#irish-rugby

#irish-rugby

All-action displays are becoming the norm for Robert Baloucoune, James Lowe and now Tommy O'Brien, with the likes of JJ Kenny at Leinster made of the same stuff

The previous Thursday, Andy Farrell had gone public in questioning their "fight" and "intent" in their opening game of the Six Nations.

This week's squad will tell us if Irish head coach is planning to stick with his gradual evolution, or whether he thinks the project needs a sharp shock

It's time to start planning for the return of Ronan O'Gara to Irish rugby. The Munster and Ireland legend has so far conducted his glittering, 13-year coaching career offshore, with stints as an assistant at Racing 92 and the Crusaders before stepping up to the top job in La Rochelle.

Ireland's post-mortem on the autumn internationals will be thorough and forensic. We have brilliant people looking after rugby in this country and they will leave no stone unturned. What they won't be doing is following some of the hyperbole and nonsense heard from some Irish pundits last week, and the narrative that we need to depower the scrum. Our struggles at the scrum are not a reason to change the laws.

Barry Murphy never got to sing Amhrán na bhFiann when lining out for Ireland because he won all his four caps away from home - two in Argentina on the 2007 summer tour, and one each in Canada and the USA on the 2009 summer tour.

Leo Cullen's side left to work out where it all went wrong

The 2024/2025 season has seen numerous interim coaches in Irish rugby, contrasting the singular stability and success of the team that is performing well.