Irish Rugby

Ulster trailed 25-11 in the final ten minutes of their Women's Interprovincial Championship clash with Connacht at Kingspan Stadium but late tries from India Daley and Stacey Sloan, both converted by Vicky Irwin, rescued a draw.

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Ulster winger Megan Edwards was a latecomer to the game but soon found a home in "extremely inclusive" sport of rugby.

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Ulster wing Megan Edwards says the province might "surprise a few people" as they prepare for their opening Women's Interprovincial fixture against Munster in Cork on Saturday.

Murray Houston's side come into this season's championship off the back of ending an 11-year wait for an Interpro victory with an impressive 36-14 triumph over Connacht in last year's third/fourth-place play-off.

Now with a new confidence and the experience of winning, 33-year-old Edwards feels her side have the "talent" to be competitive in the series.

"We're under no illusions that it's going to be a tough game," Edwards told BBC Sport NI.

"It is Munster, they have won the championships before but I think we might throw in a few surprises.

"The talent within the Ulster squad is there and we've been building and building for a number of years now, it's about showcasing that talent on game day and our goal is to build on the win in Cork last season."

Women's Interpros - Fixtures and coverage details

10 August

• Munster v Ulster (14:30 BST) - live on BBC iPlayer & BBC Sport website

• Leinster v Connacht (16:45 BST)

17 August

• Ulster v Connacht (14:30 BST) - live on BBC iPlayer & BBC Sport website

• Munster v Leinster (16:45 BST)

24 August

• Connacht v Munster (14:30 BST)

• Ulster v Leinster (16:45 BST) - live on BBC iPlayer & BBC Sport website

31 August

• Third/fourth play-off (14:30 BST) - live on BBC iPlayer & BBC Sport website

• Final (16:45 BST) - live on BBC iPlayer & BBC Sport website

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Aled Walters has left his role as England's head of strength and conditioning to take up a position as head of athletic performance with Ireland.

Walters joined England from Leicester Tigers before the Rugby World Cup in 2023, having worked in rugby for 18 years including roles with Munster and South Africa.

The highly-rated Welshman, who was head of athletic performance for the 2019 Springboks' Rugby World Cup-winning squad, replaces Jason Cowman in the role.

Walters began his association with Irish rugby when he was Munster's head of athletic performance for almost six seasons and was Leicester's head of physical performance between 2020 and 2023.

He has also held senior performance roles with the Brumbies and Taranaki Rugby Football Union.

'Exciting time to rejoin Irish rugby'

"I am delighted to join the Ireland national team and am excited about the opportunity to work with such a talented group of coaches and players," said Walters.

"The Ireland team has gone from strength to strength in recent years and it's an exciting time to rejoin Irish rugby as the team looks to achieve more success in the years to come.

"I've made some great memories coaching England, and I want to thank Steve, the management team and the players for their friendship and support."

Ireland head coach Andy Farrell was fulsome in his praise for the new recruit to his backroom team.

"He has a wealth of experience and has been a key part of many successful environments over the course of his career to date," he said.

"I know how excited he is to return to Ireland and hit the ground running and I'm confident that he'll play an important role in the squad as we embark on a busy international season, starting with the Autumn Nations Series this November.

"Aled replaces Jason Cowman who departed after the Guinness Six Nations success in March. Jason contributed a huge amount to Irish rugby over 15 years and we thank him for his incredible service over that time."

Ulster Rugby is facing a deficit of between £2.5m and £3m, according to new chief executive Hugh McCaughey.

However, McCaughey expects Ulster to "break even within two to three seasons".

The former health trust chief executive explained that a plan is in place to deal with the province's financial issues.

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Hugh McCaughey is to remain as Ulster Rugby's chief executive until the end of 2025.

Former health trust chief McCaughey took over as Ulster interim CEO in March after Jonny Petrie left the position.

Ulster Rugby and the IRFU announced McCaughey's continuation in the post on Monday afternoon.

“We were confident that Hugh was the right person for us to bring in to lead the province at a challenging time last season, given his extensive organisational leadership experience and understanding of the game," said the chair of Ulster's management committee Paul Terrington.

"This extension of his contract is testimony to the progress made to-date."

McCaughey coached Ulster and Ireland players at youth level and was manager of Ulster Rugby and the Irish Sevens team at the 2009 World Cup.

“I have relished the challenges and opportunities that have come from leading Ulster Rugby since I took up the role of CEO in April, and I look forward to continuing to move the province forward over the course of the next season," said McCaughey after the announcement of his contract extension.

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Leinster have confirmed Croke Park will host their United Rugby Championship encounter with inter-provincial rivals Munster on 12 October (17:45 BST).

With their RDS Arena home being redeveloped, Leinster will play their 2024-25 home matches at Croke, which is the home of the GAA, and the Aviva Stadium.

Leinster hosted Northampton at a sold-out Croke Park in the Investec Champions Cup semi-final in May.

Leinster also faced Munster at Croke Park in the Champions Cup semi-final in 2009, which the former won 25-6.

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Ireland will face Great Britain in the 7th/8th place play-off of the Olympic rugby sevens after a 19-7 defeat to France.

A 40-7 reverse to Australia on Monday evening had dropped Allan Temple-Jones' side out of medal contention and defeat to the host nation was their fourth in five games in Paris.

Back at the Stade de France, Ireland had taken a 7-0 lead through Eve Higgins' first-half score but Seraphine Okemba crossed twice in the second half, with Carla Neisen also going over, to give France victory.

The meeting with Great Britain, which is Ireland's last outing of their first Games, will be held at 17:00 BST on Tuesday.

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Ireland's hopes of a rugby sevens medal at the Paris Olympics are over after a 40-7 defeat to Australia in the quarter-finals.

Allan Temple-Jones' side had been beaten just 19-14 by the same opposition in a pool stage game earlier in the day, but were undone come the knock-outs by a brilliant Maddison Levi.

The 22-year-old scored her side's first three tries of the evening, taking her personal tally at these Olympics to 11, with Faith Nathan, Isabella Nasser and Bienne Terita also crossing for the victors.

Ireland, whose consolation score came through Stacey Flood, will now go into the 5th-8th place play-off bracket that begins at 2pm BST on Tuesday.

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Ireland have made it through to the quarter-finals of the Olympic rugby sevens despite defeat to Australia in their final pool game.

Allan Temple-Jones' side put in a spirited performance in the 19-14 reverse and will likely feel they could have taken something from the contest if not for some handling errors close to the Australian line.

Having fallen behind with fewer than 30 seconds on the clock, Ireland would strike back when an excellent Erin King offload set up the first of Eve Higgins' two scores.

Teagan Levi had put Australia back in front before the break but the game swung on Maddison Levi's second-half score, coming when Ireland were attacking in search of an equalising try only to be turned over and concede from deep on the counter.

Higgins would go over again in the closing stages but, despite Australia finishing with six after a yellow card for Tia Hands, Ireland could not force another score in the final seconds.

The defeat meant Ireland had to wait for their quarter-final place to be confirmed by later results but they now know they will face either a rematch with Australia or New Zealand in the last eight this evening.

Ireland's hopes of a first Olympic medal in rugby sevens are over following a 19-15 defeat to Fiji in the quarter-finals at the Stade de France.

James Topping's side had led the back-to-back gold medallists by 15-7 in the second half but would let slip their second two-score advantage of the day after an earlier pool-stage defeat to New Zealand.

In what was Ireland's first quarter-final at this level, Fiji had the game's first score within the first minute of the contest.

Iosefo Baleiwairiki fended off the tackle of Niall Comerford to make the key break and finished off the try despite a spirited chase from Chay Mullins.

It was Mullins who would drag Ireland back into the game, scoring a double before half-time to put his side ahead at the break despite both tries going unconverted.

His second felt especially timely, coming just before the interval and from an attack where Ireland had looked to be drifting towards the touchline before Mullins took on Gavin Mullin's pass and burst through the tackle to score.

In the second half, Zac Ward, who has been in excellent form in Paris, put Ireland eight points ahead with an opportunistic finish down the blindside of a ruck after his own strong carry had advanced his side to within a metre of the whitewash.

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But the same missed tackles that plagued Ireland against New Zealand earlier on Thursday started to creep back into their game and Selestino Ravutaumada shrugged off defenders too easily before sending Waisea Nacuqu over for the try to bring Fiji back into things.

When Ireland made a mess of the restart, after 15s star Hugo Keenan was caught underneath the high ball, Terio Tamani capitalised for what proved to be the winning score.

Fijian indiscipline would allow Ireland a last opportunity to snatch victory but, into the fourth minute of added time, a knock-on would end their challenge and medal ambitions.

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Ireland advanced to the quarter-finals of the Olympic Rugby Sevens with a pair of wins on the opening day of the tournament.

James Topping's squad were the first representatives in action at the 2024 Games for Team Ireland and booked their spot in the the knock-outs with a game to spare thanks to victories over South Africa and Japan.

After finishing 10th at the delayed Tokyo Games three years ago, Ireland ran in eight tries across Wednesday's play, beating South Africa 10-5 before crossing for six scores to get the better of Japan by a score of 40-5.

Ireland will now face New Zealand in their final pool game at 15:30 BST on Thursday before the knock-outs begin in the evening session.

After the earlier victory against South Africa, Topping had the luxury of rotating his panel for the game against Japan, ensuring all 12 squad members had featured come the final whistle of the 40-5 victory.

Terry Kennedy was the star of the first half against the Brave Blossoms, following up his earlier try against South Africa by scoring the opener in the game's first minute.

He would then create the second from well inside his own territory, breaking from deep after a period of Japanese pressure and unselfishly switching the ball inside to Chay Mullins for the score just before half-time.

Early in the second half, Harry McNulty's intercept try put Ireland in a comfortable position and Topping turned to his bench to see out the win.

Among the replacements were Leinster full-back Hugo Keenan, but it was his fellow substitute Niall Comerford who was next across the whitewash, scoring after McNulty had found his run back against the grain.

Mullins would get his second of the night as Ireland attacked straight from the restart, although Japan responded through Shotaru Tsuoka.

Bryn Ward would ensure Ireland had the final say however, the replacement using a huge fend to create the space for his try in the closing moments.

In their earlier victory over the Blitzboks, Jordan Conroy's try with the final play of the first half had given Ireland a 5-0 lead at the break.

Kennedy scored a second try with two minutes remaining but South Africa set up a grandstand finish when Shelvyn Davids squeezed over the line with 30 seconds left.

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Former Ulster and Ireland wing Craig Gilroy believes the northern province are in for an "exciting season" with 23-year-old fly-half Aidan Morgan among their new signings.

Billy Burns, who has been Ulster's first-choice number ten since arriving from Gloucester in 2018, joined Munster in the off-season with Morgan subsequently arriving at Kingspan Stadium from the Hurricanes.

"I'm excited to see what he brings," Gilroy told BBC Sport NI.

"He seems to be a real natural out-half.

"I was a really big fan of Billy Burns and I was sad to see Billy leaving. I think Munster are lucky to have him."

In a tumultuous campaign last season, Ulster finished sixth in the URC and were knocked out of the play-offs by Leinster at the quarter-final stage.

But, after head coach Richie Murphy arrived in March following the sacking of Dan McFarland, performances were improving as the year wore on.

"I've got full faith in Richie Murphy. I think he's a brilliant appointment," added Gilroy. "I think he'll take the guys forward.

"A few new signings in key positions, it's going to be an exciting season."

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Ulster Rugby have announced that forwards coach Roddy Grant has left his position "by mutual agreement".

Grant spent five years in the role with the Irish province.

Ulster head coach Richie Murphy said: "Roddy has given a lot to the club over the last five years and we would like to thank him for all his hard work that is set to stand by us as a squad in the seasons ahead.

"From a personal perspective, I really enjoyed working together at the end of last season. Roddy is a coach that gives it his all, and I know how much maintaining the highest standards means to him."

Grant commented: "I'm extremely proud of our work as forwards over the past five years".

"I feel that I leave with the pack in a better place than when I arrived, with the guys having built a very strong reputation as a forward pack.

"I gave it my all, and I went all in. Thankyou to all the players who gave everything and went all in for me too," added the Botswana-born former professional player.

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Former France international front row Rabah Slimani has signed for Irish province Leinster.

The 34-year-old prop won the last of 57 caps for France in 2019, having made his debut for Les Bleus off the bench against New Zealand in 2013.

Slimani has played almost 300 games in the Top 14 with Stade Francais and most recently Clermont Auvergne.

"I'd like to thank Leo and Leinster Rugby for the opportunity to come and join a club with a massive history and a proven record of competing at the very top end of URC and European rugby," Slimani told the Leinster Rugby website.

“I am very excited to also experience a new country and a new city to live and to play my rugby and it is one that my family and I are looking forward to."

Leinster head coach Leo Cullen said the signing of Slimani represented "a great addition to the group, not only providing competition for the first team but also helping some of our young front row players learn and develop".

"He is a player we have long admired with vast experience at the highest level of Top 14, European and international rugby," added Cullen of the two-time Challenge Cup winner with Stade.

Slimani joins RG Snyman and Jordie Barrett as new Leinster recruits ahead of next season.