EDINBURGH RUGBY HAVE announced the signing of Adam McBurney from Ulster.
McBurney, 24, is Scottish qualified — his grandmother was from Cadder, Lanarkshire — but represented Ireland from U18 to U20 after joining the Ulster academy set-up in 2016.
A native of Ballymena, McBurney made significant progress in his early days at the northern province, and was rewarded with a senior debut in 2017 and his first senior contract a year later.
The hooker went on to make 35 appearances for Ulster, though fell down the pecking order of late.
“I’m extremely excited to sign for Edinburgh,” McBurney said. “It’s a great place and a club with very high standards.
“Over the last few seasons, the progress on the pitch has been extremely noticeable from the outside looking in, and it’s something I’m looking forward to being involved with.
“I want to be part of a very successful Edinburgh squad, take every opportunity I’m given on the pitch, show what I’m about and how I can fit into the values and good work Edinburgh have already been doing.”
McBurney will now contest the number two jersey in the Scottish capital, and learn from head coach Richard Cockerill, who earned 27 caps for England in the late 90s.
“Richard Cockerill was a world class player and is a world class coach. I still have a lot of learning in me. I hope to benefit from his experiences to bring the best out of me as a hooker.
“I’ve been in the same rugby environment since I was a kid and hope this change will challenge my ability to adapt, along with picking the brains of new coaches and players to develop my skills.
“I’d like to thank to Ulster for everything they’ve done to help me progress to where I’m at today.”
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“We’re pleased to announce Adam will be joining our squad next season. He’s a tough and dynamic competitor with a lot of scope for development,” Cockerill added, as hooker Mike Willemse departs at the end of the season.
“He’s a good fit for us and – with Mike leaving – slots well into our stable of hookers at the club. He’ll bring a lot of energy, a bit of edge and is a hard worker. We’re looking forward to linking up with him and seeing how he can progress.”
Corey Graves discussed his divorce and separation with his wife on Lilian Garcia’s Chasing Glory podcast. As previously reported, Graves and his ex-wife, Amy Polinsky, had been going through a divorce when news of their split became public. Also, Polinsky later claimed that Graves had been having an affair with WWE Superstar Carmella. Now, it seems things are more stable for Graves, and he discussed the topic on the show. Highlights from the piece are below, along with the audio from the podcast:
Corey Graves on spending more quality time with his kids: “There’s definitely an element of truth to that. To your point about the kids — I think that we would both admit that was why we stayed together longer than we should have, just because of the kids because you don’t want to throw that upside down. But my kids, especially my oldest, have told me, ‘Dad. The time that we get to spend with you now is more quality time then–‘ They see me roughly the same amount between my WWE schedule and you have to get creative once in a while, so I still — and luckily, they’ve grown up with me being on the road, so it’s not really unfamiliar to them. But now, I feel like when I’ve got my kids, it’s got to be like the best possible quality time. It’s always doing something. We’re gonna go find a carnival or go to a movie, whereas when I was back living at that house, it was just kind of like, I wanted to lock myself away from everything. It was like, ‘Oh. Hey, you can come watch TV with me,’ but I wasn’t being as good of a dad as I should’ve been because I was dealing with my own stuff. So I feel like now my life is in a much different place, so I think that allows me to be a better father and dad for them than what I was before.”
Corey Graves on splitting with his wife: “Oh, it was horrible. It sucked. Anyone that’s been through it will absolutely tell you, it’s not a fun time. People get angry. People get emotional. It’s a really awful, awful thing, but in the end, I think it’s better for everybody involved. Even looking at it from a kid’s perspective, now they’ve got two happy parents — in separate places, but they’re both — I’m doing better on my own. I think she’s doing great on her own. She seems to be. That’s the best case scenario, right? Just let it be. Just move on, move forward. Everyone’s moving forward, and it’s an interesting chapter of life.”
Corey Graves on how the story of his split got reported online: “The story that was making the rounds online, it was not accurate. It was made out of anger and emotion. It wasn’t what it looked like. I had been out of the house, living on my own for quite some time before that whole situation hit. It was a sexy story that people went, ‘Oh my god! Let’s talk about what a piece of crap this guy is!’ It was angry and emotional, and it’s been apologized for on both ends. It’s moved forward.
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TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPANY AND broadcaster Eir has opted out of bidding for sports rights in the latest round of auctioning and is set to bring to an end its venture into sports television.
In a statement first released to the Irish Independent, Eir specified that the pandemic and the accompanying closure of pubs have rendered the eir Sport business model no longer viable, though it stressed that it was “exploring options for the future” of its sports-TV network and that there would be “no immediate change to the content provided by eir Sport.”
The statement began: “The Covid-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on live sports across the world. Matches and competitions have been cancelled or postponed throughout the last year, disrupting the availability of live sports content.
“In addition, the almost complete closure of licensed premises here in Ireland has fundamentally changed the commercial model for subscription-based sports broadcasters. As we navigate these challenges, eir has made the decision not to partake in the latest rounds of sports rights auctions.
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“There is no immediate change to the content provided by eir sport. We are currently exploring options for the future of eir sport.”
Staff were formally informed of the developments on Thursday morning.
Eir Sport’s difficulties were accentuated in Eir’s results for the second half of 2020 which showed an almost 50% drop in TV and content revenues from €22 million to €12 million. This pales in comparison to Eir’s overall €297m revenue in merely the final quarter of 2020, putting into perspective the relevance of its sports channels, or conversely lack thereof, to the parent company’s broader mission.
Eir acquired Setanta Sports in 2015 and rebranded it to eir Sport the following year, its intention being to use exclusive sports TV rights as a vehicle from which to push broadband sales and services. Eir was taken over by French telecoms billionaire Xavier Niel in 2018.
Eir Sport’s contract with the Guinness Pro14 rugby competition involving the Irish provinces, which began in the same year as Niel’s takeover, is set to expire at the end of this season. Eir Sport has also in recent years broadcast League of Ireland football and that of the English and European variety, as well as Allianz League GAA and major professional boxing events.
In 2019, Eir and Virgin Media agreed to broadcast each other sports channels on their respective platforms through 2021. However, this relationship reached a tumultuous end last summer with Virgin alleging it was owed €2.5m of a total €6m, three-year consideration at around the midway point in the deal.
Virgin subsequently pulled its feed from the Eir network in August 2020 as a result of what it alleged was a missed payment, while Eir cited pandemic complications in insisting it could “only pay for the sports events that actually take place.”
Murray Kinsella, Bernard Jackman and Gavan Casey preview Ireland’s game against England and try to figure out where this team is going under Andy Farrell, if anywhere:
Source: The42 Rugby Weekly/SoundCloud
WHILE YOUNGER MEN around him grabbed more of the immediate plaudits, 35-year-old Johnny Sexton delivered one of his finest performances for Ireland as Andy Farrell’s side beat England in the Six Nations on Saturday.
Robbie Henshaw was man of the match, Tadhg Beirne shone again alongside the brilliant Iain Henderson in the second row, and Tadhg Furlong showed his quality at tighthead prop.
But Sexton’s contributions, including his 22 points, were essential to Ireland finishing their championship on a high, as discussed by Eoin Toolan, Gavan Casey, and Murray Kinsella on today’s episode of The42 Rugby Weekly Extra – an analysis podcast available to members of The42 every Monday.
Gavan: “Johnny Sexton had his best game of the championship and probably his best game for Ireland since 2018, and proved again how important he is to this team. He actually really embodied a captain, even in the aggression with which he carried the ball to the line which felt like a catalyst for what Ireland did well.
“Eoin, it’s some response, given that some people have been waiting for somebody else to put their hand up, step up to the mantle and replace them. It’s kind of a do-or-die game for this whole team and one of the guys who stands up most is a 35-year-old who has probably had the weight of a country on his shoulders in the last couple of years.”
Eoin: “To get a run of games back-to-back has been important because with Covid it has been a truncated season and he just needed a run of games.
“He is so important to Ireland’s attacking structure. He understands how the coaches want to play and he’s that on-field coach, he manages the team so well. His goal-kicking, he was 25 from 26 in the Six Nations, which is incredible. There were important kicks to go three, six, nine against England and build the scores.
“His kicking out of hand was good and he threatened the line on a couple of occasions. I don’t think anyone has ever doubted Johnny’s quality.
Sexton has been excellent off the tee. Source: Dan Sheridan/INPHO
“As importantly, we talked about Ireland’s scrum and lineout being a weapon again. It is probably something that had regressed in the past 12 to 18 months but it’s certainly a strength of Ireland’s again that they can launch from and puts Ireland on the front foot.
“Any 10 worth his salt needs his forwards going forward and that was Ireland’s best performance in that regard.”
Murray: “As you say, Gav, he epitomised the aggression levels. It almost gets missed because he’s so good at it but he is easily the best defender of any option Ireland have ever had at 10 and he’s still one of the best defenders amongst backs in the game.
“If you look at his aggression in the tackle, it is just astounding. I’m sure loads of coaches have told him to take it a bit easier on himself but he just has that spirit in him and it’s definitely infectious.
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“What you’re like as a defender and competitor is a massive, massive part of the game.”
LEINSTER HEAD COACH Leo Cullen says he doesn’t buy into the suggestion Munster’s squad will ‘want it more’ heading into today’s Pro14 final [KO 5pm, eir Sport/TG4] at the RDS.
Munster come into the game looking to end a five-game losing streak against Leinster, while also chasing a first trophy since 2011. Leinster, on the other hand, are eyeing a fourth straight Pro14 title and also feel they are well placed to challenge for a first Champions Cup success since 2018.
However, Cullen insists his squad’s history of success hasn’t sated their appetite for silverware, particularly when it comes to playing their biggest rivals.
“I think our guys enjoy competing. Our guys have a chance to do something quite special as well, to lift four Guinness Pro14 titles in a row,” Cullen said.
“We’re at home (at the RDS) and it means a huge amount to the players. Who they represent, what they represent as well. There’s a huge amount of players who have had to work incredibly hard to get into this position, so there’s a great responsibility on the 23 (selected).”
Cullen’s team selection is one of the big talking points ahead of the game, with the Leinster head coach deciding against flooding his team with frontline internationals.
Instead, Johnny Sexton, Tadhg Furlong, Jamison Gibson-Park and James Lowe all start on the bench as Cullen keeps faith with some of those who have soldiered through the regular season Pro14 fixtures this year.
The selection of Ross Byrne at out-half ahead of Sexton represents one of the bigger calls Cullen faced this week.
“Ross has played a lot of games of us over the last number of years, a lot of very important games,” Cullen said.
“He’s very controlled and composed, and he’s a competitive character, Ross, like all the great 10s out there.
“For Jamison and Johnny coming back in, because they’ve been fully ingrained in camp mode, for them coming back in at the start of the week, it’s to try and give them a bit of a window of opportunity just to find their feet a little bit more and get back into our system.”
Munster head coach Johann van Graan has taken a different approach and gone full-strength with his starting team, but Cullen says the fundamentals of the contest remain the same regardless of who is playing.
“We know that we’re playing against a hugely motivated team, what’s changed there really? They’re always pretty motivated to beat us.
“For us, it’s to make sure we’re motivated to beat them, because if we lose it won’t be an enjoyable feeling. There’s different various components that will be important.
“Motivation is one thing, but tactics and how we go about translating it into the team, trying to understand the conditions and what it’s going to be like at 5pm – we’ll wait and see.
“Different interpretations by the referee and how he referees the breakdown, as an example, how we can adapt on the day around set-piece and who gets that upper-hand in all those little battles across the park… The players know about all these individual sub-plots. I know the next international window is quite a while away, but these are all trial games as such when you’re going up against your rival for further honours.
Ross Byrne kicks at goal during yesterday’s captain’s run. Source: Billy Stickland/INPHO
“It’s important for us to understand, there’s always so much in terms of motivating factors, so hopefully our guys won’t be short in that department.”
When asked where the game will be won and lost, Cullen pointed to Munster’s strengths around the breakdown, as well as how that area of the game is policed.
“I think the contact area is important,” he continued.
“The aerial challenge will be a big part of the game. You can see it’s a strength of Conor Murray in terms of his box-kicking and in terms of their chase… how we deal with that aerial threat will be important.
“Some of the ruck threats, the likes of Tadhg (Beirne) and CJ Stander; they push the limits – quite often as tackler assists, they don’t show a clear release so how they get refereed for starters and how we deal with that is important because they’re on the edge all the time.
“They’re very, very competitive so we just need to make sure that we’re able to deal with those threats and how we’re able to manage it ourselves and just try to focus on how we can control things ourselves, so big games, final games, discipline, taking opportunities when they come along. They are the big pieces, aren’t they?
“So if someone does something out of character because they’re trying too hard… (it’s about) being in control of our emotions, and we’re nice and clear in our minds in terms of discipline because sometimes these games come down to who gives away the least amount of penalties, or who kicks the penalties when it comes down to it, or who managed to take an opportunity that comes along during the course of the game.
“It’s about nailing those big moments in the game.”
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Source: The42 Rugby Weekly/SoundCloud
Murray Kinsella, Bernard Jackman and Gavan Casey field listeners’ questions about Ireland’s victory over England before turning their attention to the club game, and Super Rugby in the Pacific Islands, prospective law trials up north and, of course, this weekend’s Pro14 final between old rivals.
ALL ROADS LEAD back to Sixways.
At least, all enquiries about Connacht’s recent record of tackling English opposition far from the The Sportsground do.
The western province have been down some of the less-trodden tracks in European rugby. They have sampled success from Spain to Siberia, are regular visitors to Scotland, Wales and Italy by dint of Celtic League competition and in France they have a winning return of over 40% with 16 victories from 37 trips to take on Top14 opposition – including the tallest of timbers in Toulouse.
Yet their fond memories of European away days in England are few and fading.
So when they take on Leicester Tigers this Saturday night they will have a trend of 2/27 to buck.
From Kingsholm to Kingston Park, Allianz Park to Sandy Park and the Ricoh Arena to The Stoop; there have been dark days, dreadful days and days of heroism bathed in glorious sunshine, but almost all end in defeat.
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Worcester Warriors’ Sixways is the one English venue where Connacht have sung ‘The Fields’ in celebratory mood this century – a 2009 win that bridged a gap back to when Warren Gatland’s Westerners shocked Northampton.
From there, the roads diverge. Some further over the horizon than others.
The day’s fullback Gavin Duffy has moved upstairs in the Sportsground. Centre Aidan Wynne is still involved with Buccaneers. Bernie Upton, one of the day’s young second rows, has beaten a path back to New Zealand. John Muldoon, blindside in December 2009, found himself coaching against his native province in Bristol colours this season.
Frank Murphy in possession for Connacht.
There are other unlikely reunions now and then. Although a shared memory of a landmark win probably didn’t come up in conversation when Ian Keatley took the field in Glasgow on Saturday under the watch of his 2009 half-back partner Frank Murphy – now a top class referee.
For Brett Wilkinson, loosehead prop on the day, the road has led to Hong Kong where he has been working as a coach in recent years.
“It was like any other trip,” Wilkinson says over a Zoom call when The42 ask him to drill into his memory bank. This is not an epic tale of Connacht taking down Goliath, this was a match they were capable of winning and did. Only the rarity of its ilk makes it remarkable.
“I remember the first 15 minutes of that game being really tough. Scrum was under pressure, physically we were behind the 8 ball a bit, but we really grew into it.
“We got on top and finished really strong, which is probably the most pleasing thing. Teams often start strong and tail off, but we went the other way. We started, probably a bit nervous to be honest, but after 10-15 minutes we started dominating.”
Connacht were 10-3 down during that opening quarter to Mike Ruddock’s team, the momentum shift came thanks to a surging run from Keatley to the the try-line. The young 10 would keep the scoreboard ticking upward, turning dominance into points for his side before Fionn Carr and a 22-year-old Sean Cronin turned a promising position into a win with tries of their own.
That energetic cohort of young talent was critical in the win on English soil and central to what Eric Elwood was trying to build.
“We were able to be more consistent playing some exciting stuff with the young guys adding to what we had before. Around then was when we took another step in that journey. Those guys added a huge amount. We had confidence as a squad that we were capable of winning big games.”
George Naoupu, Ray Ofisa and Aidan Wynne move to tackle Kai Horstmann.
Confidence was well-founded. Connacht had gone to Worcester with an away win over Montpellier under their belt and would go on to complete a clean sweep through the Challenge Cup pool phase, paving the way for a European campaign that brought them all the way to a semi-final against Toulon – an up-and-comer if ever there was one.
So why no win on English soil since?
As ever, there is no one straightforward answer. Perhaps the willingness of Top14 clubs to throw their hat at Europe has given an inflated sense of on-the-road success for all Irish provinces. Maybe the special scalp that English clubs represent for Irish teams has pushed Connacht to over-reach now and then, taking a big swing when jabbing away might have brought them the edge they needed.
“We had a good squad, but we just lacked the depth. I think you look at Connacht’s results over time and a lot of it comes down to that. You do well and compete for 60 minutes, then you fall off the edge of a cliff,” says Wilkinson, whose final appearance before injury-enforced retirement at the age of 30 was away to Saracens.
“As players we knew we had to be really good, otherwise we’d go and get a pasting. We knew if we could stay in an arm wrestle, you gave yourself a chance because the English game was all up front physicality, big men getting on the ball. We knew if we could match them physically we’d be there or thereabouts.”
Sean Cronin looks to push forward. Source: Worcester News/INPHO
As Wilkinson chats through his memory, he notices a theme emerging. Strands match up and he notes that he might recount the tale of the 2013 win over Toulouse with some of the same words.
“It taught us that if you stay in that arm wrestle, you suddenly grow some confidence. Same as when we played Toulouse. At half-time we were thinking: ‘we’re in this!’ We came out after half-time and Kieran Marmion scores in the corner. Robbie Henshaw had a try disallowed for a forward pass and we’re thinking ‘Jesus, we’re on here’.
And there, maybe, inlies a lasting lesson for a modern Connacht team setting out to tackle one of English rugby’s most decorated fellows.
Winning on the road, whatever the venue, whatever the nation, requires a little luck, a timely surge in momentum and no small measure of just hanging in there to await the best time to strike.
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Triple H returned to the ring today as he teamed up with The Club in Japan during a non-televised live event.
The Sumo Hall in Tokyo welcomed fan favorites AJ Styles, Karl Anderson, and Luke Gallows, the popular trio who were part of The Club during their stint in Japan. Triple H, who last wrestled in Saudi Arabia earlier this month, laced up his wrestling boots again to join them for an eight-man tag team match as they took on Samoa Joe, Bobby Lashley, Drew McIntyre, and Baron Corbin.
As you probably expect, the faces came out on top with Triple H hitting the Pedigree on Baron Corbin and pinning him for the win. He wrote on Twitter that it was an amazing night in a city where he performed countless times with an incredible roster of WWE Superstars. “And if this was one of my last times to perform in Tokyo… it was #TooSweet!”
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AT THE TWICKENHAM Stoop tonight [KO 8pm, BT Sport], both teams have laid out where their priorities lie this season.
In one corner, you have Ulster, who have welcomed back all of their internationals for this Challenge Cup last-16 tie and, bar the injured Iain Henderson and Marcell Coetzee, are as full-strength as Dan McFarland could have asked them to be.
Ulster head coach Dan McFarland. Source: Matteo Ciambelli/INPHO
In the other, you have Harlequins, who are very much not.
The Premiership side didn’t say outright that this was their intention for this game but, reading between the lines of what line-out coach Jerry Flannery said in mid-week, you knew that a team shorn of all their star names was coming, and so it proved.
A cursory look at their absentee list tells you all you need to know: Joe Marler, Wilco Louw, Stephan Lewies, Will Evans, Alex Dombrandt, Danny Care, Marcus Smith, Andre Esterhuizen and Mike Brown all sit out.
In their wake, the coaching staff have six academy players in their matchday squad, two of whom – Matas Jurevicius and former Munster academy scrum-half Jack Stafford – are in line for their senior debuts off the bench.
There is still quality on the Quins side as they bring Scottish internationals James Lang and Scott Steele into their backline, while Ulster fans will have nightmares of rampaging hooker Elia Elia’s dominant display at Kingspan Stadium last season, but, in reality, this is a home side missing a lot of talent.
Such is the lay of the land in the second-tier Challenge Cup that Ulster have found themselves in. Their punishment for defeats to Toulouse and Gloucester before Christmas is coming up against a team who are fourth in the Premiership and clearly prioritising their push for the domestic play-offs.
In stark contrast to their opponents, Ulster have no other commitments to steal their attention currently and, as expected, they are all-in for this game.
And the truth is this should be a straightforward win for the province. Their squad is more talented and more experienced than their hosts’, and the opportunity to take a big step towards claiming their first silverware since 2006 is a tantalising one they won’t want to pass up.
But, while their task has been made easier by the absence of Quins’ front-line stars, if anything it has also ramped up the pressure on Dan McFarland’s side. While before they were simply seen as one of the top sides remaining in the Challenge Cup, now the expectation is that they will reach the quarter-finals – where Northampton Saints lie in wait – fairly easily.
Jordi Murphy captains Ulster tonight. Source: Laszlo Geczo/INPHO
So, while they perhaps aren’t getting the challenge that they wanted in the Champions Cup, Ulster get a chance to prove tonight that when the pressure is on them as favourites in a knockout match, they can deliver. And that’s the kind of thing that this squad has yet to learn.
While the Challenge Cup is not one of the two pieces of silverware Ulster would ideally be adding to the trophy cabinet at Kingspan Stadium, claiming the title would be a valuable learning experience for a squad that is heading in the right direction but needs to prove, both to their doubters and to themselves, how to close out tournaments.
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“We want to win trophies,” asserted scrum-half John Cooney earlier this week, echoing the sentiments of head coach McFarland, Rob Herring and Nick Timoney before him.
The Challenge Cup affords them the best chance to do so for a long time. And tonight presents them with a great chance to take a big step in the right direction, both literally and mentally.
Harlequins
(15-9) Tyrone Green; Luke Northmore, James Lang, Paul Lasike, Nathan Earle; Brett Herron, Scott Steele; (1-8) Santiago Garcia Botta, Elia Elia, Will Collier; Hugh Tizard, George Hammond; Archie White, Jack Kenningham, Tom Lawday (captain).
Replacements: George Head, Jordan Els, Simon Kerrod, Tevita Cavubati, Matas Jurevicius, Jack Stafford, Ben Tapuai, Ross Chisholm.
Ulster
(15-9) Michael Lowry; Robert Baloucoune, James Hume, Stuart McCloskey, Jacob Stockdale; Billy Burns, John Cooney; (1-8) Eric O’Sullivan, Rob Herring, Marty Moore; Alan O’Connor, Kieran Treadwell; Sean Reidy, Jordi Murphy (captain), Nick Timoney.
Replacements: John Andrew, Andy Warwick, Tom O’Toole, Cormac Izuchukwu, Matty Rea, Alby Mathewson, Ian Madigan, Ethan McIlroy.
Referee: Romain Poite (France)