“It’s very special.” Less than an hour after Leinster reached the 2023 Champions Cup final, Leo Cullen was asked if Johnny Sexton could return in time for the game against La Rochelle. The Leinster coach was somewhat taken aback by the query. “No,” he then responded before thankfully offering another crumb, although it was not […]

3 years ago

“That guy has got a lot of clubs in the bag, aye?” On Saturday night, rolling into Sunday morning, a rewatch of Ireland vs. New Zealand in the Second Test made three Irish players in particular look even better. Josh van der Flier, Tadhg Beirne and Johnny Sexton all had superb games. In the cut […]

4 years ago

Former Ireland international Ronan O’Gara has doubled down on his Joey Carbery and Beauden Barrett comparison. O’Gara, an assistant coach with the Super Rugby winning Canterbury Crusaders in New Zealand, said that he took a bit of flak last year for comparing Carbery to All Blacks fly-half and two-time World Rugby Player of the Year […]

7 years ago

Joe Schmidt will attempt to become the first Irish head coach in history to defeat New Zealand on home soil when the All Blacks come to Lansdowne Road this evening. Schmidt is already the only Irish head coach to ever hold a win over the All Blacks and he is widely regarded as the greatest […]

7 years ago

Former Ireland captain Brian O’Driscoll has defended New Zealand fly-half Beauden Barrett following the All Blacks 36-34 loss to South Africa on Saturday. New Zealand fell short following a tryline stand from the Springboks but Barrett left points on the board as he converted just two of his six shots at goal. The hurricanes fly-half […]

8 years ago

Former Munster centre James Downey believes Johnny Sexton is a decent bet for the 2018 World Rugby Player of the Year award. Sexton kicked the winning drop goal against France in the Six Nations, helped Ireland to a Grand Slam, won the Champions Cup and PRO14 with Leinster and was nominated for the EPCR Player […]

8 years ago