Eddie Butler

Watch Scotland VS Australia Live Streaming International Rugby Game Online On Your Pc on 21th nov.

THELIVESPORTS.COM (Free subscription) | 21/11/2009

WATCH Scotland VS Australia Live International Rugby Events Watch Scotland VS Australia Live Streaming International Rugby Game Online On Your Pc ENJOY HERE TODAY LIVE INT RUGBY GAME 21TH NOVEMBER 2009 LIVE RUGBY Match scheduled: DATE:21-11-2009 from 17:15 until 19:15 GMT Competition:INTERNATIONAL RUGBY EVENTS Autumn Internationals LIVE STREAMING LINK WATCH NOW John Inverdale presents coverage from...

Eddie Butler: Johnson needs his maverick side

The Guardian (Free subscription) | 19/11/2009

England desperately need an injection of the maverick spirit their coach used to show so regularly during his playing days If England had been playing at a stadium with an underground point of access for the players and coaches they would have spared themselves a week of grief. If they had driven into the concrete bowels of, say, the Stade de France or the Millennium Stadium, Brian Smith would not...

Brian O'Driscoll marks his big occasion with a satisfying conclusion | Eddie Butler

The Guardian (Free subscription) | 15/11/2009

Despite a sour start the talisman with 100 international caps savoured a sweet finish Draws always seem to be a bit of this and a bit of that, the good mingling with the bad, and leaving nobody either ecstatic or deflated. And so it was here, that Australia's dream of a clean sweep on tour petered out and Ireland failed to win for the first time in 2009. But nobody was left nursing any real bruises....

Ireland v Australia - live from 2.30pm!

The Guardian (Free subscription) | 15/11/2009

Mikey will be here from 2.30pm with build up and musings. You can email him your thoughts to mikey.stafford@guardian.co.uk Brian O'Driscoll will win his 100th cap at Croke Park today. Eddie Butler feels that the reputation of the Ireland and Lions captain has been restored after his starring role in their grand slam victory last season. Below is an extract from Butler's blog. You can have your say...

Eddie Butler: Irish fires are burning brighter than ever

The Guardian (Free subscription) | 13/11/2009

The retired wing believes the current generation can build on a successful year Since England are not exactly toasting chestnuts on the fires of excitement, and Wales, after all the brouhaha about the end of the aura of the All Blacks, could only go the same way as the 20 Welsh teams before them in matches against New Zealand, it might be thought that rugby is a little extinguished in these parts....

New Zealand's Dan Carter has the last laugh over boo-boys | Eddie Butler

The Guardian (Free subscription) | 07/11/2009

Kiwi playmaker puts in a sublime performance to maintain the status quo against Wales In the final five minutes of a game that had never really veered off the well-worn path of the past 56 years, two things happened to take it to the brink of an upset. Until this double trouble, the All Blacks were in firm control, as they had been since half-time, having swapped their kicking game for an up-tempo...

Dream teams: Are these the world's best players?

The Guardian (Free subscription) | 06/11/2009

Guardian writers pick their world best XVs ahead of the autumn internationals Ahead of the start of this year's autumn internationals, our correspondents have picked their world XVs. The results over the coming weeks may change their minds, but have they got their current selections right? Robert Kitson The hits may be getting bigger but class is permanent. It will be interesting, even so, to see...

Eddie Butler: Ireland v South Africa has look of a classic

The Guardian (Free subscription) | 01/11/2009

Irish centre will be out to avenge painful memories of British Lions tour when South Africa visit Dublin For any rugby neutrals out there – and there's not much evidence in these shrill days of blogged opinion that you form anything but a tiny minority – perhaps on Saturday, 14 November you might like to hire yourselves a vehicle big enough for the entire membership. A minibus, say. I'll...

Archives reveal death list found at IRA gang's flat

SAOIRSE32 (Free subscription) | 28/10/2009

Newly released file shows IRA bombers had target list including MPs, lords and police officers, as well as cultural and military sites Alan Travis The Guardian 28 October 2009 A death list and the names of potential bombing targets that included the British Museum, the National Gallery, the Tate Gallery and part of Buckingham Palace were found in a London flat occupied by the IRA's Balcombe Street...

• MPs and lords were on IRA death list - The Guardian

Eddie Butler: Wilkinson England's model of fitness

The Guardian (Free subscription) | 25/10/2009

Unlike many of the candidates for England places, the World Cup winner has enjoyed a rare period without injuries Now this may have to be rewritten, since there is still time for a body that has known little other than pain for the past six years to seize up. But it is for the moment one of rugby's delicious little ironies that as Martin Johnson wades through his medical bulletins in search of a squad...

Eddie Butler: Saints are winners at losing well

The Guardian (Free subscription) | 18/10/2009

Emerging strong and defiant from a chastening defeat is part of any Heineken Cup success story Much as Treviso's 9-8 home win in round one over Perpignan, who are only the reigning champions of France, was greeted as one of those boosts for the game in general – and for Italian rugby in particular – the applause in Northampton was possibly qualified by the thought that somebody might have...

Eddie Butler: A Heineken Cup-induced headache

The Guardian (Free subscription) | 15/10/2009

Deploying your forces with care doesn't form a coded insult to the integrity of a competition I sat back and watched, with only the slightest exaggeration, Heineken Cup round one in its entirety, plus the Super League grand final. The whole weekend turned my head oval, like a hard-boiled egg sucked into a bottle. The exaggeration was the watching bit. I could only listen to radio commentary, by the...

Eddie Butler on Toby Booth's bravura display

The Guardian (Free subscription) | 04/10/2009

The London Irish coach is proud of the exciting style of rugby played by his Exiles Toby Booth was offered for inspection on two fronts at the Heineken launch in Reading last week – first on a stool up on stage during the more formal introduction to this year's tournament, then at the lunch table, so close he might have caught the odd spit of coleslaw. There again, he did all the talking, not...

Eddie Butler: Ospreys believe they can fly high

The Guardian (Free subscription) | 27/09/2009

Second-half comeback against Glasgow is evidence that Welsh team can light up this year's Heineken Cup This was going to be about kicking, which I am sure you would have found riveting. I had this little log worked out, a grid-map of who was kicking from where to where at Firhill, the home of Partick Thistle, perfect for the experiment because of its crown‑green slopes and its narrowness, local...

Eddie Butler: Celtic league offers refreshing alternative

The Guardian (Free subscription) | 13/09/2009

It has been sniffily dismissed by English and French clubs as being too easy, but there is much to admire in the Magners League The achievements of Leinster and Munster in the Heineken Cup took some of the heat off the tournament that fills in the weekends between European rugby – the Magners League. For many a season, the clubs of France and England rather sniffily said how easy the Irish and...