Month: December 2022

A FEW WEEKS ago it appeared that Heineken’s Twitter account accidentally ‘released’ Neil Back’s mobile number during a photo shoot and many angry Irish rugby fans took the opportunity to release 13-years of pent up anger in the form of a few expletive-riddled messages. The reason for the vitriol? Oh, just Neil Back costing Munster their first ever Heineken Cup trophy in 2002. Source: Snedds/YouTube Turns out the number release was a stunt pulled by…

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Connacht fall a long way short PAT LAM’S SIDE set out at the start of this week to cause a shock against the league leaders. To do that, they would have needed to be ferocious in defence and clinical in attack. They were neither. Source: Ryan Byrne/INPHO Glasgow did the damage before half-time, consistently raiding through gaps left around the fringes. Once a Gregor Townsend player is running in open field, they rarely lack the skills…

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LEINSTER COACH MATT O’Connor believes the Guinness Pro12 would be best served by ensuring Italian clubs remain involved. Reports of England-based clubs London Welsh and London Scottish having an interest in joining the Pro12 persist, although competition organisers yesterday told The42 that no discussions have taken place in that regard. Leinster are the Pro12 holders. Source: Billy Stickland/INPHO Italian outfits Zebre and Treviso, the bottom two clubs in the Pro12 by some distance this season,…

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Aston Villa midfielder has been at the centre of talks between club manager Tim Sherwood and Republic of Ireland boss Martin O’Neill. Source: Scott Heavey/EMPICS Sport                                                          HomeTim Sherwood has revealed he spoke to Republic of Ireland manager Martin O’Neill about Jack Grealish but added he had no…

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SUPER RUGBY HEADS into the qualifiers round this weekend and there’s an absolute humdinger in store as the Highlanders host two-time champions the Chiefs in Dunedin [08.35 Irish time on Saturday]. It’s been an entertaining ride for Jamie Joseph’s Highlanders up to this point, with their rugby having been consistently thrilling and always full of ambition. Malakai Fekitoa hopes to return from injury this weekend. Source: Photosport/Dianne Manson/INPHO Their endless attacking threats will give them…

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The WWE Main Event tapings before tonight’s RAW in Orlando saw two WWE NXT Superstars make their main roster debuts – EC3 and Lacey Evans. Natalya defeated Evans via submission with the Sharpshooter, while EC3 defeated Curt Hawkins. These matches will air later this week on WWE Main Event. Below are photos and a video from tonight: Big moment for @LaceyEvansWWE tonight working @NatbyNature on Main Event to a welcoming NXT chant in Orlando. #WWE…

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A THRILLING GAME lies in store tomorrow as the Hurricanes meet the Highlanders in the Super Rugby final at Westpac Stadium [KO 08.35 Irish time]. Neither of the New Zealand franchises has won a Super Rugby title before, adding another element of intrigue to a contest that pits two of the greatest attacking club teams in the world against each other. All Black hopefuls The likes of Conrad Smith, Ma’a Nonu and Aaron Smith are established…

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South Africa 20 New Zealand 27 SOUTH AFRICA AND New Zealand went toe-to-toe in another high-skilled, high-paced, incredibly entertaining and frenetic Rugby Championship Test in Ellis Park today. The match was decided by a mix of quick All Black thinking and slow Springbok reactions in line-out defence five minutes from time. Richie McCaw took advantage of a gap in the green line and called Codie Taylor’s line-out throw on himself, leaving him with only Ruan…

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THIS WEEKEND’S CLASH between Ireland and Wales at the Millennium Stadium is a tricky one to figure out. A sellout crowd of 74,000 underlines the fact that it’s a Test match in its own right, although the experimental nature of Warren Gatland’s starting team for Saturday’s encounter drags us back to the sense that this is shadow boxing before the World Cup. Jamie Heaslip, Donnacha Ryan, Paul O’Connell and Cian Healy at Carton House today.…

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1. Six-Man Tag Team Match The Bullet Club OG’s (Gedo and Taiji Ishimori) and Templarino defeated Tiger Mask IV, Ryusuke Taguchi, Audaz 2. Six-Man Tag Team Match Suzuki-Gun (Yoshinobu Kanemaru and Taichi) and Forastero defeated Jushin Thunder Liger, Flyer, and Titan 3. Atlantis Jr. Debut Match OKUMURA and Sanson defeated Atlantis Jr. and Atlantis 4. Six-Man Tag Team Match Cuatrero, Gran Guerrero, and Ultimo Guerrero defeated Angel de Oro, Dragon Lee, and Mistico 5. Relevos…

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