Ireland Rugby Fans

Ireland’s pool stage victory over Australia has been voted the best game of the 2011 Rugby World Cup. In a tournament that has to be seen as an overall disappointment for the Irish team the victory over eventual Bronze medal winners Australia provided the tournaments best match, according to the official World Cup Facebook fan site.

The draw was thrown wide open by the Irish victory, effectively setting up the prospect of a Northern Hemisphere half of the draw and a Southern Hemisphere side. The result would be a North versus South Final and a real chance for the Irish to make it to their first World Cup Final. It soon proved this was not to be, with the Welsh seeing off the Irish team in the quarters before being dispatched of themselves by France to set up a repeat of the 1987 final against New Zealand.

Felix Jones and Conor Murray have been named in the latest Ireland squad. The squad includes several players who are in the process of returning from long-term injuries, including Stephen Ferris and Rob Kearney. Short-term injury victims Shane Jennings and Tony Buckley are also named in the panel. Shane Horgan is out with a knee […]

Ulster scrum-half Ruan Pienaar has been selected as the Player of the Year by the players themselves. Tony McGahan of Munster was selected as Coach of the Season while the Try of the Season prize went to the Ospreys’ Ashley Beck. Munster’s Ronan O’Gara won the Golden Boot award and Toby Faletau of the Newport […]

Coach Declan Kidney has said that the margin by which Ireland beat Scotland should be more than the 21-18 scoreline.

The Irish scored the game’s three tries but another high penalty count kept the Scots in the contest right to the end.

“We are not overly happy. We probably scored 30 points but the trouble is nine were for them,” said Kidney.

“We must look at the things we can control. We do contest the break down and make no apology for that.”

Ireland’s Stephen Ferris will not be appearing in the match against Scotland beacause of knee injury. The Ulster flanker is still troubled by a knee injury and will miss the game at Murrayfield next Sunday after undergoing another scan on the problem.

Stephen Ferris will have a further scan next Friday as he attempts to be fit to face Wales and England in mid-March.

Ospreys winger Tommy Bowe looks likely to be fit to face the Scots.

Bowe has resumed training and was included in the Ospreys panel for the Magners League game against Treviso.

Stephen Ferris is set to miss the Italy-Ireland clash in Rome due to injury. The Ulster player told BBC Sport on Friday that he was resigned to missing the match because of a knee injury. “It is now looking as though I am going to miss the Italy game,” said Ferris. Already out for the […]

The Irish rugby union have been dealt a major blow with the news that Geordan Murphy is out for the season. Murphy was hurt in the Premiership game with Northampton on Saturday and it was thought he had damaged ankle ligaments and would be out for around a month. Confirmation he has a broken foot […]

Ireland hooker Jerry Flannery is back in the squad for the next game for the Irish. Flannery has been out of action since October with a calf injury. Flanker Alan Quinlan (dislocated elbow) will be out for up to two months and prop Dave Ryan (shoulder) faces several weeks on the sidelines. Teenage winger Craig […]

The Irish Rugby Football Union has announced that their latest ticket pricing plans for next years match against France and England. The Aviva Stadium failed to sell out at any time during the four recent autumn Tests with the 46,302 attendance for New Zealand the best by some margin.

The pricing strategy was condemned and have responded by introducing five categories for 30,000 seats.

These range in cost from just over £12 to slightly over £105.

Ireland are set to make five changes for the match against Argentina. ull-back Geordan Murphy and winger Andrew Trimble come in for the injured Rob Kearney and Luke Fitzgerald while Peter Stringer starts at scrum-half.

In the front row, Sean Cronin replaces sidelined Rory Best and Tony Buckley’s return from a hip injury means Tom Court reverts to the replacements.

Argentina have made three changes from the team beaten last weekend by France.

Wing Horacio Agulla replaces Gonzalo Camacho while centre Marcelo Bosch takes over from Santiago Fernandez.