Frank Schnittger

Having written extensively about the prospects for the provinces and Irish rugby over the summer, I wasn’t planning to write about rugby again before the season got properly into its stride. The provinces had decidedly mixed fortunes over the first three rounds of the URC, and prospects for the first round of the European Cup didn’t seem to be overly rosy. All four Irish provinces are currently in the bottom half of the URC table although, admittedly, Leinster played two …

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Winston Churchill is misattributed as saying that the “Americans can always be relied upon to do the right thing – after they have exhausted all other options”. Perhaps the same can be said of the British Government’s belated decision to ban the Drumcree march – no good could have come of it – and yet events were allowed to unfold which placed the continuance of good community relations, power sharing government, and, indeed, lives at risk before the Secretary of …

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As a naturalised Irishman and as a European, I find myself thinking far more about the Russia Ukraine war than I do about Drumcree. The war is existential for Ukraine, and perhaps for liberal democracy in eastern Europe. Together with the antagonism of Donald Trump, it threatens the foundations of peace and prosperity of all of Europe. Drumcree, on the other hand, must be a godsend to the extremists in Northern Ireland, making them relevant again having been side-lined for …

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The Trumpian revolution is re-ordering the global economic and security architecture in many ways, some of which could have significant implications for Ireland, whether we like it or not. Pax Americana is being replaced by Tax Americana where relations between the USA and other states are becoming entirely transactional and tariffs are imposed whenever it suits the narrow sectional interests of parts of the US elite. Countries which do not comply with this new order of things can be sanctioned …

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I wrote a comment on Terry Wright’s excellent OP on “Where have all the Prods gone” in which I referenced an article I had written in 2010 for the European Tribune and the USA political blogsite The Daily Kos (where a member of the family of one of those killed commented) on how Bloody Sunday had influenced me in my formative years. Apparently there are problems accessing that article for technical reasons (The European Tribune is almost defunct) so I …

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A big thank you to all the people here who have read and sometimes commented on my series of rugby articles here. A question everybody is (very kindly) not asking, is “what the hell qualifies me to write about rugby?” And the truth is, not very much. But I have been at it for quite a long time, and, unlike many fans, I can remember the dark days in the dim and dusky past when Ireland struggled to get even …

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The depth chart above is not intended as a forecast of who will play for Ireland in the 2027 world cup but rather give a rough snapshot of current pecking orders in every position based on Ireland squad and training call ups. World cup winning squads tend to have at least one world class player for every position and at least two other credible back-ups to cover for injuries and squad rotation. Previous Ireland World Cup squads have suffered from …

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This is the fourth of a series of articles on the prospects for the Irish provinces for the 2026/7 season. Also published here are the previous three articles on Connacht, Ulster and Munster. Compared to last season, Leinster have lost six test players: James Lowe (Tokyo Sungoliath), Rieko Ioane (Blues), Rabah Slimani (Toulon), Luke McGrath (Perpignan), Ciarán Frawley and Will Connors (Connacht) as well as squad players John McKee (Scarlets) and Jerry Cahir (Connacht). They have recruited Joey Carbery (from …

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  This is the third of five articles I have written on the prospects for Ireland and the Irish provinces this coming season. My reviews of Connacht and Ulster are published here and here. Having written two relatively upbeat posts on Connacht and Ulster, it would have been nice to be able to do the same for Munster. They did, after all, qualify for the play-offs last May and qualify for the Champion’s Cup. But that is slim pickings for …

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This is the second of a series of articles on the strength in depth of our provincial squads ahead to the start of the season next month. The first article – on Connacht – is published here. The Ulster squad quality is similar to Connacht’s with 15 Irish internationals compared to Connacht’s 16. With 41 senior professionals to Connacht’s 39, they also have a bit more depth, particularly at lock, but curiously only one specialist openside, Nick Timoney. What will …

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Test players in Bold. Non-Ireland eligible players * This is the first of a series of four posts reviewing the strength and depth of our four senior men’s provincial rugby teams for next season starting next month. The first thing to say about the Connacht squad is that it is well balanced with thirteen of the fifteen likely starters full Irish internationals and some of the bench as well. 39 players is on the small side for a senior professional …

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This is the second time I have attended the McGill Summer school, and therein lies the problem: Most of the themes and many of the speakers were the same, and with the same uniformity of view across the board. Rarely was there a disagreement within a panel discussion, and contrarian views weren’t really in evidence. It felt almost impolite to disagree. The mutual back-slapping and self-congratulatory tone became grating after a while, and anyone who has been paying attention will …

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An open letter to Andy Pollak. Hi Andy, I’m sure you must feel that “I am out to get you” with the number of OP’s and comments I have written which directly respond to yours. But blogging for me is primarily about starting or facilitating a conversation and you should take it as a compliment that I consider your contributions so important that they demand engagement on my part. Very few unionist commentators articulate unionist concerns as well as you …

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In another of his continuing series of articles chronicling the difficulties of unionism and the unpreparedness of the Irish people for a United Ireland, Andy Pollak criticises the British government for failing to take unionist concerns into account during the Brexit negotiations and the sectarian bile directed at Heather Humphreys during the 2025 Irish general election campaign. But all good governments act in the interests of their people. The notion that a British government would favour the interests of 2% …

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With many Ulster fans pleased with an uptick in their province’s performances on the rugby pitch in reaching the final of the Challenge cup and providing eight players to the Irish rugby team that beat Japan last time out, they may be less than concerned that the fortunes of their main rival, Leinster, seem to be heading in the opposite direction. But Leinster’s recent victory in the URC final may have disguised a number of alarming developments at the province …

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Ireland have never beaten the All Blacks in Auckland, losing 42-19 last time they played there ahead of the 2-1 series win in 2022. The All Blacks last lost there back the amateur era in 1994 to a last minute “try from the end of the world” scored by Jean-Luc Sadourny after a nine player passing movement instigated by the French captain Philippe Saint-André from inside his own 22. That was also the last time the All Blacks lost a …

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Having advocated for Farrell to rotate his squad entirely against Japan in order to give his front-liners a rest and improve his back-up resources, I must be satisfied that Farrell has met me more than half-way. Only two of the 36 man squad – Darragh Murray and Zac Ward – fail to see game time in the first two matches of this tour, while Robert Baloucoune misses out through injury. There are nine changes to the starting team with Sean …

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Wallabies team 1. Angus Bell (50 Tests) – #940; Hunters Hill Rugby Club 2. Josh Nasser (11 Tests) – #979; Easts Rugby (Brisbane) 3. Allan Alaalatoa (88 Tests) – #896; West Harbour Juniors 4. Jeremy Williams (25 Tests) – #973; Wahroonga Tigers 5. Josh Canham (2 Tests) – #987; Harlequin Rugby Club 6. Rob Valetini (62 Tests) – #929; Harlequin Rugby Club 7. Fraser McReight (39 Tests) – #937; Albany Creek Brumbies 8. Harry Wilson (c) (36 Tests) – #933; …

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Graphic by Irish Independent We are now halfway through the world cup cycle with a Lions tour and an Irish development tour to Georgia and Portugal on the short term horizon. With about 15 Irish senior players expected to tour with the Lions, what is effectively a second XV will represent Ireland on the summer tour. It is thus a good time to look at the depth chart and age profile of the players likely to be in contention for …

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If Ireland’s 2023/2024 season ended on a high with a last gasp defeat of the World Champion’s South Africa on their home territory in Durban, thanks to two late Frawley drop goals, the 2024/2025 test season began on a low with defeat to the All Blacks in November. All manner of excuses were possible. The All blacks had been training and playing together right through the Rugby Championship since July, whereas this was Ireland’s first test after the summer off-season. …

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