Conor Murray has spoken out about his decision to request Munster hold back on details of his recent neck injury. The scrumhalf is ‘back doing 90% of training’ with Munster for the last three weeks and taking modified contact. All good in terms of progress but not enough to see him included in Ireland’s squad […]

7 years ago

“It’s a lovely problem to have.” Right now, Ireland have six locks in decent form and vying for two starting positions. That two of the six men can play back-row and cover multiple positions is exactly where Joe Schmidt wants his squad to be. The Kiwi was badly stung by injuries and suspensions to key players […]

7 years ago

– Baz & Andrew’s House of Rugby, Together with GUINNESS – This was the news Irish fans always dreaded but it is better that it has happened now, rather than at the 2019 World Cup. Munster head coach Johann van Graan told reporters, at Munster’s Monday press briefing, that Conor Murray is unlikely to feature […]

7 years ago

Artem Lobov, Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov all used to get on quite well. Not any more. Six months after his confrontation with Nurmagomedov in a hotel lobby, ahead of UFC 223, Artem Lobov has spoken out about what sparked the incident and led to the all-out feud between the Dagestani and McGregor’s camps. Ahead […]

7 years ago

It has taken just over a fortnight for Conor McGregor to stew on his UFC 229 defeat, but he has now offered his take on how the fight played out. McGregor lost the UFC lightweight title fight against reigning champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, on October 7, when he submitted to a neck crank applied midway through […]

7 years ago

Munster head coach Johann van Graan was not looking best pleased after his side’s 36-22 win over Gloucester in the Champions Cup. The South African was not too pleased with his side’s concession of 16 penalties and a couple of consolation tries but one suspects a string of bad injuries to key players had darkened […]

7 years ago

Fourth time is a charm. On three previous occasions, the UFC has tried to get Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov into The Octagon. The closest they came was UFC 223, in April, but Ferguson badly damaged his knee and was replaced by first Max Holloway and then Al Iaquinta. In 2017, Nurmagomedov was rushed to hospital […]

7 years ago

“When you read a team-sheet like Leinster’s, your first thoughts are ‘Wow, that is incredible’.” Rob Vickerman is not the only one raving about Leinster as they set out to retain their Guinness PRO14 and Champions Cup trophies. Following Leinster’s 52-3 demolition of Wasps in the Champions Cup, former Ulster and Ireland winger Andrew Trimble […]

7 years ago

Had this been reviewed during the game, Stander could have received his marching orders. CJ Stander put in another 80+ minute shift for Munster as they claimed a bonus point victory over Gloucester. 20 minutes into the game and Danny Cipriani was applauded for standing up – quite literally – to the charging Stander and […]

7 years ago

‘The Notorious’ is set for The Octagon next. The ring can wait. In a recent interview with Joe Rogan, John Kavanagh marvelled at how quickly Conor McGregor took to boxing. After teeing up an incredible pay-day against Floyd Mayweather Jr., Kavanagh committed to training his fighter as best he could for his professional boxing debut. […]

7 years ago

“It is an absolute honour to see you fight.” Conor McGregor was as gripped as the rest of us as he watched Katie Taylor battle to another defence of her world titles. Taylor successfully defended her WBA and IBF titles by comprehensively out-pointing Cindy Serrano on her way to an impressive victory. McGregor was a […]

7 years ago

It was only a title defence but this put Katie Taylor right on the radar. Katie Taylor successfully defended her WBA & IBF Female Lightweight World titles in the early hours of Sunday morning. The Bray native went the full 10 rounds with Cindy Serrano to claim her 11th win as a pro at TD […]

7 years ago

And Niall Scannell will be out a while yet, too. Munster are top of their Champions Cup pool after following up their draw against Exeter with a bonus point victory over Gloucester at Thomond Park. Johann van Graan’s men won 36-22 and ran in five tries in securing the win in Limerick. Danny Cipriani was […]

7 years ago

The big man likes to toss himself into the fray when the ball is in play but often demurs at confrontation once the ball is dead. Midway through the first half of Munster’s 36-22 win over Gloucester, Tadhg Beirne got amongst it again. At first, he was a hair’s breadth from stealing the Gloucester lineout. […]

7 years ago

MUNSTER – 36 GLOUCESTER – 22 It was all ticking along nicely for Gloucester until their discipline went out the window and Munster got to work. Munster recorded a bonus point victory over a Gloucester side that were well in the Champions Cup contest until they lost their discipline and started connecting with heads. An error-strewn start […]

7 years ago

Billy V was not at all happy with this. Rugby players are inundated with match clips and personal game highlights – in a bid to improve and prepare themselves. One wonders if video analysts bothered sending around the tackle that got Jerome Kaino five-week ban, on Wednesday. The All Blacks flanker was only yellow-carded, while […]

7 years ago

– House of Rugby, Together with GUINNESS – The Ireland international was a Lion but, according to James Haskell, was ‘still building to the legend that he’s become’. The British & Irish Lions throws together four leading rugby nations and asks them, in the space of seven weeks, to beat the very best the southern hemisphere has […]

7 years ago

– House of Rugby, Together with GUINNESS – Honest and unflinching as ever from James Haskell. Heading into the November internationals, England head coach Eddie Jones will have to plan without a host of top stars. 16 leading players are sidelined, with the English back-row taking a bad hit – Billy Vunipola (arm), Chris Robshaw […]

7 years ago

– Baz & Andrew’s House of Rugby, Together with GUINNESS – The Munster legend is more than content in New Zealand but he has always been open about his future ambitions. “People can’t see my facial expressions, can they?” asked. “Oh yes, they can. We’re on video!” It was a moment of levity from Ronan […]

7 years ago

This Friday, get along to Parnell Park for a real treat. The Underdogs has confirmed their final squad for Friday’s challenge game against All-Ireland champions Dublin. GAA Beo, on TG4, will provide live coverage for the series finale from Parnell Park on Friday. The broadcast will start at 7:20pm, with match throw-in at 7:45pm. The […]

7 years ago

– Baz & Andrew’s House of Rugby, Together with GUINNESS – “It’s frightening to imagine how good this Leinster side can be.” Last week it was Wasps. The week before it was Munster. This week it is Toulouse’s turn. Like Floyd Mayweather in the latter half of his 50-0 professional career, Leinster are telling us […]

7 years ago

“And then Khabib runs at us, jumps the cage and jumps at us… and thankfully he cleared my head!” John Kavanagh is back in Dublin now and probably happy to be back to the day-to-day work of coaching, managing Straight Blast Gym and trying to represent mixed martial arts as best he can in Ireland. […]

7 years ago

James McClean’s commitment to the Irish cause knows no bounds. The Derry native has racked up 59 Ireland caps in six years and, were it for him, he would have had a lot more. McClean was back in the green jersey on Saturday as Ireland slogged their way to a 0-0 draw with Denmark. It […]

7 years ago

McGregor lost, but he didn’t get lost in the sauce. Daniel Cormier admits he was very impressed by the wrestling and grappling of Conor McGregor in the UFC 229 main event against Khabib Nurmagomedov. McGregor stuffed three take-down attempts from the lightweight champion, handled himself well on the mat in the first round and managed to […]

7 years ago

– Baz & Andrew’s House of Rugby, Together with GUINNESS – The two lads packed an awful lot in for the first show of the new season. Baz & Andrew’s House of Rugby is up and running, with Barry Murphy (former Munster & Ireland) and Andrew Trimble (former Ulster & Ireland) taking the helm. Episode […]

7 years ago

“Here, I understood that I broke him.” Not long after he had a face-off with Conor McGregor in New York, at the first UFC 229 press conference, Khabib Nurmagomedov described the experience. In an interview with Brett Okamoto of ESPN, the lightweight champion said: “When I watch his eyes, I don’t feel nothing. He’s like […]

7 years ago

“I can’t imagine Conor going off into the sunset on the back of a loss.” The text messages were pinging between Conor McGregor and John Kavanagh in the hours after ‘The Notorious’ lost to Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229. Kavanagh was getting “essays” from his fighter about what he would do differently in a rematch […]

7 years ago

The premise was a simple one – ‘If you weren’t a golfer, what would you be?’ Shane Lowry doesn’t give himself enough credit with his response but it sure is funny. The Offaly native took part in a ‘Job Interview’ skit for The European Tour, which also featured Ryder Cup hero Tommy Fleetwood and Andrew […]

7 years ago

“He’s all over the place… I suppose in a week or two we’ll sit down and assess what went right [and] what went wrong.” After weeks upon weeks of being in each other’s faces, Conor McGregor and John Kavanagh went their separate ways after UFC 229. McGregor was defeated by lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and […]

7 years ago

“Looks to have the shot. Is he going to give it? Great defending by Ballintubber. Danny Kirbyyyyyy…. a block! And it’s over!!” Ballintubber and Castlebar Mitchels going at it rarely disappoints. Saturday night at MacHale Park was no different. Last October, Mitchels got past ‘Tubber on their way to winning the Mayo SFC final. Diarmuid O’Connor […]

7 years ago

EXETER 10-10 MUNSTER Full tilt. Fully committed. Andrew Conway will say he was doing his level best to put Gareth Steenson off his conversion attempt but he took this one too far. The Munster winger hurtled out towards the former Ireland U21, moments after Luke Cowan Dickie had scored Exeter Chiefs’ first Champions Cup try of […]

7 years ago

“To all the youngsters out there, that’s not what you do.” Freddie Burns looked to have sealed a crucial Champions Cup victory for Bath at The Recreation Ground, until hubris intervened. The Bath fullback ran a fine line to break through the Toulouse defence, late in their European Cup clash, and looked set to dot […]

7 years ago

‘Coach’ has made an intriguing suggestion for McGregor’s next fight in the UFC. John Kavanagh admitted, on his recent appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience, that Conor McGregor has reached a stage where he may only fight ‘once or twice’ a year in the UFC. As much as Dana White, Ari Emmanuel and the rest of […]

7 years ago

Taj bloody Furlong! James Lowe is in awe of the big guy from Wexford. He may have taken some time to get the pronunciation of his first name right – and it is still not perfect – but he likes everything that he sees from the Leinster tight-head. Lowe lit up The RDS in Leinster’s […]

7 years ago

It is 10 years and counting since Munster were kings of Europe. A couple of weeks back, Ronan O’Gara and Barry Murphy joined the likes of David Wallace, Mick Galwey, Peter Clohessey and more Munster legends in New York. The former teammates were reunited to mark the decade anniversary of their 2008 European Cup win […]

7 years ago

On the way through the press room, after chatting to the Leinster Supporters Club, Luke McGrath hung around for the post-match show. James Lowe was holding court and everyone was smiling. The Kiwi winger is fresh from scoring two tries and teeing up McGrath for another in Leinster’s 52-3 demolition of Wasps. James Lowe enters […]

7 years ago

How exactly does one go about hooking this one up? Tadhg Furlong with show-and-goes. James Ryan throwing skip passes and underarm offloads. Johnny Sexton flinging between the leg passes, Carlos Spencer style. Leinster went full All Blacks on poor Wasps at The RDS as the Champions Cup began in rollicking fashion, for one side at […]

7 years ago

LEINSTER – 52 WASPS – 3 The reigning champions not only hammered Wasps at The RDS, they sent out a warning to the rest of Europe that they are not relinquishing the cup they won in Bilbao last May. Leo Cullen and Stuart Lancaster’s side put Dai Young’s Wasps to the sword, repeatedly, and racked […]

7 years ago

“He f***ed up.” Conor McGregor was, according to his coach John Kavanagh, livid with himself for some technical mistakes in his UFC lightweight title fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov. As for Kavanagh himself, he regretted sending his fighter in to ‘not lose’, rather than to win. McGregor did remarkably well to remain calm and focused despite […]

7 years ago

Dear God, Leinster are throwing out the brightest and best here. The Champions Cup returns on Friday and champions Leinster kick off their defence against English side Wasps at The RDS (7:45pm kick-off, BT Sport). Leo Cullen and Stuart Lancaster have overseen a decent start to the Guinness PRO14 season, five wins from six, and […]

7 years ago

“How quick did you do that?… Yeah, I’ll do it quicker.” That mentality, according to John Kavanagh, is what gets Conor McGregor out of bed every day. The competition. The desire to get one over the other guy and prove he is the best. That is what led to McGregor shouting and screaming, backstage after […]

7 years ago

These should prove popular with fans of The Dubs. Could this be the GAA jersey Dublin are wearing when they claim their fifth All-Ireland in a row? Between the Sam Maguire being lifted at Croke Park and Christmas is usually prime time for new GAA jerseys to drop. Mayo have already released their 2019 home […]

7 years ago

It is a claim that has been thrown around a lot in the past few days. Following his dominant submission victory over Conor McGregor at UFC 229, and the mass brawl that followed, Khabib Nurmagomedov attempted to offer what he felt were valid reasons for his actions. “He talk about my religion. He talk about […]

7 years ago

McGregor and Rockhold have had their issues in the past but the American did his best to ensure ‘The Notorious’ and his team were not harmed further. Conor McGregor and Luke Rockhold will never be friends, but they have a healthy respect of each other. Ahead of UFC 194, in December 2015, the middleweight was […]

7 years ago

Munster will hope that a closer look at Alby Mathewson’s leg will not bring more bad news. Munster travel to face Exeter in the Heineken Champions Cup, this weekend, and may be forced to leave the following scrum-halves at home: James Hart Conor Murray Neil Cronin Alby Mathewson Following Munster’s tough 30-22 loss to Leinster, on […]

7 years ago

The UFC lightweight champion called it. Ahead of his UFC 229 title fight against Conor McGregor, Khabib Nurmagomedov told anyone who’d listen what he would do. He would smash McGregor, talk to him, maul him, make him tired, barrack his corner and eventually make him tap. Late on Saturday night [Las Vegas time], Nurmagomedov met […]

7 years ago

Yep, no complaints here. Stuart Olding was off to a flyer in France’s PRO D2 but he was shown a red card today after a quite reckless tackle. There was an honest effort to stop his man fairly but events literally spiralled out of control. The versatile back was given his marching orders just after […]

7 years ago

That is quite a welt. Conor McGregor looked to be in pursuit of Khabib Nurmagomedov moments after the lightweight champion submitted him in the UFC 229 main event. ‘The Eagle’ had successfully defended his belt but was in no mood for quashing beefs. The Dagestani vaulted from The Octagon and lunged into the front row […]

7 years ago

As Des Curley said in The Snapper, “What do I have to do to get a bit of bleedin’ respect around here?!” Tony Ferguson improved his impressive win-streak in the UFC’s lightweight division to 11 after he defeated Anthony Pettis at the T-Mobile Arena. ‘El Cucuy’ survived a crunching Pettis punch and kick combo in […]

7 years ago

Not many people on the planet would’ve reacted to Khabib Nurmagomedov’s crowd lunge like Dillon Danis. All the talk after Conor McGregor’s defeat to Nurmagomedov, at UFC 229, was about a rematch. Perhaps Dana White should sign up Dillon Danis to a UFC contract and tee him up for a tilt at the champion. ‘The […]

7 years ago