Ireland Rugby Fans

The Ireland rugby international Finlay Bealham has signed a new contract with his team Connacht Rugby and he will be seen playing for the team till the 2019 summer. It looks like the Connacht team management was pretty much impressed with the show that Bealham put up last season.

The 24 year old prop is capable of playing on both sides of the scrum and this was showcased during the last season. Bealham had featured in all the 31 games played by Connacht Rugby team last season that involved PRO12 and European Rugby Challenge Cup. This could be one the reasons for Connacht to extend his contract.

Ireland gets a French coach for a small rugby club located in West Cork.

Munster rugby has obtained a celebratory coach recently. Johan Erasmus would be taking up the director position in this province. Even though this club might be still at amateur levels, it has definitely taken a step to spruce up its acts and to help the team develop skills to the next level.

Leinster was quick to react after the surprise departure of defense coach Kurt McQuilkin. The Leinster province did not waste much of its time and started to carry out discussions with many coaches to fill the shoes of Kurt.

There is no doubt that Kurt had left a void, according to Leo Cullen, the head coach. He had to leave due to family reasons and it is for Leinster management to bring in someone with a positive attitude into the squad.

This Six Nations returns this weekend having taken a well deserved breather last week, with teams again set to battle it out for victories over their Northern hemisphere rivals.

It is hard to look anywhere else for the tie of the round, as England host Wales at Twickenham on Saturday evening in what could well be the title decider.

Having started confidently in their new era under Eddie Jones, England will be looking to banish painful memories of their World Cup exit to their neighbours, which eventually contributed to their exit at the group stage. For Wales, Warren Gatland’s side will be looking to build upon recent victories against Scotland and France.

Ireland have won the last two Six Nations competitions and will be chasing down a third consecutive success in the tournament. Although they have lost a number of key personalities, Joe Schmidt’s side is still extremely talented and the Irish will be quietly confident of achieving their ultimate goal in 2016. We take a look at their chances of success in spring’s competition.

2015 Player of the Tournament Paul O’Connell hung up his boots after Ireland’s disappointing exit in October’s World Cup. The Irish lock suffered a tournament-ending injury that cost him the opportunity to lead his team out against Argentina and they missed his presence as they fell to the Pumas at the quarter-final stage of the competition.

Ahead of the Rugby Union World Cup, ex-Australia coach Robbie Deans has said that Ireland can win the tournament, and that the team is ideally placed to take home the coveted trophy right now.

“Ireland are absolutely one of the sides in contention for the World Cup,” Deans said.

“This is going to be a great World Cup. There’s more uncertainty in terms of the ultimate winner than there’s ever been. And there are more sides capable of getting onto the podium than ever before, and that’s great for the game.

“Joe Schmidt has started really well at Test level,” he continued, speaking about the New Zealander.

“Ireland are very well-placed I think right now; the timing of this World Cup is good for them. They’ve got a good nucleus of experience, and they’ve shown there’s no one in the world they can’t beat, and that includes the All Blacks.