If Joe Schmidt could get a mulligan for one moment of what turned out to be a fairly average 2019 for Ireland, you’d guess it would be the first 20 minutes of the Six Nations campaign.

Ireland target a Triple Crown on Sunday at Twickenham against England, as they bid to maintain their perfect record in the tournament.

Tadhg Furlong did not think of himself much as a leader coming into the season.

Andy Farrell has backed the players who scraped past Scotland to take the extra steps required to overcome the greater challenge a rampant Wales will bring to Dublin on Saturday.

Andy Farrell insisted continuity in Ireland team selection would not come at the expense of creativity as he kept changes to a minimum for Saturday’s Guinness Six Nations second-round visit of Wales to Dublin’s Aviva Stadium.

Ireland head coach Andy Farrell has made two enforced changes to the Ireland team to face Wales in Saturday's Six Nations clash.

Far from perfect though Ireland were last Saturday, Jonathan Sexton was on to something when pointing out that they are in a far better position after than 12 months previously when their Triple Crown and Grand Slam hopes were already in ruins.

Meanwhile, uncapped Leinster back-row Will Connors has been drafted into Andy Farrell's squad.

Ireland have a number of injury issues as they start preparations today to face Wales in Dublin this Saturday following an attritional 19-12 opening-round Guinness Six Nations win over Scotland.

It may have been Hogg with the schoolboy error but Ireland's report card is clear: must do better, writes Brendan O'Brien.

Johnny Sexton starred on his first outing as permanent Ireland captain as Andy Farrell’s tenure as head coach began with an unconvincing 19-12 victory over Scotland.

"It was some effort, some effort. The rest we can build on."

Stuart Hogg’s cock-up at a crucial moment was in stark contrast to Ireland’s new skipper Johnny Sexton, writes Simon Lewis.

There are two debutants today and they both happen to be No 8s – but whereas Caelan Doris has come through that well-established development pathway of Blackrock College, the Leinster Academy and the Leinster senior side, Scotland’s new face is a bolter from the blue.

Ireland turn the page from one era to the next this week as the 2020 Guinness Six Nations gets underway with not just a new coaching team but also a fresh player leadership group.

Andy Farrell is convinced there is plenty of road left for Conor Murray to travel in his Test rugby career after backing his under-fire scrum-half to steer Ireland in their Six Nations opener against Scotland in Dublin this Saturday.

Tadhg Furlong is nominated for the third year in a row.

Young Munster's Alan Kennedy has been named as captain.

Ireland’s first €1m-a-year rugby player could arrive over the next 18 months, according to one of the country’s leading player agents.

Nash has been named to start on the wing as Keith Earls misses out due to a minor knee injury in one of two changes to Johann van Graan's side.

Garry Ringrose’s ability to duck and weave is not confined to the pitch.

There has been no shortage of praise for Leinster’s latest batch of youth, but to watch Max Deegan give another Man-of-the-Match performance yesterday in Ballsbridge could make you think that they perhaps haven’t been lauded enough.

The Munster head coach was able to select JJ Hanahan as his starting fly-half to face Racing 92 in Sunday’s crucial Heineken Champions Cup pool clash at La Défense Arena.

Max Deegan was deemed to be the best player in the world at the U20 grade after his efforts at the World Junior Championships in 2016.

A grim night for the visitors to the RDS. And it could have been much worse.

New year — same old Leinster?

The Leinster outhalf suffered a medial ligament tear in Leinster's Champions Cup win over Northampton a month ago.

All good things come to an end. The question, when it comes to Leinster’s current unbeaten run, is when.

The Champions Cup is supposed to be the pinnacle for professional club rugby in Europe.

There's no room for Rob Kearney, Seán Cronin, Jordi Murphy, Jack Carty, John Ryan or Kieran Marmion – with newly eligible Jamison Gibson-Park jumping ahead of the Connacht man at scrum-half.

With the Six Nations kicking off in less than two months, it is the first squad meet-up since the national team returned from Japan.

Seven tries last week, another seven tonight.

Saracens have named an almost totally different side to face Munster at Allianz Park tomorrow, while the Reds make one change from their 10-3 home win.

The ghosts of Christmases past will be circling around the four provinces this weekend as they prepare for the unique demands that come with the traditional back-to-back December rounds in the Heineken Champions Cup.

Joe Schmidt appears to be the sacrificial lamb, thrown under the bus not only by Nucifora but later in the day by his captain Rory Best. Long live the king.

Northampton has been a happy hunting ground for Leinster in the past and they have the scent of a quarter-final berth in their nostrils yet again after this impressive win.

The four Irish provinces have named their teams for this weekend's Champions Cup clashes.

Leinster were relieved to leave Lyon with their winning record intact in the European Champions Cup after a nervous end to their win in Stade Matmut de Gerland.

There are three changes to the team that defeated Ospreys.

The IRFU’s World Cup post-mortem will go on for some time yet but the evidence of the weekend just passed would suggest that many of the players involved have turned the page.

Leinster head coach Leo Cullen hailed his returning international contingent after their 33-19 bonus point victory over Benetton Rugby in their Heineken Champions Cup Pool One opener.

Garry Ringrose is still sporting a bandage to cover the head injury he picked up in Japan but a hat-trick of tries in this bonus-point Heineken Champions Cup win in Dublin suggests that there is no lingering hangover from Ireland's dismal World Cup showing.

Keith Earls will make his first Munster appearance of the season in tomorrow's Champions Cup opener against the Ospreys.

Oh Lordy. Where do we start? Do we actually have to start? Can we somehow sneak out of it?