Ireland

  • February 1, 2013

WHEN SATURDAY comes the Six Nations will throw up an interesting anomaly. In one day we will get to see several fit and firing candidates for the British and Irish…

  • January 30, 2013

WHEN DECLAN Kidney named his extended 39-man training squad for the Six Nations, there’s no doubt the announcement was overshadowed by, perhaps, his boldest decision of his five-year tenure as…

  • January 29, 2013

AN IRELAND side has been selected to storm into the Millennium Stadium this Saturday. Fronted by new skipper Jamie Heaslip it is a fairly familiar looking side with an additional…

  • January 22, 2013

RW spent some time with national captain's Chris Robshaw, Jamie Heaslip, Kelly Brown plus Wales' defensive leader Jamie Roberts at Twickenham to chat about the Six Nations. Let's see what…

  • January 11, 2013

SPORTING CLICHES are often abused. Every tournament has a Group of Death and every player is weighed and measured to see if they will be found inferior or capable of…

  • January 4, 2013

GET THE chopping block ready. Remove the ceremonial stretching-rings. It's time to put my neck on the line. The season has, so far, provided very few genuine shocks. However, as…

  • January 3, 2013

COMING OUT from the festive fog, carried on the breath of several days of heartily enjoyed time off work chimes that familiar phrase, ‘Happy New Year’. And happy it may…

  • December 10, 2012

EUROPEAN RUGBY sometimes feels like a school dance. Some nervous sorts can feel flashes of panic and exhilaration as they stand, seemingly alone on the big stage, while celebrated individuals…

Matthew Rees

  • December 3, 2012

With results and incidental occurrences varying throughout the autumn Internationals, it is not a case of saying that there were winners and losers. There is a cost for the smallest…