Jacob Stockdale is moving on from a disappointing World Cup, his gaze firmly fixed on a new era for Irish rugby and, he hopes, a clean slate under head coach Andy Farrell.

Johann van Graan is optimistic both Keith Earls and Chris Farrell will prove their fitness for Ireland ahead of the Guinness Six Nations opener at home to Scotland in 12 days.

Bob Paisley didn’t want the job of Liverpool manager in 1974.

The 23-year-old made his Irish debut just over a year ago against the USA but his hopes of pushing on from there were dashed when he fractured his leg against Connacht on the opening weekend in January.

Watching Andrew Conway score that cracker of a try against Ulster last weekend belied the notion that reintegrating Test players back into their clubs is difficult.

A Test match to kick off the World Cup warm-up campaign is an unusual jumping-off point for pre-season but Ireland intend to hit the ground running when they face Italy this Saturday.

As a man who won three Grand Slam titles on home soil, Adam Jones expects Wales to repeat the trick in Cardiff on Saturday.

Ireland captain Rory Best has backed Andy Farrell to thrive as Ireland head coach, when he replaces Joe Schmidt after next year’s World Cup.

Greg Feek has taken a rather different route than the rest of Ireland’s touring party to reach Australia, yet two months in to a new career in Japan, the scrum coach could not be happier with his lot.

Rory Best has declared captaining Ireland to just their third-ever Grand Slam as a dream come true.

Latest: Ireland's Sean O'Brien has clarified his "honest and genuine" comments on the coaching staff with the Lions, saying he has "nothing but respect for Warren (Gatland) and the whole coaching team".

Sean O’Brien says the British and Irish Lions should have "comfortably" beaten New Zealand this summer and claims the coaching team did not get preparations right before the Tests.

Saracens’ trophy hunters may not have achieved greatness yet, but Billy Vunipola believes they are striving to bring Barcelona-esque levels of domination to European rugby.

Ireland insist Andy Farrell is too “professional” to let preparing a team to nullify his son Owen cloud his coaching for today’s RBS 6 Nations clash with England.

Devin Toner arrived in South Africa under the darkest of clouds following the death of his father, but there was never any question of the lock missing a shot at Irish rugby history.

FAHRUDIN Kuduzovic has no fears about beginning his Cork City career at former club, Sligo Rovers, tonight (Showgrounds, 8pm). With a past like his, how could anything faze him?

Drogheda United host UCD in this evening's eircom League of Ireland Premier Division clash at United Park, kick-off 7.45pm.

England international Andy Farrell faces three months on the sidelines after suffering a shoulder injury in Saracens’ Heineken Cup quarter-final victory over Ospreys.