James Ffrench

By James Ffrench It could be argued Irish football has never seen a week like this past one. Recency and personal bias aside, Ireland won 2-0 against Portugal, the fifth ranked team in the world, and followed it up by defeating a Hungary side who qualified for the last three consecutive European Championships, and who before the game were ranked 25 places above us. This is of course major, but much work is still to be done to make it to the States.

By James Ffrench Connacht Scrum and Contact Coach Cullie Tucker will depart his role at the end of the season to become the new Ireland Men’s U20s Head Coach. Tucker will start his new role at the start of the 2026/27 season, with Andrew Browne assuming the head coach position until then. The Limerick native, who previously worked as assistant head coach for Ireland during their summer tour earlier this year, took charge of the Ireland XV in their 61-24 win over Spain, in Madrid this past weekend.

Galway United have secured their place in the 2026 top division after a 1-1 draw in Waterford. An early Steven Walsh header was cancelled out by fellow elder statesman Padraig Amond, as Waterford must now face Bray Wanderers in the relegation playoff. Going into the final round of fixtures, Sligo Rovers, Waterford and Galway all sat together on 39 points, with the Blues occupying the crucial play-off position due to an inferior goal difference.