Monday 14 October 2013
What may be the last Heineken Cup final will be held in Cardiff next May but the prospects of a first Welsh winner receded when the country's strongest region, Ospreys, were subdued by smart, street-wise opponents. Leinster, bundled out at the group stage last season and high on motivation, soaked up pressure like a sponge taking in water and fed off the several mistakes they provoked.
Furious Harlequins director of rugby Conor O'Shea accused some of his team of playing touch rugby at the Twickenham Stoop yesterday.
Dylan Hartley claimed a try but Northampton slumped to defeat in their opening match of the Heineken Cup campaign.
Most of you will be unfamiliar with the baseball term the Mendoza line. Mario Mendoza was a thoroughly average short stop for the Seattle Mariners who had a career batting average of .200. The term the Mendoza line is a figurative boundary or the low-end cut-off point between acceptable and unacceptable mediocrity.
The finalists of last year appear today in the first round of the last Heineken Cup as we know it. That's two 'lasts' and the final in 'finalist' against one 'first'. Funereal language weighs down on the puppy-dog brightness of the European season. Let's hear it for Toulon and Clermont. Cue something Soviet and sombre.
Friday nights at Ravenhill have proven to be one of the consistent highlights of the Heineken Cup. The stadium may be in the throes of major reconstruction, but this Ulster team have firmly established themselves as genuine contenders in Europe's premier competition.
Leinster kicked off the Matt O’Connor era in the Heineken Cup with a clinical 19-9 win away to their bogey side Ospreys.
Munster’s Heineken Cup hopes have already taken a turn for the worse after they were sensationally turned over by Edinburgh in Murrayfield this afternoon.
It's deja vu all over again for Leinster.
Ulster got their Heineken Cup campaign off to a superb start when they came from behind to carve out a deserved victory against the English champions.
FIRST, Dave Kearney was known as Rob's little brother, then he unwittingly became a star of the hottest rugby clip to hit YouTube this year.
Connacht put in one of their finest displays in recent memory, but it wasn't enough to upset Saracens on an incredible night at the Sportsground.
A dominant final quarter from the Cornish Pirates proved decisive as Ulster Ravens lost their British & Irish Cup Pool 6 opener at a windswept Mennaye Field in Cornwall.
HOLDERS Leinster begin their British & Irish Cup defence at home to an Ealing Trailfinders side who sit at the bottom of the English Championship table.
Castres v Northampton, 3.40
What should prove a routine match for Munster carries much importance for many associated with this emerging new team.
There was a time ... He thinks back to the Biarritz sun and all the polite chicanery people saw in his face that day, smiling above a laminated guest badge on a rugby field in South West France. Imagine.
Ian Madigan starts on the bench for Leinster in their opening Heineken Cup match against Ospreys tomorrow night, with new signing Jimmy Gopperth slotted in as out-half.
Scotland full-back Stuart Hogg is likely to sit out all three of the Dark Blues' Autumn Tests after he was forced to undergo surgery on an injured wrist.
Last year was a real rollercoaster of a season for Simon Zebo and he is determined to make this one even better.
Ireland captain Jamie Heaslip was in generous mood.
THE Heineken Cup all started for Paul O'Connell when he began to hop over the wall that stood between his school, Ardscoil Ris, and the hallowed Thomond Park turf.
Munster have taken the unusual step of resting captain Peter O'Mahony for their Heineken Cup opener in Edinburgh tomorrow – despite repeated assertions from the player and club that he did not suffer concussion in last week's win over Leinster.
In the midst of the threat to the future of the European Cup, the breakaway club owners in England and France would have been wise to take a trip to Thomond Park last Saturday.
Martin Johnson, a World Cup winner with England, tried before and failed. So, too, did Geordan Murphy, a double Heineken Cup winner and Grand Slam champion.
AS the axe hovers over the Heineken Cup, Connacht come face-to-face with one of the tournament's chief executioners tonight.
Jonny Sexton is Racing Metro's Gareth Bale signing, the Galactico drafted in to bring the sort of success to Paris' arriviste club that the 28-year-old fly-half helped achieve at Leinster.
IT looks like being a good weekend for the Irish as the Heineken Cup gets under way, with our panel of experts predicting wins for three of the four provinces.
If this is to be the final Heineken Cup, will it be a good, belligerent send-off, salted with all the sour self-interests so embedded in Europe's hopelessly dysfunctional rugby family?
From Leinster's monumental Sexton-inspired comeback against the Saints to Munster's epic toppling of Toulouse, David Kelly reflects on the agony and ecstasy involved in sealing European glory
Missing out on the world's greatest tournament is a huge regret for me -- but watching 18 seasons of epic clashes offers some consolation
Stars and winners at the Irish annual cricket awards talk to Independent.ie. Credit: David Conachy.
c's future as Wales boss is uncertain, despite reaching a verbal agreement with Football Association of Wales chiefs over a two-year contract extension prior to last month's fixtures against the Macedonians and Serbia.
Joe Hart has been in inconsistent form for over a year and a number of recent errors have led to question marks over his England position.
Rarely short of an opinion, the outspoken QPR midfielder laid the boot into several parts of the national game at the Leaders in Football conference at Stamford Bridge.
Speaking at the announcement of the Spar Helping Hand community awards, the Olympian boxer said she had threatened to go Pro last month as she felt that she was not being promoted enough by the Irish Amateur Boxing Association. Credit: Caoimhe Gaskin
Hoddle has suggested a quota system on foreign players should be implemented in the Barclays Premier League to give the national team the best opportunity of success.
Rugby pundits Tony Ward and Brent Pope are joined by cricket star Niall O’Brien, who is a massive rugby fan, to preview the opening weekend of this year’s Heineken Cup. What’s their verdict on the provinces and who’s in for a hiding? Watch and see ... To play the Heineken Star Predictor game, visit www.heineken.ie/game
The Olympic basketball gold medal winner started slowly but warmed up to collect 21points, 12 assists and eight rebounds as the Thunder led most of the way.
The 45-year-old Uruguayan is adamant he will not need compromise the brand of fluent, attacking football for which he made his name in his previous managerial role at Brighton but accepted he will be judged by his ability to secure the Black Cats' top-flight future.
Steven Gerrard says he has no wish to repeat the worst experience of his England career when they failed to qualify for Euro 2008.
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