“What Ian achieved was truly ground-breaking. He paved the way.” Johnny Sexton had his fair share of rivals for the Leinster No.10 jersey, over the past 16 seasons and he saw most of them off through his incredible skill, leadership and work levels. Back in 2011, Ian McKinley was starting to make good on the […]

3 years ago

“That’s been put on hold at the moment.” We have spoken with Ian McKinley three times in the past seven months and, each time, his circumstances have changed dramatically. Back in March, he spoke to us on House of Rugby from a locked down Italy and was hopeful the Covid-19 pandemic could be curtailed and […]

5 years ago

“This has been my home for almost 10 years. I decided to stay, with my family, here.” Ian McKinley was forced to retire, for the first time, at 21, after a training ground accident. His latest set-back has done nothing to quell his fighting spirit, or positivity. Back in March, Ian McKinley and his wife, […]

6 years ago

A big victory in Wales one night, getting ready for lock-down in Italy the next. The Benetton Treviso players were just as shocked as millions more Italians when, on March 7, Prime Minster Giussepe Conte announced that new lock-down measures were to be put in place across the whole of the country. On the same day […]

6 years ago

No Baz this week, but the show goes on. This time last week, Barry Murphy and Andrew Trimble conceded it could be their last House of Rugby for a while. This morning, Trimble joined forces with Producer Pat and a dedicated crew to ensure there was another high-quality show to enjoy. With Murphy on his […]

6 years ago

A chilling insight to life in locked-down Italy from two Irish rugby stars. When the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) outbreak occurred in Wuhan, China, most of us looked on with a huge amount of sympathy while hoping against hope – and telling ourselves – that it would not cross our door-steps. Today, we are barely able to […]

6 years ago