Joey Barton on hurling, Sheamus at Craggy Island and 36 more sporting tweets of the year

1. Sean St Ledger 2. Colm Begley 3. Wendell Pierce 4. Eoin Liston 5. Gary Lineker 6. Andrew Trimble 7. Paul Mannion 8. Hulk Hogan 9. Oisin Langan 10. 3rd eye 11. Joey Barton 12. Sheamus 13. Ali 14. Liverpool data 15. Cathal Pendred 16. Tony O’Donoghue 17. Jayde Taylor 18. Football Clichés 19. Chris…

A day in the Western Province academy is like the first half of ‘Full Metal Jacket’

Click:06SC 6kA SOUTH AFRICAN RUGBY players are generally behemoths so it is no surprise that a peak inside the Western Province’s academy shows it to be a grueling, boot camp-like experience. The Irish academies obviously put the players through rigorous training too but when you watch this video, you can’t help but think that the…

O’Mahony would probably reimburse Munster fans if he could but beating Sale will have to do

WHEN MUNSTER WERE two from two in the Champions Cup back in October, having just throttled Saracens at Thomond Park, it would have been very hard to envision a scenario where their final pool game at home to Sale would be meaningless. Many thought Munster might be going into today’s game needing a bonus point…

‘If you’re willing to stay up and watch, you better be ready to train’: Jamie Heaslip is pumped for the Super Bowl

WE’RE ALL GOING to be in the same boat Monday morning, struggling out of bed to get into work. For some however, the day job is more physically taxing than clunking down at the desk and keeping the coffee orders coming to maintain the illusion of alertness. Source: PA Archive/Press Association Images Jamie Heaslip will…

Leo Cullen has an interesting idea about tweaking how the choke tackle is refereed

SHAUN EDWARDS SEEMS to have gotten his wish. The Welsh defence coach called for the choke tackle to be banned during a press conference last week and while that won’t happen, many people associated with the game have offered their opinion on the tactic. The defensive strategy is used regularly by Ireland and it involves…

Four Italians! Stephen Jones’ team of the Six Nations is very Stephen Jonesy

TEAM OF THE tournament selections are the most subjective thing in sports. Especially in this Six Nations, you could go through every position 1-15 and make an argument for two or three players. But Stephen Jones, the Sunday Times rugby writer who always riles Irish fans with his hot takes, has picked a beautifully divisive…

He’s about to win his 100th Ireland cap but Paulie’s first one was pretty damn memorable

3 FEBRUARY 2002 was a fresh start for Irish rugby. Warren Gatland hadn’t had his contract renewed so it was Eddie O’Sullivan’s first game as head coach but the team was different too. We didn’t know it then, but the second row hiding a head of ginger hair under a scrum cap would go on…

‘You know competitors are looking after themselves’: How Conor Murray approaches a week of training

‘THERE ARE DEFINITELY days you’re not motivated to get out of bed and train. your body might be sore or tired…” Here’s how Conor Murray puts those thoughts behind him (even when he’s not out shooting a slick looking ad on a beach). Source: MaxiNutrition/YouTube BOD and Hickie visited Luke Fitz at summer camp and…