bench to review his collision with Iran’s Morteza Pouraliganji. When we write ‘collision’, we mean Ronaldo clattering Pouraliganji with his forearm […]

8 years ago

11 Test matches, 10 wins, 1 defeat, 1 Grand Slam and, now, 1 Lansdowne Cup retained. The cut-glass trophy was nice to hold aloft but the more important thing for Ireland was to claim a Test Series win against Australia. Ireland defeated Argentina 2-0 on their summer tour in 2014 but the series win over […]

8 years ago

Scenes in Clones! Three weeks after sending on congratulations to ‘my fellow county men’ of Fermanagh, DUP leader Arlene Foster has gone a step (or several steps) further by showing up at St Tiernach’s Park to cheer them on. Fermanagh shocked Monaghan in the Ulster SFC semi-final and were on their way back home, on […]

8 years ago

“He doesn’t seem like the novice that he is.” James Ryan’s last six games of an incredible season went like this: Champions Cup final vs. Racing 92 – WIN (82 minutes) PRO 14 semi-final vs. Munster – WIN (82 minutes) PRO14 final vs. Scarlets – WIN (81 minutes) First Test, Brisbane vs. Australia – LOSS […]

8 years ago

Oh Jesus. Ireland have won 14 of their last 15 Test matches, are Grand Slam champions, have just beaten Australia on their home patch(es) and are second in the world with a personal best rankings tally. The likes of Jacob Stockdale, James Ryan, Andrew Porter and Jordan Larmour all made stunning Test breakthroughs in the […]

8 years ago

We know the Irish scrum-half is well built, but how the hell did David Pocock fit into Conor Murray’s jersey?! Ireland and Australia played out a gripping contest at Allianz Stadium, on Saturday, with the tourists beating the hosts 20-16 to claim the series win. Two of the star performers in that series were Ireland […]

8 years ago

“Come on! We’re not playing touch here!” That was the line from Phil Kearns as FOX Sports replays showed Adam Coleman heaving in from the side to smash into Conor Murray at a ruck near the Australian tryline, 42 minutes into and absorbing contest. We’ve all heard biased commentary in our time but the FOX […]

8 years ago

Get thee home from thy place of worship quick sharp as England are up first in World Cup action. Three more games are slated in for Day 10 of an enthralling tournament, with England and Panama raising the red velvet curtain at 1pm. As part of our treble, we are going to get off to […]

8 years ago

“I don’t know anything in the game that’s clear and obvious.” Michael Cheika is known for blowing his top and frequent outbursts against opposition players, coaches, tactics, referees and even his own players. It was fascinating, then, to watch him try and bite his tongue after Ireland defeated his Wallabies side to clinch a thrilling […]

8 years ago

Another milestone surpassed. Just a fortnight ago, Australia were breathing down Ireland’s necks for second in the World Rugby rankings. Having defeated Ireland in the opening game of their three-Test series, the Wallabies were on the brink of leapfrogging Joe Schmidt’s men. The real threat to the All Blacks, claimed Gregor Paul in the New Zealand […]

8 years ago

This old chestnut/potato again… Ireland claimed their first Test Series victory over Australia in 39 years after defeating the Wallabies 20-16 in Sydney’s Allianz Stadium. CJ Stander was man-of-the-match while Johnny Sexton kicked 15 points as Joe Schmidt’s side got the job done after falling 1-0 down in the best-of-three series. FOX Sports commentator Greg […]

8 years ago

Peter O’Mahony was in the wars during Ireland’s victorious Test Series clincher in Sydney. O’Mahony was in the midst of another all-action performance when he had to leave the field on a medical cart. An aerial collision with Israel Folau saw him land badly for the third time in 28 minutes and medics smartly decided […]

8 years ago

AUSTRALIA 16-20 IRELAND “Enjoy your summer boys. You deserve it!” Ireland beat Australia by four points in a bloody nail-gnawer at Sydney’s Allianz Stadium to clinch their first Test Series victory Down Under in 39 years. Ireland led 12-9 after a ferociously contested first half that saw two players, one from each side, sent to […]

8 years ago

The Ireland captain had to leave the field on play after 30 minutes. Peter O’Mahony was in the wars in Ireland’s Test decider against Australia. The Munster flanker hit the deck hard on three occasions in the opening half hour and, each time, Israel Folau was on the scene. Both men were going all out […]

8 years ago

Steven Gerrard has only splashed out £6 million in transfer fees for his seven signings, to date, but he may have to stump up a bit more. The days of Paul Gascoigne and Brian Laudrup playing at Ibrox are a distant memory. The Scottish giants hit rough financial waters just under a decade ago and […]

8 years ago

What a shame for ‘The Nugget’. Sean Cronin has been ruled out of the third and final Test of Ireland’s series Down Under. The Leinster hooker missed the Second Test in Melbourne but was brought in from the start for the deciding game in Sydney. He missed the captain’s run on Friday but Ireland, at […]

8 years ago

“It wasn’t all to do with balls, bibs and cones.” Roy Keane came back to represent Ireland in 2004 but some folks seem to believe he packed in the international game once and for all on the Pacific island of Saipan, two years beforehand. For years to come, Irish people that lived through the 2002 […]

8 years ago