Latest news with #NoelMcNamara
Irish Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Irish Times
How can the provinces break France's dominance?
Gerry Thornley joins the latest episode of The Counter Ruck fresh off his trip to Cardiff to watch the Champions Cup final. He breaks down the future landscape for free-to-air rugby in Ireland, analyses France's domination of the Champions Cup, looks at the chances of Noel McNamara returning home and more. Alongside host Nathan Johns, talk also turns to injuries ahead of the provincial run in the URC knockouts, and the importance of Leinster lifting the domestic trophy at the end of the campaign. Produced by John Casey.
Irish Times
5 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Times
Why Leinster now have to win the URC
This weekend was a quiet one for Irish rugby, with no provincial involvement in the Champions Cup final. Still, plenty of intriguing storylines emerged; Noel McNamara's triumph, Henry Pollock's return back to Earth plus the curious level of antipathy towards this game in Ireland. Gordon D'Arcy joins Nathan Johns to discuss rugby's place in the sporting calendar, how important it is that Leinster win the URC this year, the mentality of winning and losing as well as the newly announced Club World Cup set for 2028. Produced by John Casey.
Irish Times
7 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Times
Noel McNamara and Bordeaux discover what doesn't break you can make you stronger
If it doesn't break you, it can make you, the saying goes, and certainly it was the kind of experience that might have broken lesser teams . They strained every sinew in reaching their first final last June only to be beaten 59-3 by Toulouse in the biggest game of their history, an embarrassment which lingered throughout last summer and beyond. The only way of fully exorcising the demons from the most one-sided final in the 133-year history of the French Championship was to lift silverware and it tells us much about Bordeaux Bègles as a club and a team that, having dethroned Toulouse in the semi-finals with a third victory over them this season, they have done just that by winning their first Champions Cup . 'There's absolutely no doubt about it, it was catastrophic; it was a nightmare,' agreed their attack coach Noel McNamara in the aftermath of UBB making more positive history. 'Everything that could go wrong went wrong,' he said, stating that 'the healing started' with an opening day win over Stade Francais. READ MORE [ The inside story of how Terenure signed Carlos Spencer as a coach Opens in new window ] 'But ultimately, it was about getting to a final and getting over the line because as it goes on pressure builds a little bit more and if we didn't get over the line today pressure builds a little more again.' A key learning and factor here was ensuring the squad was fresher at the business end of the season and McNamara cited the summer acquisition of Jonny Gray, Joey Carbery and Rohan Janse van Rensburg, even though only the latter played here and for eight minutes at that. 'I do think we did learn from that final. It is a scar but often scar tissue can be stronger and I think we showed a lot of character as well.' Union Bordeaux-Begles assistant coach Noel McNamara. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho From Clare to Here, you could write a song about it. It's a road less travelled but McNamara is the only Irish coach thus far this season to be a champion. On an increasingly impressive CV this looks like the highlight to date, but McNamara told The Irish Times: 'I've always had the same sensation regardless of whether it was winning the schools Cup with Clongowes or whether it was winning a Grand Slam with the Irish 20s, it's a sense of relief. 'You think very quickly about the people that have helped you to get to this point and at the final whistle I thought about my family and the sacrifices that they have made, and I hope that it repays some of the faith that they've shown in me.' As well as his wife Sinead and their three young daughters Iseult, Aarya and Portia, McNamara's two sisters Joanne Hickey and Edel O'Connor, and her son Sebastian, were among the Principality crowd. Union Bordeaux-Begles' assistant coach Noel McNamara and family. Photograph: Dan Sheridan/Inpho 'But, honestly, it's a sense of relief and your mind quickly switches to the next challenge,' he continued. 'The journey for me is genuinely more enjoyable than the destination and I don't coach for days like this, I coach because I love coaching. I love helping people get better, building a collective together and that's what I hope to continue to do.' Having signed on for another two years, he couldn't be in a better place right now. 'This is very special. You grow up watching this competition, it holds a really special place in Irish people's hearts. I think for me it's about that feeling of belonging. I think that's what it always has been for Irish teams, they want to belong and be able to compete against the best teams in Europe and for us it was no different. We wanted to belong, to show that we deserved to be here and that it was on merit.' Carbery, while happy, understandably didn't look entirely content amid the post-match celebrations after missing out on the match day 23. But this was his second well-earned Champions Cup winners' medal. While an unused sub in Leinster's win over Racing 92 in Bilbao in 2018, Carbery has again made five appearances in this triumph, including three as a starter compared to two seven years ago. 'We've got a very deep squad and some fantastic players, and I think Joey is absolutely deserving of his medal,' said McNamara. 'He's made a significant contribution and there's not that many Irish players who have two Champions Cup winners' medals,' said McNamara, adding that Carbery would have been in the 23 with a 5-3 split and will still have a big role to play this season. Bordeaux's Joey Carbery. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho UBB sit second in the Top 14, five points clear of Toulon, whom they face away next Sunday before hosting Vannes on Saturday week. Whatever happens, UBB will henceforth have one star on their claret or blue jerseys, but this doesn't feel like a one-off. 'One hundred per cent,' said McNamara. 'I said to the boys last week that win or lose, we chase the next opportunity on Monday regardless, and we've been very clear. This is not a destination, this is an important point on our journey. 'Getting over the line might manage to release us a little bit. We've got a fantastic opportunity in the Top 14 over the next few weeks. Toulon away next Sunday will be a big challenge for us to get everyone back down to ground but that's exactly what we want. 'We want to play in these games, we want these challenges, we want these privileges. It's not about getting to this point and saying it's fantastic,' said McNamara. 'There's absolutely no reason why we can't continue to go from strength and ultimately that's the objective. That's the goal of the club.'
Irish Times
23-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Bordeaux Bègles armed with lessons learnt ahead of Champions Cup final against Northampton
As first-time finalists in the French championship, last season's Top 14 decider in the Stade Vélodrome could hardly have been more harrowing. Yet the Bordeaux Bègles attack coach Noel McNamara believes the experience of that 59-3 loss to Toulouse 11 months ago will stand to the club as they seek their first major trophy in Saturday's Champions Cup final against Northampton Saints at the Principality Stadium (kick-off 2.45pm, live on RTÉ2 and Premier Sports). McNamara and the Bordeaux coaches have always said they needed to get back to a final as soon as possible in order to heal the scars from that 56-point defeat and they have done so at the first available opportunity in what will be their first European Cup final. 'After the disappointment of last year it was about getting back to this stage and seeing how we deal with it,' McNamara told The Irish Times ahead of the team's lighthearted Captain's Run, when the cheers and laughter of a 16-a-side game of tip rugby echoed under the enclosed Principality Stadium roof. Is French club rugby becoming more popular than Ligue 1? Listen | 20:26 In dealing with the 'logistics' of the club's first final last June, McNamara admitted 'everyone made mistakes'. 'Not just the players, around the hotel, the travel, when we got there, around the food. For nearly everybody at the club it was their first final. READ MORE 'There were a lot of learnings taken from that and it's been much more seamless this time. I remember last year they were still talking about tickets for the family and how they were going to get to the game on the Friday,' said McNamara, adding that Toulouse, serial finalists, had booked their hotel on the outskirts of Marseilles the preceding March. The coach from O'Callahgan's Mills in East Clare has taken a circuitous route to this point – via Clongowes Wood College, the Ireland schools, Leinster under-20s, Ireland under-20s, and the Sharks in Durban – and is himself one game away from the biggest achievement of his coaching career. [ Joey Carbery not selected in Bordeaux Bègles matchday squad for Champions Cup final Opens in new window ] But, reflecting on Northampton's stunning 37-34 win over Leinster in the semi-final at the Aviva Stadium, McNamara made an interesting observation. 'We understand the threat that Northampton pose. Obviously that performance against Leinster was incredibly impressive. I think the thing about Leinster is you probably know what's coming in terms of their defence and their strike plays. Northampton are a little bit more unpredictable and a little bit more difficult to prepare for, a little bit more adaptable in how they attack and how they defend. 'I do think they were very intelligent in the semi-final, but I think if you look at it over a period of time they're a team that has played against Saracens and that blitz defence in their heyday, and they just seemed to have all the solutions to it. Hopefully [on Saturday] we can pose some different questions in attack and defence, but it's going to be incredibly difficult.' McNamara places huge trust in the heads-up attacking instincts of the Bordeaux Bègles talisman and playmaker Matthieu Jalibert, who was outstanding in their 35-18 semi-final win over Toulouse and again in the victory over Castres last weekend. Bordeaux Bègles' Matthieu Jalibert during the Captain's Run at the Principality Stadium on Friday. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho 'It's pretty straightforward, you just try and put options in place and I haven't seen anybody with the capability of taking the options as well as he does. So, every time Matthieu gets the ball we try to have options around him, on his inside, on his outside, options behind and there's always the option of going over the top of the defence as well. 'He's just incredibly good at choosing the right option and he has the speed and the skill set to take advantage of it. So, when you put it all together, he's got a good kicking game, he can kick long, he's got exceptional vision and then he's quick. 'We are what I would describe as a relational attack. It's about building connections with each other and about having the ability to read off each other. When you get players that are prepared to back each other it's a pretty good mix,' said McNamara. For Bordeaux Bègles to win a first major trophy less than 20 years since they were formed (following a merger between Stade Bordelais and Club Athlétique Bordeaux-Bègles Gironde) would almost seem inevitable for this steadily progressive club, which has become the best supported outfit in the Top 14 in recent seasons. 'It would be incredible,' admitted McNamara. 'It's an extraordinarily well-run club under Laurent Marti, the president, who genuinely has done an awful lot of this himself. He's been the driving force behind the club since it was formed in 2006. Bordeaux Bègles attack coach Noel McNamara with players during Friday's Captain's Run. Photograph: James Crombie/INpho 'They've gone from being promoted in 2011 to achieving consistent levels of success. He's adamant that it will be done fairly. There's nothing done outside the salary cap. Year on year he's a staunch advocate of being self-sufficient. Ultimately it is about trying to ensure that the club isn't massively in debt.' At the press conference, it was asked why the club placed more emphasis on the Champions Cup than the Top 14, but McNamara countered: 'There isn't. There are two competitions that you can win, and they are both fantastic competitions. 'The history of the Top 14 is magnificent, there's no doubt about that, but there's an international feel in the club. Jonny Gray, Arthur Retiere and Joey Carbery have all won this competition, and Yannick Bru has [won] as a player and a coach. 'Winning that first one would be special and hopefully the start of something, but it's not a final destination. The way the club is set up and how it's run, there's no reason why it can't go on to have continued success.'
The 42
07-05-2025
- Sport
- The 42
Carbery and McNamara play their part in Bordeaux's rise
WHEN JOEY CARBERY suffered a hand injury on his Top 14 debut for Bordeaux back in September, he could scarcely believe it. The out-half had upped sticks from Munster to enjoy a fresh start in France. After years of his body breaking down at the worst times and the struggles for selection and form that resulted, things were surely going to be different with Union Bordeaux Bègles [UBB]. So it must have been deeply frustrating to suffer an injury he's had to deal with before. And yet, Carbery already sensed at that stage that the move to Bordeaux had been a great decision. It's a beautiful city. Carbery's wife and son, who soon turns one, moved over with him and the memories they're making will undoubtedly last a lifetime. Carbery probably also appreciated from early on that he had joined a special rugby club on the rise. Bordeaux sell out the Stade Chaban Delmas for every home game, welcoming in a vocal crowd of more than 32,000 people. UBB have cleverly assembled an excellent squad in recent years, with long-serving president Laurent Marti continuing to ensure the necessary resources are in place. It must be a thrill to be part of a squad including players like Damian Penaud, Matthieu Jalibert, Louis Bielle-Biarrey, Yoram Moefana, Pete Samu, Guido Petti, Ben Tameifuna, and rising stars such as Nicolas Depoortère. Carbery was another piece of the jigsaw because Bordeaux were looking for another strong out-half to complement France international Jalibert. Carbery's versatility was another attractive factor, as was his international experience. Only Petti, Jonny Gray, and Penaud in the UBB squad have more Test caps than Carbery's 37. Former France hooker Yannick Bru joined as head coach in the summer of 2023, bringing Irish attack specialist Noel McNamara with him. It was nice for Carbery to have a familiar face to welcome him to Bordeaux at the start of the season. Noel McNamara has made a big impression in Bordeaux. Dan Sheridan / INPHO Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO Also on the UBB coaching staff are former Toulouse back row Shaun Sowerby [forwards], ex-France prop Jean-Baptiste Poux [scrum], former France scrum-half Christophe Laussucq [defence], ex-Springbok Heini Adams [skills], and former France S&C specialist Thibault Giroud. It's a highly-regarded coaching set-up. Carbery knew all of this when he agreed to join Bordeaux, of course, but seeing the quality on a day-to-day basis is undoubtedly exciting. Advertisement He finally got his second appearance for the club in early November when he returned from injury at out-half and it has been a happy run for Carbery ever since, leading to his cameo off the bench for the closing 11 minutes of last weekend's Champions Cup semi-final win over Toulouse. 29-year-old Carbery has played his part in this run to the final, starting the pool win away to Ulster at out-half, then starting at fullback in the pool victory over the Sharks, as well as coming off the bench in a win against Leicester. He impressed at number 10 against Ulster in the Round of 16 before missing out on involvement in the quarter-final against his former club, Munster, as Bordeaux opted for a 6/2 bench split in the quarter-final. Carbery will be hoping there are no thoughts of that for the final against Northampton. Carbery has had nine Top 14 starts this season, with eight at out-half and one at number 15, as well as coming off the bench five times. All in all, it has been a busy and happy opening campaign, with the best possibly ahead. As well as reaching the Champions Cup final, UBB sit second in the Top 14 with four regular-season games remaining. Toulon are only two match points behind, so Bru's men have to get their foot back on the accelerator after back-to-back domestic defeats to Pau and La Rochelle. A top-two finish would mean avoiding the barrages phase of the knock-outs and going straight into the semi-finals. It's a huge focus for Bordeaux. Their scintillating attack means they can be confident of doing damage against any team, while last weekend's win over an admittedly depleted Toulouse shows that Bordeaux also have the forward might to out-muscle teams in high-stakes knock-out rugby. Bordeaux have a highly talented squad. Dan Sheridan / INPHO Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO The characteristic, stunning transition tries by Samu and Bielle-Biarrey were highlights, but Bordeaux must have taken immense satisfaction from overpowering Toulouse for their last two tries through Pierre Bochaton and Tameifuna. Last year's Top 14 final defeat to les Toulousains, a 59-3 hammering, is increasingly in the rearview mirror. Attack coach McNamara obviously has serious weapons to work with, yet he has done an excellent job of providing some clever plans without getting in the way of or inhibiting that talent. His starter players from set-piece have always been inventive and we've seen more examples of that with Bordeaux. Meanwhile, their phase-play attack has shape without being robotic. McNamara's system gets the best out of one thing that Bordeaux have in abundance – sheer speed. Bielle-Biarrey, Jalibert, Penaud, Romain Buros and co. are lightning quick in the backs, and forwards like Samu, Marko Gazzotti, Maxime Lamothe, Sipili Falatea are mobile and explosive. UBB can go from standing still to top gear in the blink of an eye. McNamara has harnessed that quality well. His coaching journey has been an intriguing one, all the more given his lack of a playing background. Glenstal, Clongowes, UCD, Ireland U20s, North Harbour in New Zealand, the Leinster academy, the Sharks of South Africa, and now Bordeaux. It's a rich, varied CV. A former teacher, McNamara worked hard on his French from day one and speaks it well enough to appear on French TV. That effort to integrate never goes unappreciated in France, particularly given that some foreign coaches don't push themselves to learn. But it is McNamara's coaching quality that has made the biggest impression and while many would like to see him back in Irish rugby, the Clare man has signed on with UBB until the summer of 2027. He and Carbery will now hope to claim Champions Cup winners' medals in Cardiff in three weekends. It would be a second such medal for Carbery, who was on the bench for Leinster in the 2018 final against Racing 92. The Bordeaux duo will wish a few of their compatriots well the night before in Cardiff. Bath will take on Lyon in the Challenge Cup final, with former Leinster lock Ross Molony, ex-Ireland second row Quinn Roux, and former Ulster hooker Niall Annett part of former Munster boss Johann van Graan's squad. Ross Molony has settled in well with Bath. Dan Sheridan / INPHO Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO Roux started in the second row in last weekend's semi-final win over Edinburgh, while Molony and Annett both came off the bench, the hooker scoring a try. 31-year-old second row Molony has played 20 games so far in his first season with Bath, 11 of them in the starting team, and team-mates like Finn Russell have spoken positively about his knowledge and the standards he sets among the squad. Annett, a former Ireland U20 captain, has forged an excellent career in England, firstly by becoming a much-loved figure at Worcester before joining Bath in 2022. The 34-year-old has played 21 times this season, with six starts in the number two shirt. The last of Roux's 16 Ireland caps came in 2020. The former Leinster and Connacht man moved to Bath the same summer as Annett. The 34-year-old remains a powerful presence and has racked up 18 starts in the second row for van Graan's side this season. Bath are favourites to win the Premiership. They have a 15-point lead with three regular-season games left. They will have to negotiate a semi-final and final, of course, but after last year's defeat to Northampton in the decider, many expect them to get over the line this time. Before that, van Graan, whose staff includes former Munster defence coach JP Ferreira, will plan to lead Bath to Challenge Cup glory. They won the Premiership Rugby Cup in March, ending a 17-year trophy drought. Molony, Roux, and Annett hope to help them to bigger and better achievements in the near future.
