Against The Head
   HOME
*





Against The Head
''Against the Head'' is a weekly rugby magazine programme, broadcast on RTÉ Two and presented by Joanne Cantwell with regular panellists Shane Byrne, and Irish Times rugby correspondent Gerry Thornley with various other guests throughout the series. The programme goes out on a Monday night usually running for thirty minutes and has been broadcast since 2003. It was previously presented by Con Murphy until 2008. The programme brings viewers a mix of interviews, highlights and reviews, as well as discussion on the burning issues in Irish rugby. The series runs for the busiest period of the rugby season usually from February to May, and takes in the RBS 6 Nations Championship, Heineken Cup and AIB League The All-Ireland League (AIL), known for sponsorship reasons as the Energia All-Ireland League, is the national league system for the 50 senior rugby union clubs in Ireland, covering both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The league w ... and Cup, and brings its a ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Joanne Cantwell
Joanne Cantwell (born 30 September 1979) is an Irish sports presenter. Personal life Cantwell was raised in Dublin, one of five daughters. She studied journalism at Dublin City University. Cantwell is married with two daughters and lives in Ongar, Co. Dublin. Sporting career Cantwell participated in a number of competitive sports from her early teens. She played ladies' Gaelic football for the Dublin county team, and was part of the team that won Dublin's first-ever senior Leinster Ladies Senior Football Championship. She was named Young Dublin Player of the Year in 1997 and was an All-Star nominee in 1998. Journalism career Cantwell began her journalism career while still in university, covering weekend sport on radio station FM104. In 2001, she joined the independent Irish channel TV3, where she produced news bulletins and presented the ''Sports Tonight'' show. She then joined state broadcaster RTÉ. Cantwell is the presenter of weekly rugby magazine programme ''Again ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Republic Of Ireland
Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. Around 2.1 million of the country's population of 5.13 million people resides in the Greater Dublin Area. The sovereign state shares its only land border with Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom. It is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the Celtic Sea to the south, St George's Channel to the south-east, and the Irish Sea to the east. It is a unitary, parliamentary republic. The legislature, the , consists of a lower house, ; an upper house, ; and an elected President () who serves as the largely ceremonial head of state, but with some important powers and duties. The head of government is the (Prime Minister, literally 'Chief', a title not used in English), who is elected by the Dáil and appointed by ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

RTÉ Two
(RTÉ) (; Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the national broadcaster of Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, while regular television broadcasts began on 31 December 1961, making it one of the oldest continuously operating public service broadcasters in the world. RTÉ also publishes a weekly listings and lifestyle magazine, the ''RTÉ Guide''. RTÉ is a statutory body, overseen by a board appointed by the Government of Ireland, with general management in the hands of the Executive Board, headed by the Director-General. RTÉ is regulated by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland. RTÉ is financed by television licence fee and through advertising, with some of its services funded solely by advertising, while others are funded solely by the licence fee. Radio Éireann, RTÉ's predecessor and at the time a section of the Department of Posts and Telegr ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Rugby Union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its most common form, a game is played between two teams of 15 players each, using an oval-shaped ball on a rectangular field called a pitch. The field has H-shaped goalposts at both ends. Rugby union is a popular sport around the world, played by people of all genders, ages and sizes. In 2014, there were more than 6 million people playing worldwide, of whom 2.36 million were registered players. World Rugby, previously called the International Rugby Football Board (IRFB) and the International Rugby Board (IRB), has been the governing body for rugby union since 1886, and currently has 101 countries as full members and 18 associate members. In 1845, the first laws were written by students attending Rugby School; other significant even ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Shane Byrne (rugby Union)
James Shane Byrne (born 18 July 1971) is a former Irish rugby union hooker. He is nicknamed 'Munch' or 'Mullet' (a reference to his hair style). A native of Aughrim, County Wicklow, Byrne played Gaelic football up to under-16 level with the local Aughrim club. He attended Blackrock College in Dublin. Career He plied his trade for many years at Leinster. His international career started comparatively late and did not blossom until the retirement of Keith Wood. When he eventually got his chance in a World Cup qualifier in Romania in 2001 he took it and thereafter became a fixture in the national side where he won 41 caps between 2001 and 2005, scoring three tries. In February 2003 Byrne played his 100th game for Leinster. In 2005 he was selected for the British & Irish Lions tour to New Zealand and played in the first and third tests. Byrne has scored a total of three tries for his country, scoring two of those in one match against Wales during the 2004 Six Nations series. ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

The Irish Times
''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper of record for Ireland. Though formed as a Protestant nationalist paper, within two decades and under new owners it had become the voice of British unionism in Ireland. It is no longer a pro unionist paper; it presents itself politically as "liberal and progressive", as well as being centre-right on economic issues. The editorship of the newspaper from 1859 until 1986 was controlled by the Anglo-Irish Protestant minority, only gaining its first nominal Irish Catholic editor 127 years into its existence. The paper's most prominent columnists include writer and arts commentator Fintan O'Toole and satirist Miriam Lord. The late Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald was once a columnist. Senior international figures, including Tony Blair and Bill Cl ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  




Con Murphy (RTÉ)
Conleth 'Con' Murphy (born 30 January 1966) is an Irish freelance radio and television presenter, working mainly on sports programming. Until recently he presented '' Monday Night Soccer'' on RTÉ Two, the League of Ireland highlights show which also includes highlights of Republic of Ireland soccer matches. He also co-presented ''Crimecall'' with Anne Cassin. On radio, he co-presented ''Sunday Sport'' on RTÉ Radio 1, with Jacqui Hurley. He left RTÉ in 2012. Career Murphy worked as one of the main sports presenters with RTÉ from 1992 until 2012. In that time he anchored RTÉ Radio's coverage of the Summer Olympics Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000, Athens 2004 Beijing 2008, and London 2012. He has presented football, golf, rugby, hockey, basketball, athletics, and horse racing on RTÉ Television. He presented international football on RTÉ radio for 17 years until 2012 and reported from the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Japan and South Korea, plus he was part of RTÉ Radio's award-winni ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Six Nations Championship
The Six Nations Championship (known as the Guinness Six Nations for sponsorship reasons) is an annual international men's rugby union competition between the teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. The current champions are France, who won the 2022 tournament. The tournament is organised by the unions of the six participating nations under the banner of Six Nations Rugby, which is responsible for the promotion and operation of the men's, women's and under-20s tournaments, and the Autumn International Series, as well as the negotiation and management of their centralised commercial rights. The Six Nations is the successor to the Home Nations Championship (1883–1909 and 1932–39), played between teams from England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, which was the first international rugby union tournament.Godwin (1984), pg 1. Though only matches involving Ireland could properly be considered international, and only after 1922, all other teams being from entir ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Heineken Cup
The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Heineken Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a predominantly European league. Clubs qualify for the Champions Cup via their final positions in their respective national/regional leagues (English Premiership, French Top 14, and United Rugby Championship) or via winning the second-tier Challenge Cup; those that do not qualify are instead eligible to compete in the second-tier Challenge Cup. Between 1995 and 2014, the equivalent competition was known as the Heineken Cup and was run by European Rugby Cup. Following disagreements between its shareholders over the structure and governance of the competition, it was taken over by EPCR and its name was changed to the European Rugby Champions Cup, without title sponsorship. Heineken returned as sponsor for the 2018–19 season, resulting in the ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


All-Ireland League (rugby Union)
The All-Ireland League (AIL), known for sponsorship reasons as the Energia All-Ireland League, is the national league system for the 50 senior rugby union clubs in Ireland, covering both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The league was inaugurated in the 1990–91 season. The league is the second highest level of rugby union in Ireland, as professional teams representing the four provinces of Ireland play in the United Rugby Championship. Division 1 sides may field no more than two professional players in their matchday sides, and only one may be a forward. Division 2 sides may not field professional players. Foreign professional players may not play in the League. Cork Constitution, the inaugural winners , are the only club to have retained top division status since the inception of the league. Competition format The league is divided into five divisions of ten teams each. Teams play each other team in the division twice per season (once at home and once away), for ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Irish Sports Television Series
Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland ** Republic of Ireland, a sovereign state * Irish language, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family spoken in Ireland * Irish people, people of Irish ethnicity, people born in Ireland and people who hold Irish citizenship Places * Irish Creek (Kansas), a stream in Kansas * Irish Creek (South Dakota), a stream in South Dakota * Irish Lake, Watonwan County, Minnesota * Irish Sea, the body of water which separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain People * Irish (surname), a list of people * William Irish, pseudonym of American writer Cornell Woolrich (1903–1968) * Irish Bob Murphy, Irish-American boxer Edwin Lee Conarty (1922–1961) * Irish McCal ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

RTÉ Sport
RTÉ Sport is a department of Irish public broadcaster RTÉ. The department provides sporting coverage through a number of platforms including RTÉ Radio, RTÉ Television, RTÉ.ie, RTÉ Player Sport and RTÉ Mobile. RTÉ holds the television and radio broadcasting rights in the Republic of Ireland to several sports, broadcasting the sport live or alongside flagship analysis programmes such as ''The Sunday Game'', ''Thank GAA It's Friday'', ''Soccer Republic'' and ''RTÉ Racing'' on RTÉ Television, and ''Game On'', ''Saturday Sport'', and ''Sunday Sport'' on RTÉ Radio. Traditionally RTÉ Sport faced competition from British-based broadcasters such as the BBC and ITV which have always been present in Ireland; however, these broadcasters were primarily concerned with the British public and market. Domestically, RTÉ had no competition until the late 1990s due to lack of competition in the Irish market. In latter years however a growth of variety in the Irish market opened compe ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]