Ross Byrne reminds me of Ollie Campbell - he ll step into Sexton s shoes Pundits have been unconvinced by his performances but Ross Byrne has quietly risen to become Leinster’s most unheralded star. By Garry Doyle Sunday 2 May 2021, 10:00 AM May 2nd 2021, 10:00 AM 19,947 Views 32 Comments
Time to kick on: Ross Byrne in action.
Image: James Crombie/INPHO
Image: James Crombie/INPHO
IT WAS THE summer of ’18. Ross Byrne took his seat in the middle aisle at Sydney for the long trip home.
Up there in the processed air of the thrumming tube, Byrne had time to think. They’d stop off in Abu Dhabi for a couple of hours before taking the last leg of the journey back to Dublin; 21 hours of flight-time, more than enough for someone to figure out what they’re going to do next.
Mixed approach but still some drama over the Rainbow
Updated / Tuesday, 27 Apr 2021
06:46
Former Munster fly-half and current Cork Con assistant coach
After more doubt and uncertainty surrounding competitions last week, some version of the Rainbow Cup went ahead at the weekend.
We re still none the wiser about what it stands for, how it’s going to play out and if the teams are going to be getting excited about it, yet the opening round wasn’t short of drama and talking points.
It was a funny situation for the Irish provinces.
Two of them are still involved in European competitions this weekend and clearly approached the Guinness Pro14 Rainbow Cup accordingly, either resting their front-line players or curtailing their game time.
Has Josh van der Flier played himself into the Lions conversation?
The Leinster openside’s form was discussed on today’s episode of The42 Rugby Weekly Extra. By The42 Team Monday 12 Apr 2021, 3:36 PM 4 hours ago 8,174 Views 26 Comments
Van der Flier has been in excellent form recently.
Image: James Crombie/INPHO
Image: James Crombie/INPHO
HE RARELY GRABS the headlines but Josh van der Flier has been an important figure in the Leinster and Ireland set-ups over the past five years, putting in consistently strong performances.
The 27-year-old seems to be taking his game to the next level at the moment, with a hugely impactful performance against Exeter in the Champions Cup last weekend his latest show of quality.
Team of the Week: Champions Cup, Quarter-finals planetrugby.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from planetrugby.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
ONLINE
RADIO
TV
WEATHER
Domestic bliss but European woes
Leinster s dominance of the domestic game cannot be called into question. Their victory over Munster in last month s Guinness Pro14 Grand Final gave them their fourth title in a row, and their sixth championship in nine seasons.
Europe has been a different story. They are, it must be pointed out, still the joint most successful team in the history of the Champions Cup having won the continent s premier club competition on four occasions.
Their recent relationship with the competition, has to some extent, been defined by a six-minute period before half-time in the 2019 final against Saracens. After making a dream start to lead 10-0 after 34 minutes, they went in at the break all square.