Ireland

In a special attraction at Chicago’s Soldiers Field Six Nations rivals Ireland and Italy meet in a test match on Saturday. It is a rare fixture between the countries falling outside of the annual Six Nations Championship. Ireland Head Coach Joe Schmidt has not taken his leading lineup across the …

The Houston SaberCats have signed Irish hooker Pat O’Toole from the San Diego Legion. An Ireland u19 representative, the 23-year-old was formerly with Guinness Pro 14 side Connacht before joining San Diego for the second half of the 2018 Major League Rugby season. O’Toole qualifies for the USA on ancestry …

Jonathan Sexton will not be making the trip to Chicago for Ireland’s neutral-venue match against Italy next weekend. Joe Schmidt has opted to rest his star flyhalf and a number of other first choice players, sending only two of his Lions tourists to Soldier Field. Props Jack McGrath and Tadhg …

Joe Schmidt has named 42 players in his Ireland squad for the November international series. The Americas will be involved in three of their four tests, with the first match against Italy taking place in Chicago, the second test against Argentina, and the final match of their season against the …

Nigel Owens will take the field in Chicago on November 3. The world’s most prominent rugby referee takes charge of Ireland’s match against Italy at Soldier Field, with former Harlequins scrumhalf Karl Dickson tabbed to run the rule over the USA’s match against the New Zealand Māori. One of the …

England have named a 28-strong squad to prepare for their November international series that includes test matches against the USA, Canada, and Ireland. World Cup skipper Sarah Hunter returns and is set to be joined in the centurion club by Katy Daley-Mclean who is currently on 99 caps. Seven players …

Next month will see the final competitor for RWC 2019 confirmed. The month will also see widespread international competition involving all of of the 19 qualified countries and many others. Many will play in familiar rivalries. What though are rugby’s overdue test matches? 1 Australia vs Georgia In the Australian-hosted …

New Zealand were a step ahead of the rest at Infinity Park, wrapping up a perfect start to the 2018-19 HSBC Women’s Sevens Series with a dominant 33-7 win over the USA in the Cup Final. A hat trick from superstar Portia Woodman did the damage with the World Cup …

All 12 participating teams have now assembled at Infinity Park for the Glendale Sevens, the first stop on the 2018-19 HSBC Women’s Sevens Series. The USA has previously held events on the circuit in Houston, Atlanta, and Las Vegas, but this will be the first time that Colorado has played …

Leinster scrumhalf Nick McCarthy has confirmed that he will move to Munster next season. Born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the 23-year-old was first choice No9 for two seasons with Ireland u20 but remains eligible for the USA having not yet played for Ireland at senior level. Don’t expect McCarthy to …