Tag: Simon Easterby

  • Looking for problems where there are none

    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,…

  • Calculated gamble or demonstration of riches?

    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…

  • Few surprises as the Easterby era kicks off

    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…

  • Patchy performance won’t cover all the cracks

    Patchy performance won’t cover all the cracks

    IRELAND…22 ARGENTINA…19 Dermot Morgan – Live At The Olympia – April 16th 1994: “People’s walks tell an awful lot about them. At Lansdowne Road, the main sports stadium in the country after the Gaelic football and hurling headquarters at Croke Park, you have two different types of walks as both the soccer and rugby internationals…

  • Ireland issue bench warrant for All Blacks demise

    Ireland issue bench warrant for All Blacks demise

    Ireland…29 New Zealand…20 Don’t let anyone tell you it was ‘only’ an Autumn International. Representation always mean something. Whether it’s a Division 8 football match or this. Taking on the greatest Rugby Union team on the planet. There was a time, not all that long ago, when Ireland – and many more like them –…