My Ireland Squad to play in the Nations Championship in July against Australia, New Zealand and Japan…

Prop : Billy Bohan, Michael Milne, Jeremy Loughman LH

Tadgh Furlong, Thomas Clarkson, Tom O Toole – TH

Ronan Kelleher, Dan Sheehan, Tom Stewart- Hooker

Tom Ahern, Darragh Murray, James Ryan, Joe Mc Carthy, Cormac Izuchkwu – SR

Tadgh Beirne, Jack Conan, Cian Prendergast, Dave Mc Cann, Josh Van Der Flier, John Hodnett, Nick Timoney, Brian Gleeson, Caelan Doris, Sean Jansen – no 8/BR

Backs : Nathan Doak, Craig Casey, Jamison Gibson Park – SH

Jack Murphy, Ciaran Frawley, Jack Crowley – FH

Bundee Aki, Garry Ringrose, Dan Kelly, James Hume, Jude Postlewaite, Hugh Gavin – Centre

Jimmy O Brien, Tommy O Brien, JJ Kenny, Zac Ward, Robert Balcounne – Wing

Hugo Keenan, Mike Lowry, Jamie Osbourne – FB

I am aware a few of these players could be ruled out through injury but this is the squad I would select to face Australia and Japan in Australia before taking New Zealand on in Eden Park in Auckland.

Andy Farrell has signed a fresh deal with the IRFU until 2031 and that will see him take charge of the Irish team until the World Cup in the USA. The length of this deal is unpreceded in terms of length as the IRFU would normally only hand out a 4 year deals between Word Cup’s.

Under his leadership a Championship and Grand Slam has been won in 2023 and 2024 respectively. He has been with the IRFU since 2016 when he came in under Joe Schmidt as defence coach having worked alongside Stuart Lancaster with England until late 2015.

Andy Farrell has plainly stated he has happy here and the family love living her so there was no hesitation in giving him fresh terms. It also stops any long term question around his future as both England and Saracens were touted as possible destinations after the World Cup next year.

This move also opens the door to Farrell leading the British and Irish Lions when they tour New Zealand in 2029, that is still a bit away and Farrell has a Nations Championship over July and next November to deal with and the 2027 Six Nations before the RWC in Australia.

The doubts over James Lowe’s future continue to grow but maybe now that Andy Farrell’s fate has been decided, it might sway any late decisions by Lowe and his advisors as to what may be next for the 45 times capped Irish international.

There is still plenty of work to be done by Ireland and now Farrell has the time and scope to implement any changes he may see fit to make over the next few years. The Irish squad will continue to undergo change in the next while and certain players may see this contract extension as a chance to put themselves in the shop window while others will know they need to try and wipe the slate clean and start fresh under Farrell’s watchful eye.

The length of contract is interesting as the IRFU model in times past was 4 year deals between World Cup’s and then re access just before or just after each World Cup of course that has worked to varying degrees in the past.

Andy Farrell has been with the IRFU for 10 years now as an assistant and since 2020 as the head coach. His trophy cabinet shows 3 Championships with Ireland in 2018 a Grand Slam as an assistant, in 2023, another Grand Slam as Head Coach and in 2024 a Championship win. The record at RWC’s needs work as Ireland are still waiting to win a knock out game which in my humble opinion is embarrassing in particular since 1999.

There is certainly a feel good factor attached to this particular contract extension and there is plenty of good will towards Mr Farrell although after the loss in Paris back in February one might have felt that this relationship might draw to a close but they managed to get things going again and defeat England by a record margin in Twickenham and that seemed to give him breathing space which has led to this new deal.

He has been given the vote of confidence where other Irish coaches could only dream of being given such a long term deal in times past but I suppose a Grand Slam and Championship win will give you that room for manoeuvre and also the fact that the family are happy here which is another key element which is sometimes lost in the rough and tumble of the world of professional sport.

The Nations Championship is first on the agenda in July where Ireland face Australia, New Zealand and Japan on consecutive weekends. That squad will be named in the next period of time and a number of new players will be hoping to get on the plane to play some part in any of those 3 games.

Andy Farrell has been giving the backing of those in the IRFU for the long term and now it is over to him, his coaches and players to begin the journey that has been given renewed hope and value….

 Union Bordeuax Begles are your 2026 Champions Cup winners after beating Leinter 41-19 in yesterday’s Final in Bilbao. Leinster did start brightly scoring through Tommy O Brien and Harry Byrne converted but unfortunately from a Leinster point of view that is as good as it got barring a few late scores to gloss over the cracks and improve the scoreline.

Bordeaux flexed their muscles yesterday and put the defending URC champions to the sword. It is a 6^th French winner over the past 6 years and that should really have all in the much vaunted Gallagher Prem and URC scratching their heads as to how the Champions Cup may end up back in the cabinet of one of their sides over the next couple of years.

The Top 14 has gotten a vice like grip on the Champions Cup and the Challenge Cup as Ulster’s challenge on Friday night also wilted in the Bilbao heat. The Champions Cup will of course be questioned again by plenty in terms of the whole set up and why the competition was altered back in 2014.

Leinster are yet again waking up and left pondering what may have been as that was a 10^th appearance in the Champions Cup Final and worryingly for those hopeful contenders a 5^th defeat in a row and as I mentioned a 6^th consecutive French winner.

Leinster will have to wait until the season is ended to properly review what occurred in Bilbao but it’s another defeat and while winning the URC is special, this group seeminly hold themselves to those lofty high standards of winning in Europe year in and out.

Yes they have made a number of finals in recent times but have come out the wrong side to the result far too many times for it to be a “blip” and I don’t think “learnings” will work either, Questions have to be asked of the coaching group while certain big name players didn’t perform on the big day.

Reiko Ioane was brought in hot on the heels of Jordie Barrett from December of 2025 until now and may have 3 further games in blue if Leinster make in to the URC Grand Final on June 20^th. Bordeaux are coached by Yannick Bru, he of course is assisted by men like Shaun Sowerby and Clare man Noel Mc Namara who looks after the Bordeaux backs.

Bordeaux’s win was built on solid defence, power up front in the set piece and attacking play that has seen them freely score tries from anywhere with the likes of Maxime Lucu and Mathieu Jailbert leading the way helped by Louie Bielle Biarrey, Damien Penaud who now goes one better than his father Alain who won a Heineken Cup in 97 with Brive by winning his 2^nd medal yesterday.

The frightening this is, they went unbeaten again this campaign and will now have sights on a 3^rd straight title in 2027.

No one would back against them doing it like Toulon did back in the mid 2000s. Like Toulon, they are backed heavily by a wealthy owner and have a strength in depth that others teams can only dream of no matter what may be said by those in public.

From an Irish point of view, yesterday was another sobering reminder of how far the 4 teams may still need to climb to reach the summit of Europe’s premier competition. Leinster have been to the big dance several times but have been beaten each time and yesterday they were dismantled by Bordeaux.

Leinster have something close to the strength in depth of the Top 14 but maybe the quality isn’t quite of the Top 14 standard in particular at this minute which is something that those in charge of at Leinster and the IRFU may need to look into at the end of the season.

The French strangle hold will be broken of course as other strangle holds were in years past but this will take some creative thinking from teams and coaches across the URC and Gallagher Prem to see who is good enough to come out of the pack and take the Trophy away from Bordeaux and the Top 14 sides.

Huge congratulations goes to Union Bordeaux Begles on winning the Champions Cup for a 2^nd straight year, well done to Noel Mc Namara who recently signed a long term contract to stay in Bordeaux for another few years, his coaching stock has risen since his time with the Ireland under 20s and his time with the Leinster academy as manager. He spent time in the URC with the Sharks who are based in Durban.

He coaching expertise will be much sought after you can be sure so well done to Bordeaux for getting him to sign the aforementioned long term deal earlier in the campaign.

For Leinster, it’s back to the drawing board although I am sure that is getting harder to do as the years go by but they have to try and get going again to see can they defend the URC crown they won last year…..

Leinster and Ulster are in European Final action this weekend. Ulster play Montpellier in the Challenge Cup Final tomorrow evening at 8pm in Bilbao. Leinster face Bordeaux Begles in the Champions Cup Final on Saturday at 2.45pm.

Ulster defeated Exeter in the semi final stage and although they will be missing a number of big names through injury and suspension, they will still feel they can end the season on a high note after some poor results at the end of the URC campaign.

Richie Murphy has worked hard with the Ulster squad to get them playing an attacking brand of rugby. Jimmy Duffy for his part has worked tirelessly to keep the Ulster forwards competitive in games where they have struggled at scrum time. Aengus Bell will be fit to take his place in the 23 from the start or off the bench.

This is a first Final for Ulster since the loss to Leinster in Twickenham in the Champions Cup Final of 2012. Ulster have gone from rock bottom to Challenge Cup finalists over the past year and also improved their overall showings in the league this season.

Mark Sexton is part of the Ulster coaching set up after working with Richie Murphy with the Ireland under 20s before accepting the role with Ulster. He has worked his magic and has Ulster playing well. They still get caught up front and will need to work hard against Montpellier to make sure that the set piece doesn’t completely derail any hopes of a win tomorrow evening.

Ulster need some luck in the game tomorrow evening, they did have a poor end to the League season but will just have to tap into the good form of mid-season in particular if they are to win. It will be a huge effort to get past a powerful Montpellier side who will also see this as a way of securing Champions Cup rugby for next year by winning the game.

Both teams will be hell bent on putting their best foot forward, let’s hope both sides go out and attack each other and it doesn’t end up in a slug fest. Ulster have shown this year they can score from anywhere, they will need that quality along with a water tight defence to snuff out any Montpellier attacks.

I think Montpellier will have too much power up front and that will mean they will squeeze Ulster and that alone might be enough to win the game tomorrow.

Leinster go into familiar territory on Saturday afternoon in another Champions Cup Final appearance. They last won the title in 2018 in Bilbao beating Racing 92 in a tight contest, since then though they have appeared in a number of finals and come up short in their own stated aim to win another Champions Cup title.

Even though players old and new may not like to admit it, there is serious pressure on Leinster this weekend to add a 5^th star to the 4 previous wins. Mentally, another defeat will do more harm than good again no matter what might be said publically or privately from the playing squad or coaching staff.

Leinster have had a mixed year, they have been caught between two stools in terms of a playing style and the defence system employed since Jacques Nienber came on board. Rieko Ioane replaced Jordie Barrett as Leinster’s marquee signing and will want to be involved on the big day as Jordie Barrett didn’t start last season’s semi final loss vs Northampton Saints. He may get a place on the wing as Leinster could be without Tommy O Brien, JJ Kenny through injury but could welcome James Lowe back into the starting XV after his return against the Ospreys last weekend. His return could be very timely given the injuries in the Leinster wing department.

Leinster will face a Bordeaux side who know how to win on the big day having won against Northampton in last season’s decider in Cardiff. Leinster should have a number of loose heads back at their disposal with Paddy Mc Carthy and Alex Usanov returning to full fitness to provide competition for Andrew Porter, Thomas Clarkson will back up Tadgh Furlong on the tight head side.

Leinster have the fire power to defeat Bordeaux Begles but the pressure that Leinster will be under because of all the near misses could be an unseen complication.

They have plenty of players who have been there and done it on the big day in blue and green jerseys. Those are the players that Leinster will need to lean on when they are under the pump at various moments through the game.

It has been pointed out that French sides have taken control of the Champions Cup in terms of winning on the big day and would it not be good for the competition for Leinster to win on Saturday, unfortunately sport like life doesn’t do sentiment and even though it might be nice to see Leinster win on Saturday, they will need to go out and perform to wrestle the Cup away from French hands.

That being said, I give Leinster a decent shot at beating Bordeaux but like the game the previous evening, I think the Bordeaux forwards along with their scintillating back play might over power Leinster and win yet another Champion Cup for France…

At 3pm tomorrow, it will mark the moment that Munster’s first Heineken Cup winning Final kicked off in Cardiff 20 years ago. Munster went on to win that day 23-19 after defeats in both the 2000 and 2002 Finals. Several other near misses happened in the other years culminating in the victory in 2006.

I was lucky enough to be there in 2000, watched from home in 2002 but travelled in 2006 and was so fortunate to say I was there, many people claim to have been there in 1978 when Munster beat New Zealand where the provincial sides played national sides on a semi regular basis that year saw Munster defeat New Zealand in a game now immortalised in the famed play written by Alan English, “Alone It Stands”.

Several thousand beyond the people lucky to have a ticket that day in May 2006 travelled to be in Cardiff and to see could they finally reach the Promised Land and win the Heineken Cup after the defeats in 2000 and 2002.

Biarritz got the perfect start although controversial with wing Sireli Bobo crossing over the line to get there opening try but replays showed his heel had grazed the white chalk and should have been ruled out but it was awarded and that sense of foreboding and dread filled the stadium.

 Munster had been on the receiving end of many tough decisions like John O Neill vs Stade Francais back in 2001 in the Heineken Cup quarter final of that season when he crashed over but his effort was ruled out for a supposedly being in touch before he put the ball down but photographs taken on the day proved he had not touched the corner flag and his try should have stood.

Anthony Foley was team captain on the day and had only missed a small number of games in the Heineken Cup from 1995 to the win in 2006. All those moments made sure that when Munster did eventually make it over the finish line that it tasted all the sweeter.

The played Sale, Castres, Newport Gwent Dragons and Bourgouin in there Pool winning 5 from 6 Pool games and only being beaten away at Sale and then needing to beat Sale on a never forgotten evening when David Wallace crashed over late on to secure a famous win over a very strong Sale side that had many internationals in the side like Jason Robinson, Sebastian Chabal, Jason White, Mark Cueto to name a few that lined out that evening.

A young centre named Barry Murphy was in the team that evening against Sale and made his Munster debut scoring a quality individual try that was 1 of the couple scored that evening. Unfortunately for Barry injury robbed him of a start in that Final with John Kelly starting at 13 against Biarritz and after the game was won he gave Barry his shirt and said “that’s yours I was just keeping it warm”.

Munster beat Perpignan in the quarter final in Dublin and that set up the 1^st all Ireland semi final in the Heineken Cup  vs Leinster in Lansdowne Road and after a tight affair Munster won on the day with Ronan O Gara scoring a try in the last 10 minutes before Trevor Halstead intercepted a pass in the final 2 mins and scampered over to crown a wonderful performance and day in Dublin.

The Census of 2006 was actually taken the weekend of the Leinster game, one of those forgotten but funny facts of that weekend. Back to Cardiff, Munster worked hard to win 23-19 on the day with Trevor Halstead and Peter Stringer scoring tries and Ronan O Gara supplied the rest with his trusty right boot.

Munster crossed over the winning line after a tense finish that had seen Biarritz lay siege to the Munster line but stout defence and a solid scrum held firm to see Munster through. The team that lined out that day was :

15 Shaun Payne

14 Anthony Horgan

13 John Kelly

12 Trevor Halstead

11 Ian Dowling

10 Ronan O Gara

9 Peter Stringer

8 Anthony Foley

7 David Wallace

6 Denis Leamy

5 Paul O Connell

4 Donnacha O Callaghan

3 John Hayes

2 Jerry Flannery

1 Marcus Horan

–

16 Denis Fogarty

17 Fedrico Pucciariello

18 Mick O Driscoll

19 Alan Quinlan

20 Tomas O Leary

21 Jeremy Manning

22 Rob Henderson

Those men gave me the best day of my sporting life to that point. Hard to believe it’s 20 years ago but it is and it’s still a moment that brings me to tears. Let’s hope in another 20 years it still has the same impact on me…..

It is the final weekend of the regular URC season with a few teams assured of a playoff spot and those in the chasing pack looking to book a last 8 spot as well as insuring European participation next season.

Tonight will see 3 crucial games taking place in round 18 with Cardiff Rugby hosting the Stormers, Ulster face Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh take on Connacht.

All 6 teams have a chance to secure their top 8 spot with wins across the games this evening. For the losing sides it will be an anxious wait to see how the games fixed for tomorrow afternoon and evening fare out.

Munster and the Fidelity Securedrive Lions to give them there long winded title will know exactly what’s needed when they close out the regular campaign at 7.45pm tomorrow evening in Thomond Park.

Munster have had very ropy inconsistent season but will still have destiny of sorts in their own hands by kick off tomorrow evening. Can the return of Jack Crowley help steer the ship on the right course.

Given everything that has happened over the past month from a Munster point of view, it will be a relief to the players that the matters on the field will take centre stage for 80 minutes in the hope of securing a top 8 finish.

For Ulster and Connacht they also have a chance at a place in the last 8 and that will be settled this weekend beginning this evening for both sides on home soil for Ulster and away for Stuart Lancaster’s charges who travel to Edinburgh.

History beckons for the Irish provinces who could have 4 teams in the last 8 conversely they may only get Leinster over the line who are the only province to this point to have confirmed there spot in the quarter finals in 2 weeks time.

For the URC it is fantastic to have so many games on the last weekend that will have a direct impact on the make-up of the last 8 rather than having a large number of games with nothing to play for…

It will be a time for supporters to bite the finger nails to the cuticle and for others to get the calculator out and see what their side might require as the games over the 2 days go by.  It will be a good weekend drama wise, may not be great for the blood pressure or heart rate if you follow any of the sides involved from 4^th place through to 9^th spot.

Strap yourself and enjoy the roller-coaster ride that will be URC round 18…..

Leinster and Ulster will hold the Irish flag in the Champions Cup and Challenge Cup semi finals in Dublin and Belfast where Leinster take on Toulon and Exeter Chiefs visit Belfast. Both sides have had mixed performances since their respective quarter final wins.

In a clear sign of intent in particular from Ulster, they made wholesale change heading down to play Munster in the URC last weekend. While Leinster mixed and matched in defeat to Benetton who won with the last kick of the evening sealing a 29-26 win for the Italian side.

Those 2 defeats have hampered there URC play off ambitions but if both sides make it through the semi final stages this weekend in Europe those 2 losses won’t overly matter as both teams will be preparing for Finals in Bilbao.

Ulster have issues in the prop department and could be forced to select a number of players short on game time vs Exeter but could also welcome back Aengus Bell and Tom O Toole if injury reports are to be believed.

Only time will tell and when the team line ups will be announced we will then find out where Ulster is in terms of fit and available props for the tough task that awaits them against Exeter.

They have managed to secure a home semi final and that will provide them with extra opportunities in terms of trying to gain victory and reach a 1^st European final since the Heineken Cup final appearance back in 2012 in Twickenham.

Saturday night in Belfast offers Ulster a huge chance and they have played well enough through the campaign to feel they can secure a big win over Exeter who beat Munster in the last 16 before winning their quarter final against Benetton.

It will be a tight game between Ulster and Exeter and Ulster will back themselves on home soil but the issues they have up front could be the snag that could see them come up short. Exeter have had trouble up front themselves but seem to have found that kick and pick up in form just as Ulster have found form hard to come by in recent weeks but will know they have the attacking game plan to trouble any side.

Even though they are on home soil, I feel Exeter will just have enough to get past Ulster and book a spot in Bilbao.

Leinster will face Toulon at 3pm on Saturday in Dublin and will know they have to hit all the right notes if they are to get beyond another Euro semi final and make the big day in Bilbao. Leinster will not only have to face Toulon, they will have to battle those inner demons that have come up several times in the past couple of seasons due to a number of semi final defeats.

They have been here before and will of course dip into that experience and will pick Rieko Ioane from the off rather than leave him on the bench like they did with Jordie Barrett in a strange selection call from last year. Ioane can easily slot in on the wing as well at centre but to be fair the likes of Jimmy O Brien and JJ Kenny can lay claim to one of those wing spots with Tommy O Brien on the right wing.

Like Ulster, the form in recent times has been mixed and that is being generous from a Leinster point of view, of the 4 sides left I would put Leinster at no.4, Toulon at 3, Bath at 2 and Bordeaux Begles at number 1 as defending champions and the best positioned to retain their grip on the Champions Cup trophy.

I will go against the grain and say that Toulon will cause a shock on Saturday and beat Leinster in Dublin and the wait will go on for another Champions Cup win for Leinster.

It is certainly going against the conventional wisdom that both home sides would lose both semi finals but I am backing that very scenario to come up and say that Exeter and Toulon will make it to Bilbao over Ulster and Leinster…..  

The AIL ended yesterday with both the men’s and women’s finals taking place in Dublin in the Aviva Stadium. UL Bohs defeated Blackrock College in a tight finish scoring the winning try after the clock had gone over 80 minutes.

UL Bohs will be delighted that they found a way past a stubborn Blackrock side to gain victory on the AIL’s big day on centre stage in Ireland where there were no games in the URC or Women’s Six Nations to compete with for air time or coverage.

The men’s final saw St Mary’s College take on Clontarf in a fabulous advertisement for the club game and dare I say it, it matched if not bettered certain URC games of recent years. The standard is very high and yes it was two Dublin sides contesting the show piece this year as has been the case a few times in recent seasons with Cork Constitution one of the sides to break that strangle hold.

The AIL has struggled for breathing space since the early 2000s when it was the provincial set up that the IRFU went with to meet the fresh demands of professionalism. This of course has caused ongoing problems between both club and province. It is a dance that has been done for many years and will continue.

The new season will see certain AIL divisions regionalised to cut down on costs and allow teams to rebuild from within if they need to. As is the case in all of sport, money has dictated this as well due to certain costs associated with travel to and from games in certain places.

Yesterday’s game was the culmination of the 25/26 season and saw St Mary’s College crowned winners for the first time in 14 years. Head Coach Mark Mc Hugh was a Mary’s player himself and you could see what the win yesterday meant to him and his coaches.

Interestingly, Mary’s had ex Munster centre Dan Goggin in the Number 8 shirt with Conor Dean at 10 who had a good underage career with Ireland having been capped at Under 20 level for Ireland and played professionally with Connacht.

As the son of ex Irish out half Paul, he certainly showed the same safe hands and movement on occasion as his Dad did in green for Ireland over a successful 32 caps between 1981 and 1989 winning a Championship under Mick Doyle in 1985.

The AIL has done well to try and marry both the pro game and amateur with a large number of current and ex professionals still involved both as players and coaches as was in evidence yesterday with Cian Healy assisting Clontarf and guys like Hugh Cooney currently on the books at Leinster at 13 while you had Jordan Coughlan at 8 who spent time on the books of Munster and Leicester Tigers as well as an underage career with Leinster.

The game yesterday was a real advert for what attacking rugby can achieve. Mary’s went after Clontarf and were deservedly 15-12 up at half time going on to win 46-31.

In a refreshing change no TMO was in use and the rule in the AIL level for tackles below the chest was also in evidence, where you have to keep your tackles below chest height, anything above that will result in a penalty.

The match officials also had a great game and have to take huge credit in allowing the game to flow and also being up to the pace of the game as it was very fast moving over the 80 minutes. My own biggest take away is that the club game is in good health, I know plenty will say that is not the case everywhere and I am sure plenty is being done to help push other clubs on in all divisions of both senior and junior rugby.

Well done to all those sides at both senior and junior level who won this weekend and a word for UCC captain Sam O Sullivan who suffered a cardiac incident during Saturday’s play off vs Shannon. All the very best to him in his recovery.

Well done also to Tralee RFC who beat Killarney RFC in the Martin O Sullivan Cup Final played in Virgin Media Park yesterday afternoon, Tarbert man Sean Thompson was in the winning Tralee squad.