Latest news with #NigelCarolan
Irish Independent
09-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Irish U-20s must produce something special to down Junior All Blacks and reach last four of World Championships
An 18-16 loss to hosts Italy after they defeated Georgia 35-28 in the opening game means nothing less than a win will do for Ireland, and even then they may need a bonus point to oust a Junior All Blacks side who are three match points ahead of them going into this final pool game. Ireland finished seventh and eighth on the two previous occasions that this 12-team tournament was held in northern Italy and another mid-table position looks on the cards unless they can beat a strong New Zealand side. McCarthy said they were disappointed not to beat the Italians but they have had to shrug off the loss and focus all their attention on a New Zealand side who beat Italy 14-5 and Georgia 38-19. 'We'll have to face up against them and take it to them,' said the Cork native who is in the Connacht academy. 'We didn't get to play the rugby we wanted to against Italy but the effort couldn't be faulted.' New Zealand ended Ireland's hopes in the final pool game the last time Italy hosted the tournament in 2015, with Nigel Carolan's side defeating Scotland to finish seventh with a squad that included Andrew Porter, Garry Ringrose, Joey Carbery and Jacob Stockdale. There were also two current Lions in the squad which finished eighth when Italy staged the tournament for the first time in 2011 with Tadhg Furlong and Finlay Bealham on board alongside Iain Henderson, Andrew Conway, Paddy Jackson, Craig Gilroy, Kieran Marmion, Jordi Murphy and JJ Hanrahan. Current head coach Neil Doak, whose side finished bottom of the Six Nations this year, has made four changes for this clash, two at the back and two up front. Ulster academy player Daniel Green, now with Queen's University having been identified through the IQ (Irish-qualified) programme when he was with Sale Sharks, comes in at full-back with Charlie Molony moving to the wing to the exclusion of Paidi Farrell, who scored two tries against Georgia. Jonny Scott, another Ulster academy player, replaces Cork Con's Midleton native Eoghan Smyth. Two recent additions to the Munster academy come in up front with lock Conor Kennelly from Highfield RFC replacing Mahon Ronan, while Shannon's Oisin Minogue, who came through the ranks at Ballina Killaloe RFC, takes over from Billy Power after coming on and scoring the late try against Italy. The flanker is a son of former Irish international Rosie Foley and nephew of the late Anthony Foley. Verdict: New Zealand U-20 Ireland: D Green; C Molony, C Mangan, J Scott, D Moloney; T Wood, W Wootton; A Usanov, H Walker, A Mullan; C Kennelly, B Corrigan; E McCarthy, O Minogue, L Murphy. Reps: L McLaughlin, B Bohan, T McAllister, D Walsh, B Power, C Logan, S Wisniewski, G O'Leary Kareem. New Zealand: R Simpson; F Vaenuku, C Roberts, J Wiseman, M Kunawave; W Cole, D Pledger; S Uamaki Pole, M Letiu, R Faleafa; X Treacy, J Sa; F McLeod, C Woodley, M Bason. Reps: S Kempton, I Time, D Johnston, A Vakasiuola, M Fale, J Tamati, J Cameron, S Solomon.
BBC News
13-06-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
'An incredibly exciting group in a successful environment'
Glasgow Warriors' new assistant coaches gave their reaction to their new Forrest: "I'm really looking forward to working with everyone – it's an incredibly exciting coaching group."Having had the opportunity to work alongside Franco and Nigel over the past season in my role with the club's A team and academy, I'm excited to take this a step further over the coming seasons."I'd also like to mention that working alongside Pete Murchie this season has been of huge benefit – he leaves huge large shoes to fill, but I'm excited to build on the excellent work he's done since leading the team's defence."Roddy Grant: "The opportunity to come into such a successful environment and such a top-level culture was one I jumped at, and I'm looking forward to being able to contribute to that environment."It's a really exciting group here. Having coached against Franco for a number of years, I can't wait to work alongside him. I'm a huge admirer of Nigel's work as well, he's been hugely successful wherever he's been. "To have the chance to work with Scott, too, is a special opportunity. We've known each other since 2006, so to be able to coach alongside each other is an exciting prospect."Nigel Carolan: "I've really enjoyed my time at Scotstoun so far, and I'm excited to continue on the journey that this club is on."We've got a strong group as we build towards next season, with a mix of established internationals, players looking to push on to that next level, and some exciting new talent coming through."
BBC News
12-06-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Warriors announce trio of new assistants
Former Scotland Sevens internationals Scott Forrest and Roddy Grant have joined existing Glasgow Warriors attack coach, Nigel Carolan, as the Franco Smith's new assistant has been at Scotstoun since 2021, overseeing their attack during their URC triumph last a former Scotland Sevens captain, worked with Warriors academy last season, while former Edinburgh flanker Grant is the Georgia national team's assistant coach - and will join up after his they face South Africa next coach Pete Murchie departed at the end of the URC title defence came to an end with defeat to Leinster in Saturday's semi-final and Smith is acting quick to prepare for next season."We are pleased to be able to retain Nigel's services as we prepare for the new campaign – he is someone that is thoroughly respected by everyone in both the playing group and backroom team, and his experience and expertise are valuable assets to the club," said head coach Smith."We are also excited to welcome Roddy and Scott into their new roles – both men have already shown that they are fully bought into what we are looking to build here, and the players and I are looking forward to working closely with them when pre-season gets underway."
Scotsman
05-06-2025
- Sport
- Scotsman
Glasgow Warriors' task is even harder than proving billboard wrong - but scabs can be picked at
Warriors completed mission improbable in Limerick - now it's off to Dublin Sign up to our Rugby Union newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Winning a semi-final in Ireland when no-one gives them an earthly is not a new thing for Glasgow Warriors. They did it last year when they dethroned Munster as the United Rugby Championship kingpins. In doing so, they became only the second team to win in Limerick over the course of the season and they also brought to an end the hosts' winning run, which had stretched to ten games. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad It was all the more satisfying because an over-zealous scoreboard operator at Thomond Park had flashed up an advert for the final on the big screen. Of course, it was Glasgow, not Munster, who made it through, winning 17-10 to set up a showdown with the Bulls in Pretoria - which they also won to lift the trophy. Glasgow Warriors defeated Stormers last weekend. | SNS Group On Saturday, it's Leinster who block their path to a second successive URC final and Glasgow are happy to again embrace underdog status. 'You can refer to it in terms of it not being unknown territory for us,' said Nigel Carolan, the Warriors' attack coach. 'It's a path we've been down and no one gave us a chance going to Munster last year. Munster even had a billboard with the advertisement of the final. 'Everyone had written us off. But if we can bring our A game, we can beat anybody. Be it Thomond Park, Pretoria or the Aviva Stadium.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad This is a sterner test for Warriors In truth, Leinster represents an even tougher test than last year; they beat Glasgow 52-0 in the Champions Cup quarter-final in Dublin just eight short weeks ago. For Carolan, that's ancient history. Not surprisingly, he prefers to focus instead on the more recent league encounter with Leinster at the Aviva when a young Glasgow side matched the home team for long periods before being edged out 13-5. Both sides' form has dipped in recent weeks but Carolan believes Glasgow are coming to the boil again and their opponents have 'scabs' that can be picked at. 'The Champions Cup game is written off,' he said. 'It's so long ago now. There was probably a little bit of mental scarring after that. It was evident in the few games we played after that. 'I think it's fair to say that Leinster went through the same after their loss to Northampton [in the Champions Cup semi]. Both teams were trying to find ways to pick themselves up. I thought how we performed last Friday night against the Stormers was definitely a step in the right direction. It'll definitely give us some momentum for this week. Glasgow Warriors have suffered against Leinster already this season. | Getty Images 'There are scabs there in Leinster. If we can pick at them, if we can bring the best version of our game physically, emotionally, and have that accuracy as well, I think we can ask some really good questions. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'There's nothing like a semi-final to focus the mind. Going back to the Aviva, for us, based on our last performance there, and even the template of how we played, how physical we were, how we showed up, I think gives us a lot of confidence. 'We've been here before and I think there's a standard now as well; an expectation after we've done it the hard way last year.
RTÉ News
03-06-2025
- General
- RTÉ News
Leinster losses 'history' for Glasgow, insists assistant coach Nigel Carolan
Glasgow assistant coach Nigel Carolan believes his side have rediscovered their "ruthless" streak in good time to try to defend their United Rugby Championship title. The Warriors entered the play-offs having lost four of their previous five matches in all competitions, including an alarming 33-7 defeat at Benetton. But Franco Smith's side banished any concerns about their form when they romped to a five-try 36-18 victory at home to Stormers in Friday's quarter-final to set up a semi-final trip against Leinster at Aviva Stadium this Saturday. "I definitely think there's a template there (from Friday) that we try and play to," said Carolan. "I think what we showed was really good ambition, some good accuracy. We scored some cracking tries, even though we didn't have a massive amount of the ball. "But I think what it did show is when we did get chances, we were pretty ruthless and that's what you need this time of the season, as you approach the quarter-finals and semi-finals. "Every opportunity counts and it's important that you take those chances when they come about." Glasgow must find a way to redress the balance against a Leinster side who hammered them 52-0 in the Champions Cup in April before defeating them 13-5 in the final league match last month. Carolan is adamant his side have banished any lingering effects from the heavy European defeat in Dublin two months ago. "I think it's history now," he said. "We've played them since, and I think what we turned up with the last time we played them is a bit more us. And I think what we saw on Friday night against the Stormers was more us again. "I think we're building nicely. I think we've definitely got a bit of the mojo back from where we were. I think it was probably the Leicester game (a 43-19 win on 5 April) when we last sort of played like that. I think it's important that we got into this weekend on the back of a good performance last Friday and there's a lot of confidence we can take from it." Carolan reported that Scotland forwards Matt Fagerson, Jack Dempsey and Zander Fagerson are all progressing well in their recovery from injuries but unlikely to be ready for Saturday. He is hopeful that centre Huw Jones will be fit to return in Dublin after missing the Stormers game with an Achilles issue. "Huw is on track at the moment to be ready," said Carolan. "Obviously we pulled him last week for precautionary reasons, but he's shaping up really well. We'll just have to see how he progresses through the week."
