Liam Heagney

The Gloucester vacancies: 'Cockers will sort that place out for sure'

With David Humphreys following Johan Ackermann out the Gloucester door, The Rugby Pod believe the unsettled club is readymade for …

Liam Heagney

03 Jun 2020, 5:12

'Your prime as a rugby player is now 25, 26': The Rugby Pod picks its 2021 Lions captain

With 13 months left before the 2021 tour to South Africa, the debate has started over who should captain the Lions and The Rugby P…

Liam Heagney

02 Jun 2020, 14:11

Dan Biggar reflects on the Rob Howley betting affair and Wayne Pivac's teething Wales troubles

With Rob Howley’s betting ban set to expire and Wayne Pivac now in charge of Wales, Dan Biggar had plenty to discuss during his …

Liam Heagney

02 Jun 2020, 13:52

From 3 near-death experiences to South African MMA champion in 26 months: The fall and rise of Ethienne Reynecke

Ethienne Reynecke knew his old career as a pro rugby hooker guaranteed him nothing in life, but the adversity he has had to overco…

Liam Heagney

31 May 2020, 4:00

'I feel sorry for Maro Itoje. He's been spotted in Wigston last week and Kibworth this week'

Geordan Murphy couldn’t resist a tongue-in-cheek reference to Maro Itoje when providing his latest weekly update on Leicester Ti…

Liam Heagney

30 May 2020, 10:14

The Rugby Pod's burning question: 'What does it do to Maro's brand by playing in the Championship?'

Convinced Maro Itoje has the potential to become a megastar beyond rugby, Jim Hamilton sizes up how much damage the Championship w…

Liam Heagney

27 May 2020, 10:28

The moment Shaun Edwards says will haunt him until his dying day, and who he wants to coach after France

France assistant Shaun Edwards has spoken to The Rugby Pod about the most disappointing moment in his coaching career and where to…

Liam Heagney

27 May 2020, 9:00

Pat Howard lets rip: 'I'd some very hard, direct words with everybody up and down the chain'

It was a year ago when Pat Howard stepped in at Leicester to conduct a no-nonsense top to bottom review… he now sheds light on t…

Liam Heagney

26 May 2020, 10:57

The uncomfortable truth about the Springboks 1995 RWC win, told by the man who ushered in racial quotas

25 years on from the start of the inspired 1995 World Cup win, Ed Griffiths spins through a multitude of Springboks anecdotes and …

Liam Heagney

24 May 2020, 6:25

Ex-World Rugby advisor's grim warning: 'Rugby can only come back to what it was if we have a vaccine'

Barry O’Driscoll was a long-serving World Rugby medical advisor who now fears scrums, mauls and rucks are all under threat due t…

Liam Heagney

24 May 2020, 4:03

'What would we do if this was a brand new club and we start again, what is the ideal scenario?'

Joint Worcester owners Jason Whittingham and Colin Goldring are using rugby's stoppage to finesse plans to turn Warriors into a Pr…

Liam Heagney

23 May 2020, 11:30

Still no pity for poisoned All Blacks 25 years on: 'No one forced them to eat seafood days before final'

This Monday - May 25 - marks the 25th anniversary of the opening match of the 1995 World Cup... South Africa went on to beat the A…

Liam Heagney

23 May 2020, 6:41

Six Nations and SANZAAR issue joint global calendar statement detailing 7 key principles

Six Nations and SANZAAR have been working closely over the lockdown period to try and develop proposals for an aligned global cale…

Liam Heagney

22 May 2020, 4:25

'Nothing is being done to get kids who grow up on the street, kids who don't own TVs involved in the game'

Jacques Burger took great joy when deprived Nairobi kids took to rugby when visiting Kenya... he feels Namibia children would do l…

Liam Heagney

21 May 2020, 14:55

'If we go over the salary cap, come and point the gun at myself... not anyone else'

In the wake of the Saracens salary cap controversy, there is an increased focus on spending by Gallagher Premiership clubs, includ…

Liam Heagney

21 May 2020, 11:03

'It's bizarre, really bad management from a CEO perspective': Rugby Pod points finger of blame after Ackermann exit

Andy Goode and The Rugby Pod lift the lid on why Johan Ackermann allegedly reversed out of Gloucester last week for a job in Japan…

Liam Heagney

19 May 2020, 11:05

Carl Fearns is staying in France after agreeing Pro D2 deal with ex-England scrum-half

With his five-year stint over at Top 14 Lyon, ex-Bath back row Carl Fearns will hook up with former England scrum-half Richard Hil…

Liam Heagney

19 May 2020, 8:46

Allen Clarke makes very low-key return 140 days after his axing at Ospreys

Irishman Clarke was pushed out of his job at Ospreys on November 26 but it took until late December for the warring factions to ag…

Liam Heagney

19 May 2020, 8:02

Three successive promotions, a 94% win rate and a bizarre 0-0 draw: How liquidated London Welsh fought back from oblivion

Liquidated London Welsh were shattered by 2017's Championship expulsion, but Cai Griffiths is masterminding a phoenix-from-flames …

Liam Heagney

17 May 2020, 5:00

'That's not true': Murphy sacks Maro Itoje rumour but confirms that Leicester are signing a second row

Steve Borthwick’s impending arrival at Welford Road made the Maro Itoje signing rumours sound plausible, but Leicester have insi…

Liam Heagney

16 May 2020, 6:22

Premiership clubs lost a staggering £88.7million in the two years before CVC buy-in

The extensive salary cap report by Lord Myners accessed Companies House records to learn that a combined total of nearly £89milli…

Liam Heagney

15 May 2020, 9:55

One question still unanswered after 5-month investigation - which unnamed club breached Premiership salary cap in 2015

Full disclosure regarding what occurred in 2015 eluded Lord Myners in his 55-page report due to how cases against Saracens and a s…

Liam Heagney

14 May 2020, 8:18

Premiership's 24 best-paid players cost £14million in 2019/20... and not all were 'marquee'

The extensive 55-page Myners report has revealed the staggering collective remuneration of the 24 best-paid players for 2019/20 Ga…

Liam Heagney

14 May 2020, 6:43

Agustin Pichot quits World Rugby: 'I cannot conceive of occupying a place just for the sake of it'

Defeated Agustin Pichot secured 23 of the available 51 chairman election votes and he has now officially given up his World Rugby …

Liam Heagney

13 May 2020, 4:55

Maro Itoje linked with huge Premiership move... and Alex Goode is off as well - The Rugby Pod

One of Warren Gatland’s potential 2021 Lions captains, Maro Itoje has been touted for a temporary move away from relegated Sarac…

Liam Heagney

12 May 2020, 9:00

Umbro land Premiership club kit deal a week after snapping up England

The football-associated Umbro brand came in for much scrutiny last week when they secured a four-year deal replace Canterbury as t…

Liam Heagney

12 May 2020, 6:56

'I genuinely didn't give a f***. That's the attitude players are going to have'

Closed doors matches are ready to become rugby’s new norm, but they are not unprecedented as Tim Visser made history in 2010 whe…

Liam Heagney

10 May 2020, 3:24

The ex-Saracens scrum-half that left a 15-year-old Maro Itoje in awe

Maro Itoje has reacted to a tweet from Saracens reflecting on a May 2010 victory at Leicester which qualified them for what was th…

Liam Heagney

09 May 2020, 6:50

'I want to go to Japan and really showcase my attacking talent... it has been stifled at Bath'

Freddie Burns tells RugbyPass how anonymity at Bath and the coronavirus stoppage threatened to leave him without a job next season…

Liam Heagney

06 May 2020, 14:02

'What does a rugby player deserve? It's the wrong question… the whole cost base is out of whack'

Global Rapid Rugby boss Mark Evans takes no pleasure reiterating long-held concerns that pro rugby doesn’t financially add up, b…

Liam Heagney

03 May 2020, 5:28

The rugby nobody whose book is outselling Jones, Gatland and McCaw

Ben Mercer is shaking up the Amazon book charts with revelations about a nomadic career in the Championship shadows before a switc…

Liam Heagney

03 May 2020, 4:00

Scotland outcast Alex Dunbar among 10 players released from Top 14 Brive

The 2019/20 Top 14 season was terminated on Thursday, French officials finally admitting defeat in their quest to eventually resta…

Liam Heagney

02 May 2020, 13:33

'The media played out the club was in massive dispute or at civil war... it wasn't'

There were recent allegations that the across the board pay cuts at Leicester had sparked a revolt by a number of players, but Dan…

Liam Heagney

02 May 2020, 9:32

German officials cry foul on same day it's revealed World Rugby election result is being brought forward

The minnow European rugby nation have slammed a lack of consultation regarding an election where the announcement of the May 12 re…

Liam Heagney

01 May 2020, 15:16

'People mocked us about the Care Bears and stuff like that... but Bears is now part of our fabric'

On the verge of becoming Championship champions in April 2018, owner Steve Lansdown controversially ramped up the razzmatazz ahead…

Liam Heagney

30 Apr 2020, 10:35

The measures taken to safeguard the mental health of Wayne Pivac's locked down Wales players

Welsh rugby has been in cold storage since the 11th-hour postponement of a March 14 Six Nations match and no one is any wiser as t…

Liam Heagney

29 Apr 2020, 12:32

Wayne Pivac is actively helping Jonah Holmes leave Leicester Tigers

The 27-year-old winger, who earned the last of his three caps last August, is teasing out whether it is possible to leave his Gall…

Liam Heagney

29 Apr 2020, 11:39

'The back of my brain smashed into the back of my skull and that caused the main artery to my frontal lobe to burst'

Will Hurrell suffered a career-ending stroke as a result of playing for Bristol in the Premiership last January… his story is de…

Liam Heagney

26 Apr 2020, 4:49

The Gavin Henson moment that left Will Hurrell realising he had made it in big-time rugby

The 30-year-old centre sadly called it quits on April 10, three months after suffering a stroke following a whiplash head injury w…

Liam Heagney

25 Apr 2020, 6:12

'We never engaged a lawyer... no lawyer was in any Zoom call'

Captain Tom Youngs and coach Geordan Murphy appeared on the latest episode of Leicester Tigers TV Weekly to tease out recent media…

Liam Heagney

25 Apr 2020, 5:08

Microphone picks up Sale owner calling Gloucester witness a 'liar' in RFU hearing

At the heart of the fall-out was how Springbok midfielder Rohan Janse van Rensburg wound up signing contracts with two Premiership…

Liam Heagney

24 Apr 2020, 9:26

The John Mitchell encounter that convinced David Campese England wouldn't win 2019 World Cup

The legendary Wallaby has a long history of bashing the English and there is no sign of that stopping following his latest barb ab…

Liam Heagney

24 Apr 2020, 4:52

The fatal IRFU systems flaw exposed by James Cronin's doping breach

In the old way of life, James Cronin’s bizarre doping violation would have caused a media storm, not died a very quick shrug-of-…

Liam Heagney

23 Apr 2020, 14:14

How fleeting Leicester return lifted Tom Varndell during difficult time

The ex-England winger left the club where he made his name in 2009, but he will be forever grateful for the rejuvenating way they …

Liam Heagney

21 Apr 2020, 15:00

Witnessing the collapse of Yorkshire Carnegie changed Tom Varndell

Ex-England international Tom Vardell admits he is likely finished as a full-time player but his challenging year at relegated York…

Liam Heagney

19 Apr 2020, 4:40

Major League Rugby club looking to sign Dan Carter?

The New Zealander, who turned 38 in March, announced last week that he is finished with Kobe Steelers, his Japanese club for the p…

Liam Heagney

18 Apr 2020, 22:38

It's now official... Bastareaud is back in the Top 14 at Lyon

It was April 1 when it RugbyPass reported that instead of staying on in America, the ex-France midfielder would be heading back to…

Liam Heagney

18 Apr 2020, 8:28

Mako Vunipola now has a new claim to No1 fame

The Saracens and England star has been crowned champion in the inaugural RugbyPass FIFA charity tournament featuring a stellar cas…

Liam Heagney

18 Apr 2020, 3:54

Beaumont forging ahead as another Six Nations country backs his re-election

The 1980 England Grand Slam skipper is contesting the most powerful position in global rugby against current vice-president Agusti…

Liam Heagney

17 Apr 2020, 10:49

Drew Mitchell: 'There has been mismanagement for the last decade at least'

Speaking to Jim Hamilton on The Lockdown, the RugbyPass pandemic interview series, the ex-Wallaby tackles the cash crisis envelopi…

Liam Heagney

15 Apr 2020, 13:00

Phil Davies describes the daunting rebuild needed at Leeds as like going back to his 1980s playing days

The Welshman's five years in charge at minnows Namibia will come in handy as he tries to challenge the conventional way of thinkin…

Liam Heagney

14 Apr 2020, 14:35

Doddie Weir talks tractors, lambing, MND status and much more in latest Dodcast podcast

The ex-Scotland lock has released the fourth episode of his Jill Douglas-hosted podcast where he talks about living with motor neu…

Liam Heagney

14 Apr 2020, 13:55

Ex-copper Dean Richards is back on the beat

The Newcastle coach has turned back the clock during virus outbreak that prematurely terminated the Championship season and left h…

Liam Heagney

14 Apr 2020, 4:41

RugbyPass Exceptional Stories - Matt Hampson

In the latest documentary in our Exceptional Stories series, we learn about the 35-year-old prop’s incredible journey since his …

Liam Heagney

13 Apr 2020, 11:00

'I currently have no income and I'm stuck here… that's not an ideal scenario'

Pay cuts suffered by the likes of Itoje and other household names are nothing compared to players in the lower reaches such as Dan…

Liam Heagney

12 Apr 2020, 4:21

Ex-Springbok revisits Kamp Staaldraad nightmare: 'It was crazy... the soldiers even fired two bullets on the ground'

Nightmare preparations for the disastrous 2003 World Cup have never left the mind of one ex-Springbok who now lives in the wilds o…

Liam Heagney

10 Apr 2020, 11:40

Warren Gatland reveals the strangest request he has ever got from a player

The 2021 British and Irish Lions coach is currently working at the Super Rugby Chiefs after twelve years at the helm in Wales.

Liam Heagney

09 Apr 2020, 12:09

Jungle-living ex-Springbok van Niekerk outlines extraordinary view on recreational drugs in rugby

The 39-year-old, who earned the last of his 52 South African caps in 2010, finished his club career at Toulon in 2014 and has sinc…

Liam Heagney

09 Apr 2020, 9:36

RPA sets the record straight about alleged Premiership player strike

Union boss Damian Hopley admits that some players were distressed about pay cuts but he takes issue with some of the more dramatic…

Liam Heagney

08 Apr 2020, 10:49

Chabal and another ex-French international reveal respective battles with coronavirus

Two heroes from the 2010 French Grand Slam-winning squad have spoken about how they contracted the virus last month and have since…

Liam Heagney

07 Apr 2020, 9:04

'People are terrified' - New York rugby boss on life in the red zone and where now for the MLR

Rugby is currently off the menu for James Kennedy, the majority owner of Rugby United New York, but he believes it will be all the…

Liam Heagney

05 Apr 2020, 5:36

'It's no secret that USA Rugby have been financially f***** for years'

Last Monday's Chapter 11 bankruptcy declaration sent shockwaves around the rugby world, but one Major League Rugby board member is…

Liam Heagney

04 Apr 2020, 10:57

Less than a fortnight after threatening legal action, Ealing issue response to Newcastle's confirmed promotion

Rugby in England at all levels below the Premiership for the 2019/20 season was terminated on March 20, resulting in Trailfinders …

Liam Heagney

03 Apr 2020, 8:29

Sean O'Brien's gesture to Irish nurses working on the coronavirus front line

Ex-Wales midfielder Jamie Roberts earned kudos a few weeks ago by giving his flat in Cardiff up to the health service... now ex-I…

Liam Heagney

03 Apr 2020, 5:32

It's official: RFU won't bail out Premiership clubs

The 2019/20 top-flight season ground to halt last month and with no sign of a resumption happening any time soon, the clubs have i…

Liam Heagney

02 Apr 2020, 17:00

RFU boss reveals the breathtaking cuts made behind closed doors

The RFU's high ranking officials - including Eddie Jones - have taken pay cuts but the damage for English rugby's rank and file ha…

Liam Heagney

02 Apr 2020, 17:00

The emotional family price paid by Eddie Jones during the coronavirus pandemic

The England coach had a special trip planned for after the Six Nations but he had to revise his plans and instead hunker down in J…

Liam Heagney

02 Apr 2020, 17:00

The one rugby upside to the current coronavirus pandemic... leading Test unions are no longer at loggerheads

Less than a year since arguments scuppered World Rugby's Nations Championship plan, relations between leading Test unions both sid…

Liam Heagney

02 Apr 2020, 6:37

Jones: The world domination reasons why he decided to stick with England

The Australian has the highest win ratio - 78 per cent - in the history of England coaches, winning 42 of his 54 outings in charge…

Liam Heagney

02 Apr 2020, 5:34

RFU unveil formula that will decide who gets promoted from the Championship

Ealing Trailfinders director of rugby Ben Ward floated the possibility last month of a legal challenge if Newcastle were promoted …

Liam Heagney

02 Apr 2020, 4:26

Eddie Jones agrees England contract extension

After stating at the start of the 2020 Guinness Six Nations that the players would tell him whether he should continue or not, th…

Liam Heagney

02 Apr 2020, 3:59

Bastareaud is heading back to the Top 14 on a two-year deal

The French veteran's recruitment by Rugby United New York made headlines around the rugby world when he agreed to move to America …

Liam Heagney

01 Apr 2020, 7:56

'You have players asking, what is my salary going to be next season? You can't give a definitive answer'

Life as a rugby agent in the pandemic... Niall Woods has one client waiting for a Covid-19 test, a couple of others previously sic…

Liam Heagney

31 Mar 2020, 13:34

How did Premiership Rugby's 12 nominated 'players to watch' fare in the 2019/20 season

At the new-season launch at Twickenham in early September, players such as Thorley, Naholo, Hughes and Taufua were chosen as some …

Liam Heagney

31 Mar 2020, 9:00

'If I'm to put a timeline on where this takes us back to, it's years... we face severe challenges'

Revitalised Coventry are an ambitious Championship club on the up, but the coronavirus termination of the 2019/20 season has left …

Liam Heagney

29 Mar 2020, 4:37

'I was stopped by police. They asked, Do you have a permit? Saying you were going to hospital for a birth was good enough reason to get past'

New father George Biagi still can’t get his head around the ‘new normal’ where the killer coronavirus is laying waste to so …

Liam Heagney

28 Mar 2020, 6:14

Where are they now: The 2007 Ireland U20 Six Nations Grand Slam champions

Thirteen years have passed since Ireland struck age-grade Six Nations gold, clinching the 2007 U20s Grand Slam in Italy with a tea…

Liam Heagney

26 Mar 2020, 10:00

6 Premiership clubs - including Saracens - confirm lockdown pay cuts

Premiership officials have confirmed a minimum five-week fixtures suspension and it has led to a half dozen clubs confirming drast…

Liam Heagney

21 Mar 2020, 6:16

RFU's season-ending decision sparks confusion over Newcastle's fate

Falcons were expected to go on and soon clinch the title but that is no longer possible on the field of play following the RFU’s…

Liam Heagney

20 Mar 2020, 7:28

Gallagher Premiership club-by-club: how are they dealing with coronavirus

RugbyPass checks in on all twelve top-flight English clubs to see what they are up to now their calendars are suddenly empty for t…

Liam Heagney

18 Mar 2020, 13:36

'When I first came from amateur rugby I was just gym junkie strong... I never did cardio'

London Irish tighthead Lovejoy Chawatama is living the dream, arriving from Zimbabwe as a 15-year-old and grafting his way through…

Liam Heagney

15 Mar 2020, 4:05

Nigel Owens brilliantly simplifies the debate surrounding the Manu Tuilagi red card

The England midfielder was sent off in the closing minutes last weekend for a tackle on Wales’ George North and was subsequently…

Liam Heagney

14 Mar 2020, 5:43

Wales vs Scotland postponed four hours after WRU statement insisted it was going ahead as planned

An updated statement read: "We have decided to fall in line with recent measures taken across the UK and global sports industries.…

Liam Heagney

13 Mar 2020, 10:17

Ex-All Blacks prop calls on Alun Wyn Jones to 'grab his own balls' and support Joe Marler at disciplinary hearing

The England loosehead has been cited for grabbing the genitals of Wales skipper Jones during last Saturday’s Guinness Six Nation…

Liam Heagney

11 Mar 2020, 5:59

Halloween 'Super Saturday' finale the solution to coronavirus-affected Six Nations

For the first time since 2001, when the foot-and-mouth outbreak also postponed three matches and led to a delayed autumnal climax,…

Liam Heagney

10 Mar 2020, 6:07

'The financial model in place doesn't work and is actually borderline exploitative of us as a people'

Fiji, Tonga and Samoa played their part in making World Cup 2019 a wonderful festival, but Pacific Rugby Player Welfare boss Dan L…

Liam Heagney

08 Mar 2020, 4:49

Pontypool CEO Ben Jeffreys takes leave of absence to battle depression

The grassroots club chief executive had spoken last year about how an obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) drove him to the brink o…

Liam Heagney

07 Mar 2020, 8:26

'A lot of people were bullied... he was a real Jekyll and Hyde of coaching'

Ex-Scotland international Johnnie Beattie was signed by Fabien Galthie in 2012 and what unfolded under the current France coach at…

Liam Heagney

07 Mar 2020, 5:43

'It's a tough one when you're friends with someone who plays the same position, because only one of you can play on the weekend'

Less than three years ago Pat Lam told Callum Sheedy his skills and worth ethic were pretty average... now he is Bristol's star ou…

Liam Heagney

01 Mar 2020, 4:26

Pacific Rugby Players Welfare organisation cry foul over Tonga's fixture with England

The Tongans won't receive a penny of the profits from next November's Twickenham game, renewing calls from Dan Leo for a revised p…

Liam Heagney

29 Feb 2020, 7:51

'Geordie has sort of been picking up the scraps and blocking the hole in the boat at the moment'

But for Saracens' automatic relegation, Leicester versus Worcester would be a massive relegation battle... Telusa Veainu, one of T…

Liam Heagney

29 Feb 2020, 3:25

'That is what I love about our game - all the stakeholders actually have an input'

Along with new All Blacks coach Ian Foster, English referee Wayne Barnes is among the list of rugby experts aiming to make a diffe…

Liam Heagney

27 Feb 2020, 10:16

'Personal attacks on teams and individuals are divisive and unhelpful... it shouldn't be accepted'

Lewis Moody has no problem at all with constructive criticism, but he feels for his old club Leicester Tigers whose on-field strug…

Liam Heagney

27 Feb 2020, 5:03

'The Saracens debacle and fallout, you can see it in the performances that it has clearly impacted'

Lewis Moody was knocking around south-west London on Saturday just like old times. There in the shadows of Twickenham, the great T…

Liam Heagney

23 Feb 2020, 3:34

'I don't chase headlines... I definitely don't type Wayne Barnes into Google'

An assistant referee for Saturday's Wales versus France game, the veteran match official opens a treasure chest of anecdotes... fr…

Liam Heagney

22 Feb 2020, 3:47

Callum Sheedy has had his say on speculation that he will be called up by Wayne Pivac's Wales

Dan Biggar is recovering from his third concussion this season following the defeat to Ireland and Jarrod Evans is currently the o…

Liam Heagney

17 Feb 2020, 5:17

How the tragic loss of two teammates has given Henry Thomas perspective on the 'dark side' of mental health issues

Having encountered tragedies during his playing career, Bath's Henry Thomas is very aware of how best to cope with the trauma of h…

Liam Heagney

16 Feb 2020, 3:22

IRELAND MID-TERM REPORT: Captain Sexton, Stander and Ryan lead the way but room for improvement at Twickenham

With Scotland and Wales both beaten in Dublin to set up a Triple Crown visit to England, RugbyPass grades all 25 players used so f…

Liam Heagney

11 Feb 2020, 6:44

Farrell's winning Ireland have scripted Triple Crown plot that not even Hollywood would think of

The new Irish boss must now plot the downfall of an opposition skippered by his own son Owen after a liberating Sexton-led show of…

Liam Heagney

09 Feb 2020, 6:49

'Kick Italy out and bring in Georgia, that is just rubbish chat... very short-sighted'

Jake Polledri was 19 years old when there was last a W placed alongside the Italians on the championship table... five years and 2…

Liam Heagney

09 Feb 2020, 4:02

Two from two under Farrell, Sexton tackles 'culture of fear' allegations about life under Schmidt

There was some damning ‘culture of fear’ commentary in the build-up to round two, allegations that suggested life under the Ki…

Liam Heagney

08 Feb 2020, 14:10

Ireland player ratings vs Wales

Andy Farrell’s Irish now stand two from two against the Celts, just like Joe Schmidt's class of 2014 when he first got his teeth…

Liam Heagney

08 Feb 2020, 12:37

Preview: End of the Schmidt, Gatland rivalry has made for a very different Ireland-Wales build-up

The lead-in to Saturday’s showdown has contrastingly been all sweetness and light after too many years of tetchiness and rancour…

Liam Heagney

08 Feb 2020, 4:39

The players left on Irish Rugby's 'central contract' hit list after deal struck for James Ryan

With just two of the dozen players currently on central contracts having deals that expire at the end of the season, the focus is …

Liam Heagney

05 Feb 2020, 14:31

How 'true Irish grit' was Andy Farrell's calling card after a near 62-week wait to start his new job

It was November 2018 when it was first confirmed that Englishman Faz would take over and the opening win over Scotland showed sign…

Liam Heagney

02 Feb 2020, 5:10

'We were walking down Fifth Avenue, and every ten seconds people were stopping him. French people, Irish people, even Americans'

After featuring in eight Le Crunch encounters, France-England is now very much a past tense fixture for Mathieu Bastareaud as he s…

Liam Heagney

02 Feb 2020, 4:31

The truth behind Johnny Sexton's latest compelling return from injury

Sidelined since limping out of action with Leinster in early December, it was only two days before the Six Nations opener that his…

Liam Heagney

01 Feb 2020, 15:59

Ireland player ratings vs Scotland

Andy Farrell's reign as Irish boss got underway with a hard-fought win over Scotland that was in contrast to their dominance when …

Liam Heagney

01 Feb 2020, 14:26

Recap: Ireland vs Scotland LIVE | Guinness Six Nations

Follow all the action on the RugbyPass live blog from the Guinness Six Nations match between Ireland and Scotland at Aviva Stadiu…

Liam Heagney

01 Feb 2020, 6:23

The tale of two Irish hookers... one in contractual limbo and a rival ready to make his Test debut

It's 33 months since Tadgh McElroy chose Saracens over the Ireland scene... he's now fighting for a way back into the pro ranks wh…

Liam Heagney

01 Feb 2020, 3:59

'I grew up in South Africa with the Five Nations… it was the trendsetter'

Poised to become the first South African-born coach to take charge of a side in the Six Nations, new Italy boss Franco Smith has b…

Liam Heagney

31 Jan 2020, 11:26

Drew Mitchell is coming out of retirement to play MLR, with Robshaw and Zebo also set for talks

Major League Rugby is starting to become a major drawcard... Drew Mitchell is the latest star signing for the 2020 season while ou…

Liam Heagney

28 Jan 2020, 7:32

'I don't think Saracens' relegation changes the dynamics... it's about Quins moving up the league'

It's the talk of rugby, the salary cap crisis enveloping the 2018/19 champions who can expect no sympathy when they play their fir…

Liam Heagney

26 Jan 2020, 8:41

'Player wages are too high... rugby can't afford the squads it has'

Premiership Rugby insists Saracens are the only English club in salary cap trouble, but Newcastle MD Mick Hogan worries about the …

Liam Heagney

26 Jan 2020, 4:24

'A lot of Newcastle supporters have said Saracens cheated and deserve to be punished... there is little sympathy'

Managing director Mick Hogan isn’t blaming the Londoners for the trauma the Falcons are enduring in the Championship... but it s…

Liam Heagney

25 Jan 2020, 4:47

'We did an unbelievable amount of outstanding things under Joe... I'd be absolutely foolish not to harness those bits'

Without doubt, Andy Farrell's domineering frame stands out a mile when keeping company but the pressing question is can he quickly…

Liam Heagney

23 Jan 2020, 13:47

Eddie Jones couldn't resist taking a Gatland reference pop at Wayne Pivac

England are not scheduled to meet Wales until round four in this year's Six Nations, but their outspoken boss has already had a go…

Liam Heagney

23 Jan 2020, 7:38

'I saw a huge change in him between Lions tours. He was like a different person'

Just 17-and-a-half weeks since the Irish blew a gaping hole in the Scots’ World Cup campaign in Japan, they are bracing themselv…

Liam Heagney

23 Jan 2020, 3:22

'I have just had a protein bowl with him and a coffee in the green room out the back'

Six Nations. Two tournaments. One main topic of discussion. This Saracens saga is only going to run and run and run.

Liam Heagney

22 Jan 2020, 15:04

Andy Farrell posed the one question that all Irish fans want answered

Conor Murray had been the long-term first-choice scrum-half under former Irish boss Joe Schmidt, but a campaign for John Cooney's …

Liam Heagney

22 Jan 2020, 12:51

'We took some pretty hard decisions at the end of last season and moved a few referees on'

With ten PRO14 referees on the whistle in Europe this weekend, more than the five from France and England's four, ref boss Greg Ga…

Liam Heagney

19 Jan 2020, 7:11

PRO14 considering bold TMO change to help fans understand decisions better

Only fans watching games on TV are currently privy to the dialogue that takes place among the league’s officials when an inciden…

Liam Heagney

19 Jan 2020, 4:09

French clubs want action taken at European level against Saracens

The Top 14 has a higher salary cap than the £7million Premiership limit that Saracens have broken, but French club bosses want sa…

Liam Heagney

17 Jan 2020, 8:24

Andy Farrell appears to hail from the 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' school of thought

The new Ireland coach's message is his squad is dynamic, powerful and aggressive with a lot of skill and speed, but how true can t…

Liam Heagney

16 Jan 2020, 14:40

'I'm starting to forge my own path and I'm now slightly more known as James Grayson than son of Paul'

Rugby has a curious habit of sons of former international players becoming current day stars, a trend that is being replicated by …

Liam Heagney

12 Jan 2020, 5:49

The ever-inspiring Doddie Weir launches the Dodcast, his new podcast series in association with RugbyPass

The awareness-raising crusade of the former Scotland and Lions player has touched many people since his motor neurone disease diag…

Liam Heagney

09 Jan 2020, 6:33

Rees-Zammit's all-time sporting hero meant England's flirtation was never a runner

Eddie Jones had reportedly been in touch with the youngster about changing allegiance but the Welsh-born Premiership player of the…

Liam Heagney

09 Jan 2020, 5:52

Stuart Lancaster's very good reason to ignore hype about Leinster going entire 32-game season unbeaten

‘Do Not F*** Up January’ adorned posters on the dressing room wall the last time the Irish province started a season as impres…

Liam Heagney

08 Jan 2020, 9:53

What to do with the Southern Kings

Southern Kings are struggling for PRO14 credibility but interim boss Robbi Kempson believes their Eastern Cape project will eventu…

Liam Heagney

05 Jan 2020, 5:25

'When Cockers was here he'd send Greg Bateman or Fraser Balmain running around the posts every day just for being fat'

Leicester's recent fortunes haven't been great but retiring scrum-half Sam Harrison will take a wealth of hilarious, happy memorie…

Liam Heagney

04 Jan 2020, 4:09

'Saracens and Exeter basically hide the ball from the public… you can fall asleep watching some of that rugby'

It’s a hoary old chestnut, the PRO14 versus the Premiership debate, but long-serving boss Michael Bradley believes there are val…

Liam Heagney

29 Dec 2019, 4:12

Just three Ireland World Cup quarter-final players from a possible 20 selected for Munster-Leinster derby

The Guinness PRO14 promotes itself as a top-notch tournament comparable to the Premiership and Top 14, but it's difficult to agree…

Liam Heagney

27 Dec 2019, 9:52

'In the Championship if you make a mistake you might lose 50, 60 yards, whereas in the Premiership you can make a mistake and it's either three, five or seven points'

South African Franco van der Merwe is one of many different cultures blending together as one to ensure that London Irish's latest…

Liam Heagney

22 Dec 2019, 4:29

'I'm pretty average' - Piutau on Fortnite, Bristol Bears and online comments

There are far greater traumas than Bristol losing heavily at Saracens... Charles Piutau and his brother Siale know this more than …

Liam Heagney

22 Dec 2019, 4:05

Recap: Glasgow Warriors vs Edinburgh LIVE | Guinness PRO14

Follow all the action on the RugbyPass live blog from the Guinness PRO14 match between Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh at Scotstou…

Liam Heagney

21 Dec 2019, 10:58

Eleven months after the Zebo affair, Ulster have now banned a second fan after incident versus Harlequins

The Irish province didn't hang about when investigating unwanted fan behaviour last January and they have acted swiftly again foll…

Liam Heagney

18 Dec 2019, 7:50

How Connacht's 140-second Hail Mary play produced the ultimate team try to flatten Gloucester

The clock was on 78:13 in Galway when Gloucester kicked a restart kick deep into opposition territory... 19 phases later they were…

Liam Heagney

14 Dec 2019, 13:03

'Two teams is certainly one too few for Scotland, I'd love to see a third' - Gavin Hastings' radical idea

The former Scottish full-back on the need to revisit the 2007 Borders disbandment decision, his pride watching son Adam and the f…

Liam Heagney

14 Dec 2019, 4:19

Nakarawa has cleared out his locker at Racing and decided his short-term future - reports

The world of rugby was shaken up last Friday when the Parisians decided to terminate the contract of the 2018 European player of t…

Liam Heagney

12 Dec 2019, 15:00

Kyle Sinckler has just been handed a responsibility few believed could ever happen ten months ago

The England and Harlequins tighthead has often been described as a hothead, with Warren Gatland and Andy Goode among his queue of …

Liam Heagney

12 Dec 2019, 7:43

Just four champion Springboks gain selection in prestigious magazine's 2019 World XV... the same number as England

South Africa outplayed England in last month's World Cup final in Yokohama but the champions only break even with the beaten final…

Liam Heagney

10 Dec 2019, 7:57

Departing Toulon owner Mourad Boudjellal on his favourite ever signing and what he might do next in rugby

Love him or loathe him, the Mad Mourad era in charge at the French club was always entertaining... now he is leaving he is in a re…

Liam Heagney

10 Dec 2019, 5:40

'He has still got a lot to develop, still got a lot to learn and he knows that... but he is desperate to do that'

Dan McFarland was happy as a Scotland assistant but Ulster's approach won him over and he hasn't looked back in trying to help pla…

Liam Heagney

07 Dec 2019, 4:04

Enough to make grown men weep: Nine games, seven losses, six by five points or less, three by clock-in-the-red scores

Just last May Kieran Crowley was given the PRO14 coach of the year award... now he is trying to solve why Benetton are losing so m…

Liam Heagney

05 Dec 2019, 7:13

'It brings life into perspective and what really is important' - Ruan Pienaar's silver lining after tragic start to 2019

Life changed on February 15 for the former Springbok scrum-half, the tragic death of his sister setting in train a sequence of eve…

Liam Heagney

04 Dec 2019, 7:45

'It's easy for the fans not to bother' - Shane Williams' stark assessment of Welsh regional rugby

It's hard to believe in the current climate, but Shane Williams remembers a time when the Liberty Stadium used to rock and the reg…

Liam Heagney

01 Dec 2019, 3:09

'Really rash statement': Former Bok takes issue with doping culture allegations in SA rugby

The Springboks' recent World Cup win has been marred by some generalisations about an alleged doping culture in South African rugb…

Liam Heagney

28 Nov 2019, 10:41

Woodward the latest to back Guscott's popular law change suggestion

Rugby now fields starting XVs packed with players who are not prepared to play the full 80 minutes because they know they will be …

Liam Heagney

28 Nov 2019, 4:36

Clive Woodward on how disrespected he felt when he applied to become France coach

The 2003 World Cup winner with England had even enrolled in a French-language school in London only to find that the process to re…

Liam Heagney

26 Nov 2019, 9:18

Here's new Ireland boss Andy Farrell's form XV after two rounds of Champions Cup

With just ten weeks left before his first Six Nations outing in charge, Joe Schmidt's successor had 72 Ireland eligible players st…

Liam Heagney

24 Nov 2019, 4:17

Have the Irish finally stopped licking their bid wounds and identified a better strategy to host a World Cup?

After receiving just eight of the available 39 votes when bidding for the 2023 World Cup, the IRFU vowed never again but do commen…

Liam Heagney

23 Nov 2019, 7:09

Joe Schmidt reveals he asked for a recent Ireland World Cup match to be blown up early

With player safety of concern to the former Ireland coach, his new autobiography takes aim at the state of one World Cup pitch, Bu…

Liam Heagney

21 Nov 2019, 8:28

Will a European League ultimately be the cure to best finance clubs who are living hand to mouth?

With too many clubs in England and France reporting annual losses and remaining dependent on handouts from generous owners, might …

Liam Heagney

21 Nov 2019, 7:06

Saracens now hit in the pocket with a European fine

Fresh from stating they would not be appealing the £5.3million fine and the 35-point deduction handed out by Premiership Rugby, t…

Liam Heagney

19 Nov 2019, 11:21

'My first ever comms and my mic didn't work… I was crying inside' - BOD on punditry gaffes, Saracens cheating, time-wasting scrums and Ireland hosting a World Cup

Brian O'Driscoll is eloquence-personified as he remembers his embarrassing punditry debut, chastises Saracens, slams the refereein…

Liam Heagney

17 Nov 2019, 7:06

Doping in South African rugby? Brian O'Driscoll isn't jumping on the Neil Francis bandwagon

Allegations of a doping culture being rife in South African rugby have arisen in the wake of their recent World Cup win, but an Ir…

Liam Heagney

17 Nov 2019, 3:13

How a short Dublin walk felt like a millions miles on Saturday for one set of Leinster brothers

The Irish province got their latest Champions Cup campaign up and running against an easy on the eye Benetton on a day of mixed em…

Liam Heagney

16 Nov 2019, 14:09

'There is a lot little details if you come into our team you will spot straightaway. One example - we don't have fines'

Kieran Crowley has transformed the miserable fortunes of Benetton Treviso in the last three years and assistant Marco Bortolami ha…

Liam Heagney

16 Nov 2019, 4:02

Allen Clarke on the fight to ensure his fate at Ospreys isn't similar to fellow Irishman Jackman at Dragons

The Swansea-based club's poor start to this season has sharped the focus on whether their Irish boss can stay the course unlike wh…

Liam Heagney

15 Nov 2019, 11:37

Saracens pick just four of their Champions Cup final XV for opener in Paris

Between the World Cup and the salary cap sanctions, continuity has been difficult at the crisis-hit Londoners who head to Paris wi…

Liam Heagney

15 Nov 2019, 8:18

'As someone from the southern hemisphere, it is a phenomenal achievement just to get out of your group'

Johann van Graan tackles why the Irish province isn't more respected for a quarter-final record bettered by only four rival clubs …

Liam Heagney

15 Nov 2019, 7:36

'Commercially, it has been a disappointment... lots of reasons for that'

When EPCR was set-up following the civil war that ended ERC, organisers believed the new Champions Cup's revenues would monster th…

Liam Heagney

15 Nov 2019, 5:13

'It's about people, 63 young players and 32 staff... the complexities, the dynamics, the feelings of those relationships'

Stuart Hooper thought he still had some time to learn the ropes but Todd Blackadder's early exit from Bath plunged him into the di…

Liam Heagney

14 Nov 2019, 11:15

'Everyone says we're a million dollars, working hard, pushing more in the gym, running further... but so is everyone else'

After their longest-ever pre-season, Harlequins arrived into the new Premiership campaign looking to make a statement but it hasn'…

Liam Heagney

13 Nov 2019, 9:19

Racing 92 have finally issued a statement regarding the absent Leone Nakarawa

It has been one of the most bizarre post-World Cup stories, Leone Nakarawa's failure to report back for club duty with Racing, and…

Liam Heagney

13 Nov 2019, 4:50

One pro team's huge turnover: just two players are at Ulster longer than 27-year-old Iain Henderson

Iain Henderson debuted for Ulster as a 20-year-old in 2012 surrounded by a hugely experienced squad... now just two players are le…

Liam Heagney

12 Nov 2019, 14:21

'He has probably got more hair products than my wife does'

As skipper at Sale, Jono Ross is well-placed to have an insight on the World Cup's most talked about hairstyle... he also talks So…

Liam Heagney

10 Nov 2019, 5:07

Munster's pursuit of Springbok stars begs questions of IRFU stance on Aki

It looks very odd that a move abroad would end Bundee Aki's Ireland career, yet the penny-pinching IRFU is planning to happily acc…

Liam Heagney

10 Nov 2019, 4:00

Mark McCall has finally broken his silence over Saracens' salary cap breaches

Saracens' director of rugby failed to turn up at Wednesday's Champions Cup launch following the Premiership salary breaches announ…

Liam Heagney

09 Nov 2019, 10:20

'Saracens are going to be quite emotional... like a bear with a sore head'

It has been a tumultuous salary cap week in the Gallagher Premiership and Gloucester might have drawn the short straw in being the…

Liam Heagney

08 Nov 2019, 9:13

European chairman's stark message for some fellow rugby administrators - stop holding the sport back

Heading into his fifth season as EPCR chairman, Simon Halliday is demanding better governance for professional rugby and calls on …

Liam Heagney

07 Nov 2019, 13:54

'No, I don't live my life with regret' - Munster's van Graan on missing last Saturday's Boks triumph

A young spectator at the grounds for South Africa's two previous World Cup wins, Johann van Graan has no regrets at missing the th…

Liam Heagney

07 Nov 2019, 3:10

Robshaw: Rugby has lost high ground over football thanks to Saracens

Robshaw doesn’t hold his tongue in condemning Saracens’ accounting shenanigans, even though Harlequins were well off the pace …

Liam Heagney

06 Nov 2019, 7:32

World Cup winner Erasmus' poignant promise to the late Anthony Foley

The tragic October 2016 death of Munster's Anthony Foley wasn't forgotten by Rassie Erasmus in the hour of his greatest rugby triu…

Liam Heagney

05 Nov 2019, 15:47

Leone Nakarawa is potentially facing the sack at Racing 92

Leone Nakarawa is one of the world's most coveted second rows but his club Racing 92 are reportedly furious that he has yet to rep…

Liam Heagney

05 Nov 2019, 5:03

Will selecting overseas-based players become a trend after South Africa's compelling triumph?

Most leading countries have a policy of not selecting overseas-based players for their national teams, but will South Africa's ver…

Liam Heagney

03 Nov 2019, 3:55

South Africa player ratings vs England

No team had ever before won the World Cup having lost a pool match, but Rassie Erasmus' South Africa put that dubious history to b…

Liam Heagney

02 Nov 2019, 8:10

Wales player ratings vs New Zealand

Having played themselves to a standstill in their semi-final loss to South Africa last Sunday, Wales didn't have enough energy abo…

Liam Heagney

01 Nov 2019, 8:06

'The classic one is always, are you a hooker? That is just so out of date. Unbelievable'

Winning a World Cup for England is a life-changing experience as Rachael Burford knows only too well after her 2014 triumph with h…

Liam Heagney

30 Oct 2019, 11:08

'It was a no-brainer to come and join... Leicester is a similar situation to the Bulls'

Picking a once-great club up off the canvas is a process Hanro Liebenberg experienced at the Bulls... now he wants to similarly re…

Liam Heagney

26 Oct 2019, 10:27

Andrew Trimble makes a great point about Zebo and the Schmidt era

Simon Zebo's relationship with Joe Schmidt was never the best... and former Ireland team-mate Andrew Trimble has now offered an in…

Liam Heagney

22 Oct 2019, 8:33

Quade Cooper's salty online remark regarding Michael Cheika quitting the Wallabies

It's no secret that Michael Cheika had become a very unpopular Wallabies coach and his exit has now drawn a frosty response from Q…

Liam Heagney

20 Oct 2019, 9:23

Ireland's four-year 'improvement' was the All Blacks taking seven minutes longer than Argentina to go 17 early points up

IRFU high-performance boss David Nucifora promised mistakes made for the 2015 World Cup wouldn't be repeated in 2019, yet Ireland …

Liam Heagney

19 Oct 2019, 13:47

Ireland player ratings vs New Zealand

Ireland hoped 2019 would be the year they would create World Cup history but their pool loss to Japan handed them a quarter-final …

Liam Heagney

19 Oct 2019, 8:36

Seven-try All Blacks crush Ireland to set up England semi-final clash

Steve Hansen’s All Blacks ran out 46-14 winners in Tokyo, destroying Ireland hopes of reaching a first-ever semi-final at the Wo…

Liam Heagney

19 Oct 2019, 8:15

Irish newspaper claims All Blacks have undermined their own culture selecting Sevu Reece 12 months after IRFU tore up contract offer

Seve Reece's contract at Connacht was torn up following a guilty plea at a court case, but he now incredibly finds himself lining …

Liam Heagney

18 Oct 2019, 13:54

This is it, the moment of truth that will define Joe Schmidt's Ireland legacy

Joe Schmidt has been on the prowl with Ireland for six years and 75 matches, but his excellent stint in charge has come down to a …

Liam Heagney

18 Oct 2019, 9:25

'I'm not getting rid of the mullet... there is scientific evidence that shows it makes me faster'

Having won the last two World Cups, the All Blacks know how to mix business with pleasure at the finals and they have been having …

Liam Heagney

18 Oct 2019, 4:52

Brain surgeon: Owen Farrell headshots set precedent amateur rugby simply must not follow

Owen Farrell played on after two red card hits at the World Cup without undergoing a head injury assessment, a situation a brain e…

Liam Heagney

17 Oct 2019, 11:58

Chris Pennell's bold prediction despite Worcester winning only 58 of 220 games in his 10 Premiership campaigns

Worcester have had a meagre 26.3 per cent win rate during Chris Pennell's 10 seasons in the Premiership, but the long-serving full…

Liam Heagney

16 Oct 2019, 11:42

High shot on former England skipper Chris Robshaw results in five-week ban

Having failed to gain selection for Japan 2019, Chris Robshaw, England's captain at the ill-fated World Cup four years ago, has be…

Liam Heagney

16 Oct 2019, 7:56

Sam Matavesi in social media plea after his Fijian World Cup kit is stolen in London car park theft

Sam Matavesi arrived home buzzing after playing a pivotal part in Fiji's World Cup but his memories have been tainted by the theft…

Liam Heagney

15 Oct 2019, 12:40

Kick in the face leads to heaviest suspension yet at the World Cup

Three weeks has been the usual length of ban given to players attending World Cup disciplinary hearings but Tonga hooker Paula Nga…

Liam Heagney

15 Oct 2019, 5:01

The Aki midfield puzzle, Sexton's double omen and restrained quarter-final expectation as Ireland head to Tokyo

Bundee Aki's likely suspension will give Ireland a midfield headache but they head into 2019's quarter-finals in a healthy state a…

Liam Heagney

13 Oct 2019, 11:23

Ireland player ratings vs Samoa

Ireland needed a response following two shaky outings at the World Cup and they got it, their half-back partnership outclassing Sa…

Liam Heagney

12 Oct 2019, 9:56

Recap: Ireland vs Samoa LIVE | Rugby World Cup

Follow all the action on the RugbyPass live blog from the World Cup match between Ireland versus Samoa in Fukuoka. Keep up to dat…

Liam Heagney

12 Oct 2019, 6:19

'You look at that 2003 picture and I'm the only black player... it's so nice now to see things are moving on'

The England squad chasing World Cup glory in Japan looks very different from the title-winning squad of 2003 where Jason Robinson …

Liam Heagney

12 Oct 2019, 4:32

Super storm - World Rugby hit back at SRU's legal threat

A war of words has broken out between the Scottish Rugby Union and World Rugby over the typhoon threat to Sunday's Scotland versus…

Liam Heagney

11 Oct 2019, 11:05

Schmidt's full circle, the estranged Aki/Henshaw combo, a bad Toner omen and more as Ireland put qualification on the line

RugbyPass runs the rule over Ireland ahead of their showdown with Samoa... the full circle Schmidt era, the estranged Aki/Henshaw …

Liam Heagney

11 Oct 2019, 10:37

English World Cup winner calls on stuttering Ireland to finally show what they have got

History has shown teams can still have a good World Cup campaign despite a devastating pool stage loss and a 2003 winner with Engl…

Liam Heagney

10 Oct 2019, 9:07

The 'gimme' Ireland RWC fixture that now has a very different complexion

Ireland's clash with Russia was a fixture with little or no significance until Joe Schmidt's squad were dramatically ambushed last…

Liam Heagney

02 Oct 2019, 11:19

Shizuoka was repeat of Cardiff 2015 for Sexton-less Ireland

Ireland had four years to ensure they would not play an important World Cup match with a rookie No10, but their failure to build d…

Liam Heagney

28 Sep 2019, 12:36

Ireland player ratings vs Japan

Ireland were expected to brush Japan aside and build on last Sunday's demolition against Scotland, but they lost their way in Shiz…

Liam Heagney

28 Sep 2019, 6:27

'Bath is a massive club and rugby is in the fabric of the city... I love it here'

Girvan Dempsey is invigorated by his current challenge of igniting the Bath attack, but the former Leinster coach remains acutely …

Liam Heagney

27 Sep 2019, 13:10

Sexton's absence puts Ireland back in the 2015 territory they vowed would never be repeated

IRFU performance boss David Nucifora vowed after Ireland's 2015 RWC exit they would not be caught shy at the next World Cup with a…

Liam Heagney

27 Sep 2019, 7:29

England World Cup winner claims 2019 team won't play for Eddie Jones and slams selection of overseas players

Back living in England after time overseas, 2003 World Cup winner Steve Thompson isn't short of candid opinions on the Class of 20…

Liam Heagney

25 Sep 2019, 6:18

How referee Romain Poite was talked out of brandishing high tackle red cards

World Rugby admitted on Tuesday that refereeing standards weren't up to scratch on opening weekend but their vow to do better was …

Liam Heagney

24 Sep 2019, 11:35

World Rugby's candid admission: match officials weren't up to scratch on opening weekend

The 2019 World Cup in Japan is supposed to be a tournament that will be the best-refereed finals ever but the opening weekend didn…

Liam Heagney

24 Sep 2019, 6:03

Heartbreak for Wesley Fofana as his World Cup is over before it got started

The 2019 World Cup was supposed to be a fitting end to Wesley Fofana's Test level career, but injury has prematurely forced him ou…

Liam Heagney

21 Sep 2019, 19:49

'There was no bust-up: Johann and JP I enjoyed... they are incredibly hard-working guys'

Fresh from his dramatic exit from Munster, former coach Jerry Flannery tells RugbyPass why he left and explains why South Africa a…

Liam Heagney

21 Sep 2019, 13:39

RugbyPass presents 'Tonga: Road To Japan'

RugbyPass went behind the scenes in August as Tonga, the country with the smallest population and the smallest budget of the 20 qu…

Liam Heagney

20 Sep 2019, 14:02

'It's a dream come true' - Tommy Bowe on his quick journey from RWC try-scoring winger to RWC TV anchorman

Old Test players doing TV punditry is nothing unusual but Tommy Bowe's jump from 2015 World Cup try-scorer to 2019 World Cup TV an…

Liam Heagney

19 Sep 2019, 12:55

Ireland set to make five changes... including a surprise inclusion at full-back

Ireland were catapulted to No1 in the World Rugby rankings with a September 7 win over Wales in Dublin, but their XV to face Scotl…

Liam Heagney

19 Sep 2019, 9:14

'I don't make as much money as Alex Ferguson makes... I'm not buying a bottle of red for anybody'

RugbyPass sat down with Johan Ackermann, Paul Gustard and Declan Kidney at the Gallagher Premiership launch to talk managerial riv…

Liam Heagney

15 Sep 2019, 4:29

'You get nervous whether it's a club match in some God-knows-where city in Russia or the opening day of the Rugby World Cup in Japan'

Having leaked 162 points and conceded 24 tries in recent losses to Italy, Jersey and Connacht, little is expected of Russia at the…

Liam Heagney

15 Sep 2019, 3:42

Headache for Ireland as injury threatens Robbie Henshaw's World Cup just like it did in 2015

Robbie Henshaw missed the opening two matches of Ireland's 2015 World Cup but the prognosis for the midfielder in Japan could be e…

Liam Heagney

14 Sep 2019, 8:43

'Danny Cipriani, James O'Connor, they were child proteges... in the international set-up at 18, 19 and probably couldn't handle that'

Sale now have greater money to spend, but Steve Diamond won't be retiring his happy knack of taking on fallen stars at the Sharks …

Liam Heagney

14 Sep 2019, 3:04

'Owen Franks missing the World Cup... that highlighted how the game has grown, where you don't have any passengers'

It's eight years since John Afoa helped New Zealand win the World Cup and while his career is thriving at Bristol, he feels prop p…

Liam Heagney

13 Sep 2019, 14:52

Wednesday's English Premiership launch was like an Irish coaching reunion

Eighteen days after the Ireland national team was crushed at Twickenham by England, the influence that Irish coaching has on the P…

Liam Heagney

12 Sep 2019, 9:30

'I would have had to turn water into wine to really sway Eddie Jones'

RugbyPass was at the Gallagher Premiership launch in London where Danny Cipriani candidly peeled back the layers on his England Wo…

Liam Heagney

11 Sep 2019, 17:15

Thirty days after his England World Cup exclusion, Mike Brown talks Treviso, Te'o and Eddie Jones

Veteran Mike Brown may have celebrated his 34th birthday last week but he insists he is still the best full-back in England and wi…

Liam Heagney

11 Sep 2019, 11:23

'I'd people telling me about Naholo and I was, Nah, surely not? Then it gets announced and you're like, Wow, it was true'

Blair Cowan has only seen London Irish win 21 of 88 Premiership games in his four top-flight seasons... now with a stellar cast of…

Liam Heagney

10 Sep 2019, 13:25

London Irish opt not to stoke controversy in Ireland with Paddy Jackson

London Irish's signing of Paddy Jackson hasn't been without controversy and the club have now decided not to bring their out-half …

Liam Heagney

10 Sep 2019, 7:22

'It has that wonderful air of unpredictability' - Dallaglio on RWC, England's revival and fighting for kids excluded from mainstream education

Life after rugby has been good for Lawrence Dallaglio, but the sport is still at the heart of his existence, be it TV punditry, co…

Liam Heagney

08 Sep 2019, 3:40

Standing ovation as Schmidt signs off from Dublin with eye-watering home fortress statistics

A Joe Schmidt home game in Dublin has become quite the occasion for Irish rugby fans and he has signed off from his adopted home w…

Liam Heagney

07 Sep 2019, 13:22

Ireland player ratings vs Wales

Ireland were on the canvas when beaten by England a fortnight ago but they have bounced back with two wins over Wales, this latest…

Liam Heagney

07 Sep 2019, 11:55

'If you think suddenly for one moment this is normal, give yourself a little slap of reality'

After spending his entire professional career playing in the Championship, Harlequins' Toby Freeman is gunning to make a Premiersh…

Liam Heagney

07 Sep 2019, 5:55

Ireland make 12 changes to their team to face Wales

Having beaten a second-string Wales in Cardiff last weekend, Joe Schmidt has rung the changes for Ireland ahead of their rematch w…

Liam Heagney

05 Sep 2019, 9:00

'It's not the lowest point because you're representing your country at a World Cup' - Tom Wood on England 2015, Lewis Ludlum and his born-again Saints

Lewis Ludlam fast-track emergence was a reminder to Tom Wood that rugby is becoming a young man's sport, but the 32-year-old belie…

Liam Heagney

01 Sep 2019, 10:02

'How they seem to be playing down the importance of the backstop is just incredulous...' - Brian O'Driscoll on Brexit fears, Ireland's form and Japan hosting RWC

Brian O'Driscoll is a 40-year-old with recollections of police checks and border controls dividing the island of Ireland and he fe…

Liam Heagney

01 Sep 2019, 3:05

Ireland player ratings vs Wales

Humiliated in London the previous weekend, a middle strength Ireland XV regained some lost ground by deservedly getting the better…

Liam Heagney

31 Aug 2019, 13:11

'I'm not really disappointed... I'm positive' - Taqele Naiyaravoro on RWC misfortune, his Fijian heritage and life at Northampton

Taqele Naiyaravoro isn't wasting time dwelling on missing out on another World Cup, his focus instead being on a new Premiership s…

Liam Heagney

30 Aug 2019, 12:29

Another week, another law tweak by World Rugby

With their biggest ever World Cup on the horizon, World Rugby is tweaking laws in the run-up and its latest change concerns the us…

Liam Heagney

30 Aug 2019, 11:10

Springbok Aphiwe Dyantyi insisted he hasn't cheated... but B sample result hasn't backed him up

Aphiwe Dyantyi protested his innocence last weekend when a urine sample tested positive, but his hopes that a B sample would exone…

Liam Heagney

30 Aug 2019, 9:05

'There is a large element of fear involved...' - James Haskell on his switch from rugby to MMA

Rocky and Mike Tyson were among the names dropped into the mix by James Haskell during his first MMA media conference, but he also…

Liam Heagney

30 Aug 2019, 8:20

Heaslip keeping the faith: 'This team since the last World Cup is probably the best Irish squad ever assembled'

Jamie Heaslip is heading to Japan in October and while numerous fans are concerned with the form of Joe Schmidt's squad, the forme…

Liam Heagney

29 Aug 2019, 13:59

Ireland make 11 changes to their team to face Wales

Trounced by England at Twickenham last Saturday, Joe Schmidt has taken action ahead of Ireland's trip to Wales by making 11 change…

Liam Heagney

29 Aug 2019, 8:57

'I didn't know it was coming... my first reaction was to scream' - John Cooney on his Ireland axe

John Cooney was watching Gaelic football on TV when his Sunday afternoon was ruined by Joe Schmidt phoning to tell him he was bein…

Liam Heagney

29 Aug 2019, 4:33

Ireland tipped to make 11 changes for Wales and hand Peter O'Mahony a different back row role

Optimism surrounding Ireland's World Cup chances nose-dived with a record defeat at Twickenham and Joe Schmidt is now likely to ch…

Liam Heagney

28 Aug 2019, 11:31

An English Championship side has left a World Cup team's preparations in tatters

So many rugby fans are hoping the minnow nations can pack a punch at the 2019 World Cup, but the form of Russia, the 20th ranked s…

Liam Heagney

28 Aug 2019, 4:52

Brian O'Driscoll has a World Cup remedy to fix Joe Schmidt's struggling Ireland midfield

Ireland's midfield was like a turnstile at Twickenham, failing to stem a rampant English attack, and it has left the legendary Bri…

Liam Heagney

27 Aug 2019, 9:47

'I read social media posts saying stuff like I should never wear a rugby shirt again - it's all bollocks'

It's 10 months since Freddie Burns' gaffe for Bath went viral and he is proud he didn't play the victim... instead he decided to b…

Liam Heagney

25 Aug 2019, 6:16

'I can't tell you what I'm going to be doing post this World Cup from 8-to-5 as a job... nothing is set in stone'

The transition from rugby player to a different career can be full of pitfalls and while Bryan Habana is feeling fortunate so far,…

Liam Heagney

25 Aug 2019, 3:39

Ireland player ratings vs England

Records humiliatingly tumbled at Twickenham as Ireland wilted in the London heat and had no answers to the power that England punc…

Liam Heagney

24 Aug 2019, 12:15

Springbok Aphiwe Dyantyi tests positive for banned substance

Lions winger Aphiwe Dyantyi has landed himself in trouble after a test taken while attending a Springboks training camp in early J…

Liam Heagney

24 Aug 2019, 8:56

'I've made sure I booked my flight for the Monday after the final in case the All Blacks do it'

Justin Marshall has high hopes that the All Blacks can win a third consecutive World Cup now that they have retained the Bledisloe…

Liam Heagney

23 Aug 2019, 14:05

'I'm now banned from going all-inclusive...' - Gloucester's Fraser Balmain on holidays, Danny Cipriani and World Rugby's latest scrum tweak

Tighthead Fraser Balmain has reinvigorated his career at Gloucester in the last two seasons after believing he got stuck in a rut …

Liam Heagney

22 Aug 2019, 14:11

Ireland make 12 changes to their team to face England

Following a scratchy performance against Italy, Joe Schmidt has changed 12 of his starting Ireland side to face England and includ…

Liam Heagney

22 Aug 2019, 6:25

Less is more for PRO14 as they opt for a lower capacity ground for their 2020 final

Attendances for PRO14 finals have been on the rise in recent years but that trend will stop in 2020 as organisers have opted to st…

Liam Heagney

22 Aug 2019, 5:09

France will appeal Paul Gabrillagues' six-week ban

Believing the six-week suspension handed down to lock Paul Gabrillagues to be too severe, France are to appeal the ban in the hope…

Liam Heagney

21 Aug 2019, 16:48

Player welfare protocol means Lewis Ludlam can't play for England this Saturday

Lewis Ludlam set pulses racing with his Test level breakthrough on consecutive weekends against Wales, but contractual protocol me…

Liam Heagney

21 Aug 2019, 11:30

Leinster's Ross Byrne in line for first Test start as Ireland set to make multiple changes for Twickenham

Amid doubts about the availability of Joey Carbery for the start of Ireland's World Cup, Joe Schmidt is set to give a first Test s…

Liam Heagney

21 Aug 2019, 9:57

France make four changes for Scotland rematch

Such is the confidence suddenly coursing through France following last weekend's opening win in Nice, Jacques Brunel has announced…

Liam Heagney

20 Aug 2019, 10:01

It's a TMO's paradise... 34 different cameras will cover the RWC semi-finals and final

With broadcast production set to be completely produced and controlled by World Rugby at World Cup 2019, they plan to enhance cove…

Liam Heagney

20 Aug 2019, 5:34

Eighteen months after his last cap, France turn to Fijian Virimi Vakatawa

Not since February 2018 has the name of Virimi Vakatawa featured on a France teamsheet, but the Fijian-born Racing winger has been…

Liam Heagney

20 Aug 2019, 4:57

'There is a bit of a misnomer that rugby is looking for bigger, heavier players'

Finessing Ulster's pathway system hasn't been easy but academy boss Kieran Campbell believes they are on the right track with spri…

Liam Heagney

18 Aug 2019, 6:46

Wales' Dan Biggar hits back at critic in live post-match TV interview

After claims during the week that Wales will not win the World Cup with him at out-half, Saturday's man of the match Dan Biggar ha…

Liam Heagney

17 Aug 2019, 11:53

Christian Wade has done it again, lighting up the NFL with Buffalo

Christian Wade lit up social media when scoring with his first touch in NFL and he continued that positive impression with another…

Liam Heagney

17 Aug 2019, 7:35

Tom Varndell signs for Yorkshire and not everyone's happy about it

Tom Varndell's reputation as a Premiership try-scorer used to be second to none, but his career has been transient in recent years…

Liam Heagney

17 Aug 2019, 4:06

Danny Cipriani breaks his silence over England World Cup selection snub

Danny Cipriani's has broken his silence after his stellar Premiership form for Gloucester was ultimately not enough to sway Eddie …

Liam Heagney

17 Aug 2019, 3:02

The stats that highlight how really coveted Fijians players are by elite European clubs

Unlike eight years ago at New Zealand 2011, Fiji will arrive at RWC 2019 with a squad heaving with players coveted by Europe's lea…

Liam Heagney

16 Aug 2019, 8:10

'I may have taken refuge in alcohol... it was not the right solution'

Life has been difficult for Carl Hayman since he retired from playing but the former All Black is slowly piecing his life back tog…

Liam Heagney

16 Aug 2019, 6:04

Two new caps in France team to face Scotland

Preparing for the World Cup after a disappointing Six Nations, France boss Jacques Brunel has rung the changes for their first war…

Liam Heagney

15 Aug 2019, 5:29

Six months after demanding it open, Eddie Jones now wants the Principality roof closed

Eddie Jones caused uproar last February when he refused to grant Wales permission to close the Principality Stadium roof, but the …

Liam Heagney

15 Aug 2019, 3:48

Expect just two scrum-halves to make Joe Schmidt's final Ireland 31 for RWC

Having excluded two players last week and another three on Wednesday, Joe Schmidt has reduced his squad to 40 but another nine mus…

Liam Heagney

14 Aug 2019, 14:49

Three more cut as Ireland name squad for warm-weather camp in Portugal

Ireland are heading to Portugal for a warm-weather camp having issued an update on Joey Carbery's injury and cut more players from…

Liam Heagney

14 Aug 2019, 9:03

Meaningless friendlies debate not restricted to Test level as Racing 92 suffer huge injury blow

Gareth Anscombe's RWC-ruining injury has sparked a debate about playing meaningless friendly Test matches, but serious injuries al…

Liam Heagney

13 Aug 2019, 14:08

Rory Best's reason for not singing the Ireland national anthem isn't what you would expect

Rory Best has played 117 times for Ireland but no amount of criticism on social media will get him to sing the national anthem bef…

Liam Heagney

13 Aug 2019, 11:45

It's all change bar one as O'Shea's Italy take on Russia

Beaten by Ireland in Dublin in their opening warm-up match for the World Cup, Conor O'Shea has changed 14 of his team for Italy's …

Liam Heagney

13 Aug 2019, 11:09

'Surprised and disappointed' - Richmond issue statement on RFU's Yorkshire decision

Relegated Richmond had been hoping that punishment for financially-troubled Yorkshire would earn them a reprieve from Championship…

Liam Heagney

12 Aug 2019, 11:59

England name official 31-man Rugby World Cup squad

Eddie Jones has named England's official 31-man Rugby World Squad that will contest the sport's flagship tournament in Japan.

Liam Heagney

12 Aug 2019, 8:00

How England's Jamie George and the Irishman skippering English cricket became drinking buddies

After England's one-day cricket team showed last month how it is possible to win a World Cup, Jamie George is hoping to catch up w…

Liam Heagney

06 Aug 2019, 4:09

'There's moments I'd change - a moment of time I'd love to have made a different decision'

Garry Ringrose was only making his Leinster debut when Ireland played at the last World Cup in 2015... four years later, the 24-ye…

Liam Heagney

04 Aug 2019, 4:10

'Does Eddie support England or Australia in the Ashes... who actually knows?'

With the start of the Ashes series quickly following an epic conclusion to the World Cup, cricket is a hot topic of conversation a…

Liam Heagney

03 Aug 2019, 17:07

'If you start thinking not getting injured, not doing that, then that is when you tend to get injured'

It's only an August friendly next Sunday, but Elliot Daly insists England will be holding back nothing when Wales visit Twickenham…

Liam Heagney

03 Aug 2019, 16:56

'As soon as you step outside, you're absolutely dripping with sweat... you're constantly feeling incredibly hot'

Having fought his way back into RWC selection contention against the odds, Mike Brown is loving England's arduous warm-weather cam…

Liam Heagney

31 Jul 2019, 18:38

'RWC is the dream of every rugby player and it's not easy having to say goodbye'

It was a sorry sight at Twickenham last March seeing Italian centre Tommaso Castello suffer the serious injury that will now sidel…

Liam Heagney

31 Jul 2019, 8:08

John Mitchell refuses to say it's all over for Danny Cipriani's World Cup hopes

Danny Cipriani's RWC selection hopes appear dead in the water, but England assistant John Mitchell hasn't confirmed this is the pr…

Liam Heagney

30 Jul 2019, 17:00

Theft of ex-Wales prop's testimonial jersey has a happy ending

A terrible tale of woe from the Gnoll dressing room in Neath has had a happy ending as stolen kit belonging to an ex-Wales prop ha…

Liam Heagney

30 Jul 2019, 15:54

England reveal how long Brad Shields will be sidelined for... and it's not encouraging

It was last Thursday when England revealed Brad Shields had picked up an injury in Treviso... assistant coach John Mitchell has no…

Liam Heagney

30 Jul 2019, 10:39

Last weekend's testimonial for ex-Wales international Paul James marred by dressing room theft

Saturday was a day of celebration in Neath as Paul James' testimonial year culminated in a charity match, but there was a bitter t…

Liam Heagney

30 Jul 2019, 7:13

New important date set for financially stricken Yorkshire after RFU stay of execution

2019 has been a terrible year of repeated blows for financially stricken Yorkshire, but there is light at the end of the tunnel wi…

Liam Heagney

27 Jul 2019, 4:43

Cruden's revised contract situation at Montpellier opens door to Super Rugby return

Aaron Cruden's future at Montpellier has been much speculated during 2019 and the latest twist - a revised deal at Montpellier - p…

Liam Heagney

26 Jul 2019, 7:18

Paddy Jackson offline as other London Irish signings such as Naholo help drive ticket sales

Having watched their average home attendance last season plummet to an average of 3,770 in the Championship, London Irish have a j…

Liam Heagney

23 Jul 2019, 12:54

Mike Ford has had his role at Leicester revised

Mike Ford's arrival at Leicester as a consultant in the late stages of last season looked like panic recruitment, but the former B…

Liam Heagney

23 Jul 2019, 5:11

Russia cancel World Cup warm-up away to Georgia due to safety issues

The eyes of the rugby world will be on Russia when they open the World Cup against hosts Japan in September, but their preparation…

Liam Heagney

19 Jul 2019, 16:27

A dollar for Israel Folau's thoughts as Australia prepare to play their first Test since his sacking

Nine weeks have passed since Rugby Australia terminated Israel Folau's contract, but they now face their first Test match without …

Liam Heagney

19 Jul 2019, 5:05

England's squad have been bonding over Love Island, but the show is now taking an Irish rugby twist

Tom Curry confessed last week that the England squad were Love Island fanatics, but that interest is now set to surely increase wi…

Liam Heagney

16 Jul 2019, 11:27

Rugby World Cup Depth Chart - Scotland

Having come within a poor refereeing decision of reaching 2015's semi-finals, the latest RugbyPass Rugby World Cup depth chart fea…

Liam Heagney

15 Jul 2019, 3:42

'People have this stereotype that Bristol is a big club with bottomless amounts of cash... but we're camping in Cornwall for a weekend'

Rookie defence coach John Muldoon learned the hard way as Bristol leaking tries like a sieve early last season, but he feels Pat L…

Liam Heagney

14 Jul 2019, 4:36

Rugby World Cup Depth Chart - Ireland

In the latest of a Rugby World Cup series, RugbyPass looks at Ireland's depth chart ahead of the finals in Japan where Joe Schmidt…

Liam Heagney

13 Jul 2019, 5:37

Heyneke Meyer: 'I am not a dictator'

Heyneke Meyer's time in charge at Stade Francais has seen a lot of upheaval at a club struggling to try and replicate former glori…

Liam Heagney

11 Jul 2019, 13:32

'I'd jokingly prefer to look back at 40 having gotten the sack and going, at least I gave coaching a try'

Johne Murphy lost his enthusiasm for rugby and quit at the age of 30 in 2015, but the former Leicester and Munster player rekindle…

Liam Heagney

07 Jul 2019, 3:32

The strained relationship that led to Sergio Parisse's split with his beloved Stade Francais

There was more than met the eye in Sergio Parisse's Friday afternoon departure from Stade Francais... rather than being amicable, …

Liam Heagney

29 Jun 2019, 3:24

'I'm under no illusions... the hard work has to come first and you have to stay in the moment'

Tom Curry started all five of England's 2019 Six Nations matches, but the 21-year-old demonstrates maturity beyond his years in in…

Liam Heagney

23 Jun 2019, 4:31

'If you haven't seen women's rugby and you don't actually know about it, that is annoying'

Zoe Harrison would love women's rugby to enjoy a much higher profile and a new RugbyPass documentary on Saracens is aiming to do j…

Liam Heagney

16 Jun 2019, 9:40

'Everyone is ready to put the hard work in to get Wasps back to where we want to be'

It wasn't a pretty season for ambitious Wasps, but Rob Miller - who charitably spends some down time helping a community soup kitc…

Liam Heagney

10 Jun 2019, 14:42

'It's rugby's biggest downfall' - Ellis Genge believes rugby can learn from football's open-minded recruitment

Ellie Genge knows his career could be very different if Leicester didn't offer him a life away from trouble in Bristol, but he is …

Liam Heagney

02 Jun 2019, 4:01

'The gangs and the prison really interests me... because of my history and experiences of mistakes and doing things wrong'

Calum Clark has a bruising on-field reputation, but the maligned Saracens' back row has his good side judging by his Venezuela vis…

Liam Heagney

30 May 2019, 13:23

'I have been very lucky to have been thrown right in at the deep end... I really enjoyed it'

Ted Hill expected to spend his season on the Worcester fringes, not score the match-winning try at Leicester on his Premiership de…

Liam Heagney

29 May 2019, 14:42

'Rugby's unbelievable... I have done things I only thought were possible in movies'

World Rugby believes the women's game will be its biggest growth sector in the next decade and American Kiki Morgan is one of 15 p…

Liam Heagney

28 May 2019, 14:56

Ireland's RWC training squad winners and losers

There were some eye-catching winners and losers when Joe Schmidt announced his 44-strong Ireland RWC training squad following a ni…

Liam Heagney

28 May 2019, 11:09

'My mum's Welsh, dad's Irish and I moved to England five years ago so there is a twist... it's a tough one'

International selection wasn't on Callum Sheedy's mind when he spoke with RugbyPass last month, but England are now in pole positi…

Liam Heagney

28 May 2019, 5:08

'I'm upset lots of players have to hide their sexuality for years before they retire... I want everyone to be themselves'

Just over a year since he copped a ban for a homophobic slur he insists he never said, Denny Solomona wants rugby to have an envir…

Liam Heagney

26 May 2019, 15:00

'It's a bit of a weird one having to play Northampton again... there will be a bit of chess here and there'

It's usually Europe in December - not May in the Premiership - when clubs face the same opposition on consecutive weekends, but Ma…

Liam Heagney

24 May 2019, 19:14

Leinster have used eye-watering 57 players to reach the PRO14 final

There wouldn't be much Guinness left in the keg if Leo Cullen was to serve up a pint of the PRO14 sponsor's brew to every player t…

Liam Heagney

22 May 2019, 15:11

Rob Kearney the latest victim of an IRFU 'lowball'

David Nucifora had nine IRFU centrally contracted players falling out of deals this term and his hardball approach at the negotiat…

Liam Heagney

22 May 2019, 9:06

It was a taboo. It wasn't a case of just going, 'I'm not alright, I need some help mentally'. Now we have the confidence to say, 'No, I'm not alright'

Starting just one Premiership game this season, it would be understandable if Tom Lindsay felt aggrieved but he has the mental too…

Liam Heagney

19 May 2019, 6:04

'You get stars that get all the attention, but I'm more than happy to just plug along, keep the head down and still succeed'

From Invercargill to Kanagawa via Bath and many other places, Kiwi James Wilson has had a blast using his excellent work ethic to …

Liam Heagney

18 May 2019, 4:33

'It's frustrating when Saracens are talked about negatively... but you just have to take the rough with the smooth at the top'

After a decade's service, the retired Chris Wyles believes the often criticised Saracens are 'an amazing story - an unbelievable c…

Liam Heagney

11 May 2019, 4:16

Marcelo Bosch going from chasing a European/Premiership double... to level five rugby in England

Marcelo Bosch announced last month he was leaving Saracens - but the expectation was he would play on professional not step down t…

Liam Heagney

09 May 2019, 6:29

'If you're over the ball and have two blokes over 100 kilos flying into you off their feet, it can be pretty difficult to survive'

Sam Underhill doesn't turn 23 until June, but he has already been on the receiving end of numerous injuries in a sport where he fe…

Liam Heagney

05 May 2019, 12:02

'It's so outrageous how things have gone' - Jake Woolmore's journey from teaching kids with learning difficulties to playing in the Premiership

Jake Woolmore was nervous about getting his Premiership chance just months before his 28th birthday, but the late developer prop h…

Liam Heagney

04 May 2019, 9:12

'It's nice to know we're not a walk in the park anymore... we're now ready to win at Munster'

Coming back to Europe didn't appeal to Monty Ioane, but the Australian took a life-changing call from Kieran Crowley and the rest …

Liam Heagney

01 May 2019, 14:33

'Getting on that World Cup plane would be pretty amazing... but I have a lot of catching up to do'

A double fracture to an arm has meant Taulupe Faletau hasn't appeared for Wales since March 2018, but he is hoping his inclusion i…

Liam Heagney

01 May 2019, 13:36

James Wilson is another Kiwi at Bath with his bags packed for Japan

Salary cap juggling elbowed James Wilson off the Bath roster this time last year, but after a November recall due to injuries he i…

Liam Heagney

29 Apr 2019, 3:11

'It's probably the hardest thing I've had to do in life' - Sam Simmonds on his 30-week injury rehab

It's now 30 weeks since Sam Simmonds suffered the knee injury that has presented him with the biggest challenge of his life, a bat…

Liam Heagney

28 Apr 2019, 5:12

'There was a bit of bitchiness in camp, it was a pretty bad place to be' - Callum Sheedy on Bristol before Lam

With Bristol's reputation as a yo-yo club disappearing under Pat Lam, Callum Sheedy has emerged as an important play-maker even th…

Liam Heagney

26 Apr 2019, 13:10

'If we go down, our nearest club is in Manchester... that's three hours on a train, a long way to go to watch Premiership rugby'

Away from Newcastle for nine years, Toby Flood returned to a region where rugby is thriving but it now faces the worrying prospect…

Liam Heagney

25 Apr 2019, 14:35

Faletau's comeback plan waiting on midweek scan result

Taulupe Faletau's season hasn't been much fun due to a series of forearm injuries, but he is now on the mend and hoping for positi…

Liam Heagney

24 Apr 2019, 17:36

Family rivalry on the cards as Johnny Sexton's brother set for PRO14 move

Johnny Sexton's stellar career have created headlines the whole way through but his younger brother Jerry is set to secure some PR…

Liam Heagney

24 Apr 2019, 5:55

'It would be great for the country, for the club, for Italian rugby,' claims history-chasing Crowley

There wasn't a long queue for the Benetton job in 2016 but All Black Kieran Crowley didn't hesitate putting his reputation on the …

Liam Heagney

23 Apr 2019, 14:50

'We couldn't believe he put the boots on and ran out there' - Luke Morahan on Siale Piutau's sacrifice

Luke Morahan has had his eyes opened during his two years in England, but the Australian believes rugby in his own country continu…

Liam Heagney

21 Apr 2019, 9:15

It's insanity that a club of Munster's pedigree has lost so many successive European semi-finals

Unless he has a secretive masterplan to unveil, Munster's decision to prematurely give Johann van Graan a contract extension sugge…

Liam Heagney

21 Apr 2019, 8:15

Leinster vs Toulouse - Composite XV

Sunday's semi-final is a salivating prospect as Europe's two most successful clubs go head-to-head in a match-up that left RugbyPa…

Liam Heagney

20 Apr 2019, 6:45

Anglo-French fixture is what hesitant Toby Flood tips Newcastle to host in Champions Cup final

Newcastle's successful bid to host the 2019 Champions Cup final was quite a coup for England's north-east, but Toby Flood is torn …

Liam Heagney

19 Apr 2019, 14:00

'There's always a risk in moving anywhere... that stuff (with Saracens) is in the background at the moment'

Jack Singleton is a promising English talent that came through the ranks at Worcester and is now being courted by Saracens, leavin…

Liam Heagney

16 Apr 2019, 14:20

'I have probably got a little bit of gyp about being gay or something like that'

Being a free spirit can at times attract negative attention, but the earthy Harry Williams isn't changing his style for anyone in …

Liam Heagney

14 Apr 2019, 12:11

Elite coaching is increasingly no country for old men, but 68-year-old Alan Solomons is bucking that trend

Forty per cent of coaches in charge at the 40 elite European clubs are aged between 47 and 51, but 68-year-old Alan Solomons is sh…

Liam Heagney

14 Apr 2019, 10:20

'We have never not thought about being in the Premiership... but we haven't reached our extreme potential'

Having agreed a two-year extension in December, GJ van Velze has high hopes that Worcester can not only beat the drop but go on an…

Liam Heagney

11 Apr 2019, 14:06

'It was like someone was stabbing me in the back of the heel... I'd sit down for two minutes and limp around to get moving again'

Mathew Tait's lengthy career ended in February with an injury that just couldn't be beaten and his premature retirement has left h…

Liam Heagney

07 Apr 2019, 7:50

'Your family suffer because they can see you're distraught after a game... Sunday morning comes around and you're still grumpy, still edgy'

April is usually when Leicester go into over-drive in search of trophies, but 2019's end-of-season run-in will be a very different…

Liam Heagney

04 Apr 2019, 12:15

'I wanted to be away from everyone, wanted to withdraw from the club' - Ashley Johnson's drugs ban battle

Life was awkward for Ashley Johnson during his six-month ban following a failed drugs test, but the Wasps forward has come through…

Liam Heagney

31 Mar 2019, 9:06

A rare All Blacks jersey has been sold for an exceptional price in Cardiff

A 1905 Originals tour jersey that was kept in a collection by a former Ireland player was sold for a hefty sum under the hammer at…

Liam Heagney

30 Mar 2019, 5:57

'I get a lot of questions on how life on this side of the world is' - Wasps' Lima Sopoaga on his chats with former Kiwi teammates

Lima Sopaoga has no regrets about turning his back on the All Blacks to ply his trade in England at Wasps and provide better for h…

Liam Heagney

28 Mar 2019, 17:09

Famed 1905 All Blacks 'Originals' jersey has eye-watering guide price for Cardiff auction

Saracens owner Nigel Wray paid a staggering £180,000 for a 1905 "Originals" jersey worn by Dave Gallaher - now another jersey fro…

Liam Heagney

26 Mar 2019, 6:57

'As a kid it sometimes takes a landmark event like the 2003 World Cup win to get you involved'

Late bloomer Tom Savage tells RugbyPass how Jason Robinson's 2003 England exploits inspired him to start a career that now has Glo…

Liam Heagney

24 Mar 2019, 13:06

Debate over Crusaders name change is example of opportunistic political correctness gone mad

Crusaders were resilient on their return to action following a difficult week where the name got hijacked in the commentary surrou…

Liam Heagney

24 Mar 2019, 5:03

Incensed Steve Diamond gets asked about biting incident live on air and he didn't pull his punches

Relegation-threatened Newcastle's must-win match at St James' Park was blighted by a biting allegation that led to a feisty reacti…

Liam Heagney

23 Mar 2019, 15:23

'We've unearthed talent and had great Test window points haul'... Brad Barritt shrugs off Saracens' salary cap row

Having bounced back this term from disappointing Test window results a year ago, Brad Barritt believes he is captaining a Saracens…

Liam Heagney

22 Mar 2019, 15:30

'I'm certainly not giving up'... four years in Test wilderness haven't stopped Ben Morgan believing

Not since England's horror 2015 World Cup has Ben Morgan played a Test, but he hopes Gloucester's title challenge can somehow cata…

Liam Heagney

22 Mar 2019, 13:04

Post-Six Nations - Which 31 players make Ireland's plane to the Rugby World Cup in Japan?

Having used 36 players in the 2019 Six Nations, Joe Schmidt has some manoeuvring to do to cut the numbers down and ensure he takes…

Liam Heagney

20 Mar 2019, 12:40

Gabriel Ibitoye insists he's no Superman, but his superman backstory is quickly taking him places

Football's loss was rugby's gain when England prospect Gabriel Ibitoye joined Harlequins, a circuitous path he would love others t…

Liam Heagney

19 Mar 2019, 14:24

Toulon could turn to an Irishman to help rev up 'The Bus'

With The Bus having stalled in Toulon along with the rest of their attack, boss Patrice Collazo has sounded out an Irish coach abo…

Liam Heagney

18 Mar 2019, 5:15

Six Nations 2019 a bruising experience where only 32 of 169 players started five matches

We're still six months away from the start of the 2019 World Cup in Japan, but the just-finished Six Nations provided multiple poi…

Liam Heagney

17 Mar 2019, 11:11

Ireland Player Ratings - versus Wales

Having demanded to have the Principality Stadium roof left open, Ireland found themselves left all at sea on a rainy Cardiff after…

Liam Heagney

16 Mar 2019, 10:35

'These two Kiwis have massively broken the mould,' says Jim Hamilton as he savours their Six Nations finale

Saturday's result in Cardiff will decide who walks away with the historical bragging rights in a New Zealand coaching rivalry that…

Liam Heagney

15 Mar 2019, 13:14

How a battle with childhood dyslexia helped forge Chris Robshaw's England captaincy

There was a time when Chris Robshaw would be have been driven daft at the prospect of being at an England Test match and not being…

Liam Heagney

14 Mar 2019, 16:06

'At the moment it's quite bleak' - Three player deaths and damaging defeats leave French rugby under a dark cloud

RugbyPass hears how France's poor performances in the 2019 Six Nations have failed to help move the sport on locally from the blea…

Liam Heagney

14 Mar 2019, 15:17

Pre-match analysis - Ireland vs France

Performing like a moving car with the handbrake on, Ireland's Six Nations title defence has been difficult and there is huge press…

Liam Heagney

09 Mar 2019, 7:27

'We've a quirky handshake that is only for us Bristol players... it's special'

All Black Steven Luatua could have called it quits this summer at Bristol, but he instead signed an extension in the hope of seein…

Liam Heagney

08 Mar 2019, 14:51

Brown lays out targets after England axe

Losing his England place has struck Mike Brown hard, but the veteran Harlequins player tells RugbyPass how grateful he is that the…

Liam Heagney

08 Mar 2019, 9:39

'It's that whole resilience and ability to get up and go again... the past is eaten bread'

Mike Catt, who lost his job with England after 2015 World Cup failure, has kept a low profile as Italy assistant but he lifts the …

Liam Heagney

07 Mar 2019, 15:27

Unbeaten Treviso shake-up PRO14 during league's block of Six Nations fixtures

Glasgow emerged as the PRO14's best side during the four-match block of fixtures in the 2019 Six Nations window, but Benetton Trev…

Liam Heagney

03 Mar 2019, 11:10

'There were tears... it wasn't the way I wanted to leave Munster'

Ian Keatley thought he would fight it out with Joey Carbery this season, not suddenly drop from first to fifth in the Munster out-…

Liam Heagney

03 Mar 2019, 6:40

'Unfortunately people lose jobs when teams get relegated... that's the harsh reality of professional sport'

'No job is guaranteed in life, never mind in sport,' says Newcastle boss Mick Hogan ahead of the Falcons must-win relegation fixtu…

Liam Heagney

03 Mar 2019, 5:10

'I expected a bit more angry Steve Diamond... but he was really calm'

Premiership records went tumbling when Sale mentally didn't show up at Northampton, but Faf de Klerk expresses surprise with how w…

Liam Heagney

01 Mar 2019, 12:50

'I felt like a normal human but I wasn't allowed to do anything for two months' - Jono Lance's back fracture ordeal

Jono Lance doesn't rate his horror-sounding back fracture as the worst injury of a career that ends its four-month stint on the si…

Liam Heagney

01 Mar 2019, 8:50

'We have currently 11 of 12 clubs about to lose money for the third year running...it's a broken model'

Mike Hogan believes it's time to ring-fence the Premiership and scrap relegation... and he isn't saying it just because Newcastle …

Liam Heagney

01 Mar 2019, 6:29

'Mental illness is not something you can switch on and off… it's a constant battle that you do fight against'

Continuing to battle his own demons, Denny Solomona wants to end the stigma about males showing their emotion, insisting it's some…

Liam Heagney

28 Feb 2019, 10:18

Autopsy of Irish Rugby's February nightmare

Ireland were on top of the world 14 weeks ago, but their confidence has been dented by three successive poor performances after Jo…

Liam Heagney

26 Feb 2019, 13:35

Ireland player ratings - versus Italy

Ireland have battered Italy in recent meetings, but events in Rome shattered that trend and left Joe Schmidt with much to ponder i…

Liam Heagney

24 Feb 2019, 13:10

'We're disconsolate, disillusioned, disappointed after a defeat... but don't do this job if it's not hurting'

Conor O'Shea and Joe Schmidt are Test coaches with a friendly rivalry that highlights the vastly different resources Italy and Ire…

Liam Heagney

24 Feb 2019, 6:22

The 206-second attack that has turned Geography Six outcast Cory Hill into a household name

Cory Hill has had the last laugh at those who ridiculed him on the 2017 Lions, rounding off the ultimate Wales team try that featu…

Liam Heagney

24 Feb 2019, 4:37

Scotland player ratings - versus France

Scotland came into their third match of the Six Nations believing they could cash in on France's 2019 chaos, but their inability t…

Liam Heagney

23 Feb 2019, 12:11

Pre-match analysis - Italy vs Ireland

Changes to Ireland's pack has given Italy a sniff of a competitive start, but the routine in these fixtures is for Schmidt's charg…

Liam Heagney

23 Feb 2019, 7:58

Forty-nine players, six debutants, 301 points, 31 tries and 109 years - standing on the edge of history

Beating England and setting a record for a dozen wins on the bounce is imperative if the work of Warren Gatland these past 12 mont…

Liam Heagney

23 Feb 2019, 4:21

'On his deathbed his words were: Get your f***ing arse on the plane because I want to see you playing against Scotland'

Dean Budd shed tears at Murrayfield when playing for Italy at the start of the 2019 Six Nations as it was the same day as his step…

Liam Heagney

21 Feb 2019, 14:17

Ex-Ireland coach spends day watching England get ready to take on Wales

Footballer John Terry wasn't the only high profile visitor to England rugby training this week as Eddie Jones also invited along I…

Liam Heagney

21 Feb 2019, 3:23

Expat Six Nations players bear the brunt as clubs called the shots this weekend

Six Nations had a down weekend but there was no rest for most of the Scottish, Welsh and Italian players who earn their club salar…

Liam Heagney

17 Feb 2019, 4:30

'We actually have to start getting some wins' - what life's like in the Premiership dogfight

After a 40-day winter hibernation, the Premiership is finally back in action this weekend with the battle for survival featuring N…

Liam Heagney

15 Feb 2019, 7:01

'If we're trying to attract people to rugby, surely providing stats that we know are impactful is the way forward'

Six Nations 2019 is enjoying excellent viewing figures but former Ireland player Kevin McLaughlin believes TV needs to use more in…

Liam Heagney

14 Feb 2019, 13:02

'I wasn't aware. I knew there was something going on'

Chris Harris didn't know until RugbyPass told him that Huw Jones has been ruled out of the rest of the Six Nations, opening up a m…

Liam Heagney

14 Feb 2019, 11:06

Fardy could be the next forward to leave Leinster

European champions Leinster could have their forwards stocks plundered again by an English club as Wasps are the latest Premiershi…

Liam Heagney

13 Feb 2019, 7:56

'PRO14 - not Super Rugby - is best competition for South African teams to play in'

Cheetahs are ready to depart on an 18-night, three-match tour of Ireland and Wales with coach Franco Smith claiming PRO14 is a bet…

Liam Heagney

12 Feb 2019, 14:18

Rating assistant coaches - early-term Six Nations report cards

Eddie Jones' revamped backroom staff has its fingerprints all over the 2019 Six Nations, attack coach Scott Wisemantel and defence…

Liam Heagney

11 Feb 2019, 14:08

Scotland player ratings - versus Ireland

Scotland defended manfully for long periods of their round two Six Nations match but they didn't have enough creativity to unlock …

Liam Heagney

09 Feb 2019, 14:05

Ireland player ratings - versus Scotland

Ireland bounced back from last weekend's opening defeat to England with a nine-point win over Scotland in Edinburgh. Peter O'Mahon…

Liam Heagney

09 Feb 2019, 12:59

Struggling Biarritz ready to swoop for out-of-favour Munster pair

Dave O'Callaghan and James Hart are being lined up for a summer switch to French Pro D2 club Biarritz after failing to get much of…

Liam Heagney

07 Feb 2019, 15:14

From the fringes to centre stage, the South African import now crucial to Ireland's Six Nations

One of five changes in the Ireland team to face Scotland on Saturday, South African Quinn Roux has it all to do to impress on his …

Liam Heagney

07 Feb 2019, 11:04

CJ Stander was good, but Billy V was better

Eddie Jones will be purring this week after England suddenly turned the clock back to 2016 and resumed laying waste to much touted…

Liam Heagney

06 Feb 2019, 13:49

FFR confident Noves won't win the enormous sum he's demanding in damages following sacking

French rugby officials sound optimistic they can successfully defend Guy Noves' claim for €3million in damages which will be hea…

Liam Heagney

06 Feb 2019, 11:50

Injury-free Coetzee repays Ulster's patience by singing on for another three years

Ulster have hailed Marcell Coetzee’s three-year contract extension, claiming the 27-year-old South African is primed to produce …

Liam Heagney

06 Feb 2019, 5:27

England hero Slade cashing in with personalised video messages

England’s two-try Six Nations hero against Ireland, Henry Slade, is one of a number of rugby players looking to cash in on their…

Liam Heagney

05 Feb 2019, 17:04

France's bizarre campaign takes another twist as call-up is away on holiday

France's campaign took another strange twist on Tuesday when they called a player into the squad to face England who is away on ho…

Liam Heagney

05 Feb 2019, 12:24

Ireland must turn screw in Scottish heads to avoid post-Six Nations repercussions

There may be a gap of 225 days in between Ireland’s two 2019 fixtures against Scotland, but next Saturday’s Six Nations outcom…

Liam Heagney

05 Feb 2019, 4:26

Brunel's bungling reaches a new low with Vahaamahina's bizarre revelation

Jacques Brunel’s chaotic France reign has been dealt another blow with Sebastien Vahaamahina’s revelation that he didn’t kno…

Liam Heagney

04 Feb 2019, 13:16

O'Brien poised for first Six Nations start in two years as Stander ruled out until March

Sean O’Brien is poised to make his first Six Nations start for Ireland in two years after CJ Stander was ruled out of action wit…

Liam Heagney

04 Feb 2019, 10:32

'When the Russian anthem was played, you couldn't hear a note. That's how hostile the crowd was.'

We’ve heard all about the Test rugby haves this weekend. Glamour Six Nations fixtures. Bumper attendances. Massive global TV aud…

Liam Heagney

03 Feb 2019, 10:20

Ireland player ratings - versus England

Ireland’s lavish dream of winning a second Grand Slam in succession was shattered at the first time of asking in the 2019 Six Na…

Liam Heagney

02 Feb 2019, 15:42

'The pain was almost like a ripping across my abdomen. I'd no idea what was going on'

Pull up a chair and be inspired. Ross Adair’s attempt to fight his way back into the professional ranks is a winter’s tale to …

Liam Heagney

28 Jan 2019, 14:05

Henshaw could make shock positional switch for England match

Joe Schmidt is allegedly poised to throw an opening weekend Six Nations curveball by possibly selecting midfielder Robbie Henshaw …

Liam Heagney

28 Jan 2019, 5:37

The 'new model' athletes fresh off Leinster's academy production line set to stalk the PRO14

Here it is, the time of season when reigning European Cup holders Leinster stand out from the crowd for very different reasons. …

Liam Heagney

26 Jan 2019, 6:23

'I will not repeat it' - Zebo reflects on 'unacceptable' racism

Simon Zebo has opted not to make public the exact racist words aimed at him by an Ulster supporter who is now banned for life from…

Liam Heagney

25 Jan 2019, 4:43

Discarded - the sobering Six Nations' 4-year attrition rate laid bare

Roll up, roll up. With European pool stage campaigns ending, Six Nations preparations will now quickly click into gear this we…

Liam Heagney

20 Jan 2019, 9:29

Rugby union civil war brewing as PRO14's European dominion returns?

Buckle up. Here comes a round six weekend where the PRO14 is growling with a collective Champions Cup snarl not witnessed sinc…

Liam Heagney

17 Jan 2019, 14:51

Cian Kelleher's massive, potentially career defining gamble

Cian Kelleher is a wanted man in Dublin. He’s scoring tries, three in his last five appearances. He’s in rude health, too,…

Liam Heagney

13 Jan 2019, 7:55

'I do not know what happened to me that day. I'm not a bad guy'

Simon Zebo has insisted his run-in last October with Michael Lowry is past tense as he prepares to play in his native Ireland this…

Liam Heagney

11 Jan 2019, 4:35

How the Irish rumour mill inevitably followed Grobler to Gloucester

What is it about Gerbrandt Grobler and whispers? A UK newspaper interview last August resulted in him branding Ireland as ‘unfor…

Liam Heagney

10 Jan 2019, 15:43

Seventeen years after it was scrapped, Leinster tightening grip on unofficial 'third title'

Not since 2002 has the IRFU’s interprovincial title officially been played for. However, Leinster’s derby demolition of Ulster…

Liam Heagney

06 Jan 2019, 11:35

Jonny Sexton's 6'5, 118kg little brother and 52 other Irish exports playing pro-rugby in Europe

Not for nothing have the Irish been described as the Samoan rugby players of the northern hemisphere. More often than not, they ar…

Liam Heagney

06 Jan 2019, 7:43

'He is a player who has an aura in the group' - Brive coach gives fascinating insight into Fiji star

Jeremy Davidson is tipping Dominiko Waqaniburotu for a special 2019 double - promotion to the Top 14 with Brive and quarter-final …

Liam Heagney

04 Jan 2019, 14:47

How a beaten Ireland U20s side produced three All Black killers in just two years

Turns out June 2016 in Manchester was the month when England got the World Rugby Under-20s Cup but Ireland ultimately got the crea…

Liam Heagney

03 Jan 2019, 13:54

Steffon Armitage on the move and England international set to join him in France

One of the most talked about England players who didn’t get selected for the 2015 World Cup - Steffon Armitage - could be on the…

Liam Heagney

31 Dec 2018, 10:04

Sexton snubbed by Midi Olympique's 'Team of the Year' XV

Johnny Sexton’s difficult weekend took another twist on Sunday evening following his omission from Midi Olympique’s internatio…

Liam Heagney

31 Dec 2018, 4:38

With attendances of just 3,000, London Irish's latest big play simply must pay off

It’s been Jingle Bells all the way over the holiday period for London Irish, the club experiencing a Happy Christmas like never …

Liam Heagney

30 Dec 2018, 10:13

Tom Varndell has walked out of French rugby

Tom Varndell’s brief flirtation with France is over after just six PRO D2 games with Soyaux Angoulême. The English Premiersh…

Liam Heagney

29 Dec 2018, 5:13

Trouble at the Thomond turnstiles? The startling drop off in numbers at Munster matches laid bare

Thomond Park will be buzzing on Saturday. Old rivals Leinster are in Limerick, the sold-out signs went up weeks ago for the Irish …

Liam Heagney

28 Dec 2018, 10:53

'You need Santa, Jesus and a winning lottery ticket to fix that mess'

Dragons enjoyed a dead cat bounce on Friday night, their first since they unceremoniously jettisoned Bernard Jackman on December 1…

Liam Heagney

24 Dec 2018, 5:13

The truth about coaching turnover in the rugby union

Job security as a professional rugby head coach in Europe isn’t quite as fragile as an English Premier League soccer manager. …

Liam Heagney

19 Dec 2018, 7:23

Ulster are paying a heavy price at the turnstile for their nightmarish year off the pitch

Ravenhill wasn’t bursting at the seams when Ulster swooped for their latest Champions Cup win on Friday night. A little over 12,…

Liam Heagney

16 Dec 2018, 5:47

Within 12 months Ireland could lose one of the chief unsung architects of its success

Rob Kearney’s start-of-the-week admission that he doesn’t yet know where he will play his rugby following the 2019 World Cup w…

Liam Heagney

09 Dec 2018, 7:17

The true extent of England players' workload this season compared to Ireland's laid bare

Last weekend provided the latest compelling evidence that Ireland’s IRFU-contracted stars have it much easier than their club-co…

Liam Heagney

06 Dec 2018, 7:02

Paddy Jackson and the Galway question

Paddy Jackson is theoretically free to go whenever he wants in Ireland. Ideally he should be in Galway next Saturday, running the …

Liam Heagney

02 Dec 2018, 5:58

The inherent risk of Andy Farrell

Andy Farrell will be hoping hipster beards don’t go out of fashion in Irish rugby as quickly as they have in Irish football. …

Liam Heagney

29 Nov 2018, 13:31

Fiji need more matches against Tier 1 sides if their story is to change

French riot police were busy in Paris on Saturday. National symbols such as Arc de Triomphe and Champs-Élysées needed protecting…

Liam Heagney

26 Nov 2018, 15:02

Paddy Jackson's move to France could be about to pay off big style - reports

Paddy Jackson’s career-saving move to France is quickly set to pay off. The sacked Ireland international is reportedly poise…

Liam Heagney

26 Nov 2018, 13:32

The warning from history this Ireland side can't ignore going into a World Cup year

Joe Schmidt’s hint that he just might be leaving Ireland at the end of the 2019 World Cup wasn’t the only post-match quip to c…

Liam Heagney

25 Nov 2018, 13:59

'It wasn’t unusual for someone to roll down the window and flick the finger at you and laugh'

Watch out world. Whether or not the in-demand Joe Schmidt hangs around in Ireland following the 2019 World Cup, the IRFU don’t p…

Liam Heagney

22 Nov 2018, 13:54

Thirteen years after he endured an All Black hammering on debut, Rory Best has given his detractors the proverbial fingers

Saturday night in Dublin was supposed to demonstrate how Test rugby is no country for old men. Rory Best was apparently over t…

Liam Heagney

18 Nov 2018, 15:16

After 26 different combinations, this is Ireland's last area of positional uncertainty under Schmidt

There was no visible pre-match panic at Lansdowne Road last Saturday when Ireland were forced to rejig their team selection at the…

Liam Heagney

14 Nov 2018, 15:40

The shambolic backstory to Ireland's heaviest ever Test defeat

How times change. Next Saturday a sell-out 51,000 crowd will assemble confident Ireland can put one over the visiting New Zealand.…

Liam Heagney

11 Nov 2018, 5:39

How Ireland and not the All Blacks dominate one of the game's most fiercely contested battlegrounds - discipline

Joe Schmidt will have flown out of Chicago on Sunday satisfied that Ireland have potentially remedied a worrying black mark. Re…

Liam Heagney

07 Nov 2018, 13:04

'Good players take bad passes... I remember the whole room going quiet because I said it to Drico'

It’s five-and-a-half years since Joe Schmidt, rushing towards a door to be on time for a Leinster team captain’s run, momentar…

Liam Heagney

28 Oct 2018, 8:34

The eight players left on Irish Rugby's 'central contract' hit list and how the IRFU plan to pay for them

It’s one down, eight more to go for the IRFU following Conor Murray’s recent announcement that he will continue to play his ru…

Liam Heagney

21 Oct 2018, 7:02

Simon Zebo has become impossible for Schmidt to ignore

Simon Zebo fired a rare blank on Saturday, the smiling assassin unable to add to his grand tally of six tries so far this season f…

Liam Heagney

14 Oct 2018, 5:14

After a six month lay off and over 20 operations, can Sean O'Brien still be trusted to be Ireland's missing link?

Joe Schmidt will wear a broad smile when he addresses the Irish Business Network breakfast in Dubai on Monday morning on the subje…

Liam Heagney

07 Oct 2018, 7:59

How a catalogue of red flags are mounting against van Graan despite thrashing of Ulster

Munster supporters exited Thomond Park on Saturday night on cloud nine following their record PRO14 derby destruction of hapless I…

Liam Heagney

30 Sep 2018, 7:10

The keys to Leinster's success and why the rest of Europe should be worried

As soon as Leo Cullen walks in the Aviva Stadium door next Wednesday morning for the new season’s Champions Cup launch, the “D…

Liam Heagney

23 Sep 2018, 7:31

How Andy Farrell's defensive system has become the elephant in Ireland's World Cup room

Saturday’s earthquake result in Wellington is a sudden red flag for fancied Ireland a year out from the 2019 World Cup finals.

Liam Heagney

16 Sep 2018, 6:31