The IRFU have done good smart business with the confirmation of 4 new deals of varied lengths for messers Sheehan, Gibson Park, Aki and Van Der Flier with Sheehan signing a new 3 year deal with Gibson Park and Van Der Flier signing for 2 years each and Bundee Aki getting a fresh 1 year deal.

All 4 men have played key parts in Ireland success in recent years including a Grand Slam in 23 and a Championship win in 2024.  This is a good move and of course the timing of the announcement is good thinking straight of the back of the final round win over Scotland.

All players will now go back to focus on club action with the URC kicking back into gear this weekend with Munster in South Africa, Leinster facing Glasgow and an Irish derby with Ulster taking on Connacht.

Scott Bemand has signed a fresh deal until 2029 after that year’s World Cup to lead the Women’s team.  It shows the IRFU are slowing moving to tie down key cogs over the next period of time. Andy Farrell will also sit down with the IRFU to review the 6 Nations just gone as well speaking about his own future with his latest deal ending after the 2027 World Cup in Australia.

The work is being done as seen with the announcements of those deals over the past 24 hours. David Humphreys knows he will have competition for Andy Farrell’s signature on a new deal with Saracens and maybe even the RFU looking at trying to bring him back to English rugby. The work is being done by those in the IRFU but it is still a case of a lot done and more to do…. 6 Nations 2026 has ended and now focus turns to the Nations Championship starting in July.

Ireland defeated Scotland 43-21 to round off a campaign that had a bit of everything from an Irish perspective. The loss to France, the close shave against Italy, the near perfect showing in Twickenham, the wobble vs Wales and then the strong display vs Scotland to round off the 6 Nations for 2026.

The mix of emotions over the past few weeks during the Championship shows you in a simple form how quick things can change.

People probably questioned Farrell in the aftermath of the French loss in Paris. Gradually though he and his charges grew into the Championship and with each passing week you saw improvement that culminated in the 2 strongest performances away to England when the wheels came off the Chariot. And on Saturday against a very bullish Scotland who came to Dublin in search of a 1^st win in Dublin since 2010 and a first win over Ireland since 2017.

Scotland were in with a sniff of a first Championship since 1999 but even though they performed ok in the opening 40 minutes in Dublin they could not sustain the challenge and faltered in the final 30 minutes which saw Ireland stretch the lead from 12 points to 20 points and never relinquish the lead all afternoon.

The display put Ireland into pole position but France manged to scramble a late win over England in a crazy game in Paris the saw the full time score read 48-46 which saw France crowned champions for the 2^nd year in a row but this time only by the skin of their teeth.

This Championship saw Italy win 2 games and Wales slowly beginning to make improvements on the field after 2 years where performances were simply not good enough even allowing for the off field issues that continue in the background.

England yet again failed to deliver and no matter what may be said publically, the review will be rough on Steve Borthwick and his staff. The questions are beginning in earnest as to whether he is the man to lead England to Australia in 2027.

Italy have shown the seeds of growth may finally be beginning to germinate and they may finally be able to sustain a challenge over a number of weeks rather than a big one off showing. Let’s hope the upward curve keeps going in the Nations Championship beginning this summer.

France are your 2026 Champions but only after an almighty scare on home soil that saw them get over the line but only by the skin of there teeth…..

Here is my team of the Championship

15 Thomas Ramos

14 Robert Balcounne

13 Juan Ignacio Brex

12 Stuart Mc Closkey

11 Louis Bielle – Biarrey

10 Fin Russell

9 Jamison Gibson Park

8 Charles Ollivon

7 Rory Darge

6 Tadgh Beirne

5 Dafydd Jenkins

4 Scott Cummings

3 Tadgh Furlong

2 Dan Sheehan

1 Danillo Fischetti

Scott Robertson has left his role as New Zealand head coach after 2 years. He leaves the role with a decent win ratio of 20 wins in 27 games in charge. People will look where the defeats happened of course.

South Africa and England contributed to his downfall by being among those 7 teams to inflict the worst possible outcome on New Zealand which of course is a loss, well that is certainly the case if you’re a New Zealand fan.

The amount of internal wrangling that goes on when New Zealand loses is a sight to behold, one defeat and its hell for leather looking for the coaches head on a plate. In any other line of work 20 wins in 27 would be celebrated but not south of the equator.

Scott Robertson was called for after his time Crusaders coach where he won a number of Super Rugby titles and although some of those came in Covid time you still can’t sniff at those achievements.

He of course had Ronan O Gara as part of his coaching team for a few seasons and they worked well together. ROG has credited “Razor” with improving his own coaching. Ronan has gone on to coach La Rochelle to two Champions Cup titles and although domestic success has eluded him so far, they are still in the shake up for a play-off spot this year.

Robertson had signed a 4 year deal through to Australia in 2027 and New Zealand will now need to go into the market to find a replacement. Men like Jamie Joseph and Tony Brown will be linked with the role straight away. One feels New Zealand will take time over this replacement and will not rush into a decision.

Ronan O Gara may also be a name on the long list of candidates even though New Zealand don’t hand the reins to anyone outside of their own country, maybe it just might be time for that aspect of things to change. The smart money will be on an appointment from their own system, but Ronan could easily make the long list. That is of course if that international job was of interest to him.

The New Zealand job will be of interest to many people, Warren Gatland is another man who could be an outside bet for the job, he has had success with Wasps and then Wales. Yes his time at the Chiefs wasn’t the best but he could very well have the ability to straighten out a few things within the set up that seem to have contributed to Robertson’s exit.

The end of year review didn’t work in Robertson’s favour and he stepped down in its aftermath. Player power has also been spoken of with a story breaking yesterday that Ardie Savea may be looking at opportunities away from New Zealand and less than a day later Scott Robertson has left his role.

There had also been questions about the environment cultivated but Roberston and Scott Hansen who was one of his assistants that saw first Leon Mc Donald and latterly Jason Holland step down from roles as assistants to Scott Roberston over the past 2 years. You can’t keep losing men in your system and expect things to try and continue to run smoothly.

This disruption surely had an impact that maybe the NZRU feel they had to act now to try and do the best for New Zealand rugby in the long term. It will be a good job for whoever the NZRU go with and they have a talented group of players to pick from and would be well served to look at those outside of New Zealand at the moment playing in Japan as well as Europe when selecting there first squad.

Some big choices ahead for those in charge in New Zealand and with the World Cup now only 18 months away, they will need to make their choice and allow that person free rein to go about their business and with no Rugby Championship this year that will be tricky but they will tour South Africa and you have the Nations Championship in July and August as well, it’s over to those in the NZRU who hold the power to make their choice and move from here…

Over recent years I have seen the rise of people in the media using certain words when describing a team for which they played for in the past. Words like “us”, “them” and “we”. Those in the media need to realise that they are there to deliver an opinion and not tell us about “there” club or team.

Also the use of nicknames by ex-team mates when speaking of players is another thing that both TV and Radio companies need to speak to those who they employ.  

The ordinary punter hasn’t a clue who you’re speaking of unless you are completely tuned in to every sport. Some people correct themselves as soon as they realise they have done it but more don’t and need to be pulled up on it.

Even with basic media training you are told to be keep it clear and concise and not to waffle. That particular aspect of being in the media is being lost in translation.

 I know too that anyone with a phone and mic is an amateur journalist and thinks they know what they are doing. Take it from someone who did the courses and has the t shirt. It certainly isn’t easy.

While the ex-pros know what they are speaking of in terms of the sport some of them really need to go back to finishing school in media terms.  Stop using terms that are only familiar to you and using nicknames when talking of players you may know personally or might have played with during your career.

It is not acceptable in other walks of life so those same standards should be expected on TV and on Radio. More organisations are guilty of it than others but let’s hope that those long held traditions and standards I speak of start to return over the next while.

I have to be honest and say I have a feeling they won’t but we can always hold out hope. Let this be the moment where people realise they are there to give us an informed opinion and not tell us with regularity about the love they have for “there” club or team.

In previous years, it might be the odd slip but over the last few years those slips have become more frequent and bloody annoying. If you want to profess your love of a player or team stick to team based media or fan based podcasts etc.

Some people will say, that is what makes it exciting when presenters give their side of things but you are not trained that way, well at least I wasn’t. Give an opinion yes but keep it down the middle. I know that local radio and local media can be biased but that is slightly different on occasion. When in national press, you are held to different standards.

With the advent of social media over the past 18 years in particular, every person has access to give us an opinion. Rightly or wrongly of course but that is what the modern world has given us with the internet becoming very powerful in terms of how content is accessed and sent to the masses so quickly.

In the past, it took time for news to travel but now it is instant and you don’t have time to digest one piece of news before your faced with another, each one most likely harder to stomach than the last.

I just hope that people will start to return to the old standards of giving an informed opinion and not just a sound bite. Standards have dropped but with a genuine reset, we can turn it around. Wishful thinking given what is happening worldwide currently but it is the hope we need to cling onto….

Tarbert Theatre players returned to the stage over the past two weekends with a comedy from the pen of Sam Cree, directed by Helen Enright. It was a return to thread the boards after a two year absence after they last put on “nobody is talking to me” back in 2022.

This particular comedy is based on the upcoming nuptials of the daughter of businessman Arthur Marshall (shane wall) who is trying his best to get the house ready for the festivities and to that end he is try manfully to get local painter Andy Crawford (Cormac wall) to try and get the house painted and in tip top shape but Andy seems pre occupied with his upcoming return to fatherhood for an 8^th time.

He has a wondering eye and  is more interested in getting over time and time and half for very little work and a lot of fun. It has taken 6 weeks to get to nearly finished. Add to this the housekeeper Ivy (Yvonne O Keeffe) is constantly “merry” after many small ones and will regale you with many musical numbers a favourite being “wandering star”. She almost poisons Andy on more than one occasion after trying to top up the whiskey bottle with what she thinks is water but is in fact weed killer !!

To complicate the wedding, Andy’s wife is returning after a near 3 year period away and Andy’s new admirer Madge (ciara shine) is making it tricky. Clare Marshall (noelle mc gibney)  is an actress who has been on TV and likes a good time and playing games with her soon to be ex husband.

Judy Marshall (katelyn foley) is Arthur’s daughter and his hoping to marry Alan Rea ( james enright) and after a small fight that was almost the end for the new couple, they manage to find common ground and head up the isle. Alan’s mother (niamh wall) is a widow and thinks the Marshalls are still are a married couple

Local Reverand Gribble (jerry o connell) is hard of hearing and is quite forgetful and seems to think that it’s a christening he is officiating for rather than a wedding. He also seems quite good at getting a damp backside while cycling his trusty stead….

It is a well-constructed comedy that has a few hat tips to the local area, mentioning Tarbert Island and an ongoing strike. It was a debut for Helen Enright is the director’s chair and she can be proud of the efforts that herself and the cast and crew put in over the past few months to bring this comedy to life.

All 9 cast members were well matched to the parts they played and it has been well received by all audiences over the 5 nights. The hard work has paid off for cast and crew who can now take a well-earned break and who knows we may see the Tarbert Theatre players before 2024 ends or failing that we may see them back in some way in 2025…

This Saturday will see thousands of people walk from darkness into light. The walk will again take place in Tarbert with many people taking to the route from the Comprehensive school down the Island Road and then returning to the school.

I have written extensively over the past now 10 years of my own personal battles and the 10^th anniversary of my first suicide attempt passed a few weeks ago. As I have spoken of, only for intuition and a phone call in March 2014, I would not be sitting here and that is why I write and speak so openly of my experience as I hope if even one person clicks on this and reads it and that may help them find there light bulb moment to seek out people they trust to open the conversation with those they love and trust.

I know I probably come across as cold and awkward on occasion but that is not the reality. I also know it looks I can’t shut my trap but this will come as a shock for many years I couldn’t speak openly or freely but all that has changed in the past 10 years.

Opening up and sharing has been such a saving grace and although doing it isn’t an easy thing to do for most people over fear of ridicule and being made fun of, but trust me when I say this, opening up will make things easier and people will do all they can to help and support you. I am sure there are people struggling with life, work or school at the moment and feel they can’t turn to anyone for help and support. We all feel like that and we all think we can face our issues single handily but again trust me, we can’t.

I did it that way for so long and in the end I almost killed myself with worry and stress over what others were thinking of me and where I was in life. My battles have been in my own head and believing through the voice in my head that I wasn’t good enough for this planet. Being told I was living in cloud cuckoo land from time to time didn’t help the ongoing battle in my mind and head.

But I asked for support, through a letter I wrote openly and let me tell you it caused war at home but It did the trick and after going for counselling a few years later I realised I need to take up the offer of support.

I also began to slowly realise I am worth my place on this planet and subsequent conversations made me think that ending my life would have destroyed more than my life but the lives of many people.

There is light at the end of every tunnel, trust me again when I say this because I have been to the depths of despair and found my feet through genuine love and support from many people. I always felt alone through my teenage years and even though I never let it show I was tearing myself apart from the inside out and like I always say I am so thankful to my late Mother for her intuition and also that family member who picked up the phone and helped talk me down in that fateful moment in 2014.

Fast forward 10 years and that future I felt unworthy of is burning bright in front of me and I really can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I made it from my own Darkness into the Light. Go and do the same and find someone you trust and have that opening conversation.

To anyone struggling at the moment, reach out and grasp the hand that will come out to help and support you….

15 George Furbank

14 Calvin Nash

13 Tomas Menenchello

12 Bundee Aki

11 James Lowe

10 Jack Crowley

9 Jamison Gibson Park

8 Ben Earl

7 Tommy Reffell

6 Peter O Mahony

5 Tadgh Beirne

4 Joe Mc Carthy

3 Tadgh Furlong

2 Dan Sheehan

1 Andrew Porter

Here is my team of the 6 nations that saw Ireland win back to back Championships and win a 6^th title since the 6 Nations came to be in 2000. Like all team selections it is subjective and will be easily disagreed with. Here is hoping Italy in particular can build on two wins and a draw from this campaign.

Wales need to continue the tough rebuild job from the bottom up as this campaign has shown the cracks from last season haven’t been dealt with and it is imperative that the WRU do what they can to try and get the Welsh game back on an even keel.

Ireland of course won a 6^th crown of the 6 Nations era and a 15^th outright Championship. These are special moments and yes while the World Cup issues will linger until 2027 at least, winning another title is something to be celebrated and not taking for granted as many ex-players and supporters will tell you, these wins were owe so seldom for large periods through the 80s and 90s so soak it up and enjoy it. What is seldom really is special….