Tag: Rugby
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A time of opportunity rather than a problem
Transition. Movement. Change. Difference. Essentially, they all describe the same thing. But can have seismically different meanings for different people. Indeed, they can have vastly fluctuating connotations for the same people in differing circumstances. Even for yours truly. For instance, the notion of doing Transition Year after completing the Junior Cert. appeared to be a…
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Beware the pride of wounded lions
IRELAND…42 ENGLAND…21 If the forthcoming production was in relation to association football, one would automatically assume it was an England team to whom reference was being made. Given that they have three of the members of the feline family as the crest on their jersey. Now read on… But no, the wounded Lions in this…
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Turning of the page of history missed in deflating defeat
MUNSTER… 22 GLASGOW WARRIORS… 31 My brother moving to Limerick for work 33 years ago was the point at which this corner became equipped with a proper understanding of and gra for rugby. One has no problem admitting that, prior to that, my impression of the egg chasing was that part of it was what…
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O’Brien shines brightest as dull Ireland stumble to win
IRELAND… 41 JAPAN… 10 It might be something to do with the lunchtime kick off. Because it certainly tends to be the case in souccer that, the lunchtime kick off in the Premier League tends to have faded from memory by the time Match Of The Day comes on a Saturday night. I’m not sure…
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Sideline Cuts – 44
McCloskey In From The Cold The major talking point from the Irish rugby team announced to take on the All Blacks in Chicago on Saturday night has been the inclusion of Stuart McCloskey to partner Garry Ringrose in the centre. It will be the 33-year-old’s first start in green since 2023. Other notable occurrences include…
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Rolling Down Memory Lane – The Audiobook
March 2020, by way of maintaining some degree of sanity during the lockdowns necessitated by the onset of the Covid-19 Pandemic, I wrote and published my second book, Rolling Down Memory Lane though for a thousand reasons and yet, we never got it distributed to anywhere near the levels which would have been intended or…
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Whatever you’re having yourself
BRITISH & IRISH LIONS…29 AUSTRALIA…26 We’ve all seen television adverts over the years which stay in the consciousness long after it has outrun its commercial relevance. For me, the Bord Na Mona ad in which John Sheehan’s Marino Waltz featured will forever top any such list. But there are plenty of others. Like the Budweiser…
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Looking for problems where there are none
IRELAND… 32 SCOTLAND… 18 It’s probably the case with all team sports that all teams have two or three perspective candidates for each spot on the team. In Ireland’s case, that has absolutely been the reality for as long as I can recall at fly half. From Tony Ward to Ollie Campbell, to Ralph Keyes,…
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Calculated gamble or demonstration of riches?
I made my confirmation in April 1994. On the same night, Dermot Morgan was finishing a run of shows at the Olympia Theatre. The old VHS tape thereof remains one of the best pieces of comedy the senses here have ever encountered. There are so many comedic gems therein it’s hard to nail down a…
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Few surprises as the Easterby era kicks off
Well, it doesn’t actually kick off for a couple of weeks yet, but you get my drift. Simon Easterby has officially taken charge of the Irish men’s senior team with Andy Farrell having jumped ship – temporarily at least – to scout for talent for the British And Irish Lions team he will take on…