Brent Pope

Oct 13, 2023 | extra.ie | Brent Pope

Ahead of Saturday's showdown between Ireland and New Zealand, rugby analyst Brent Pope has run the rule over these two sides:Barrett, once voted the world’s best out half, oddly finds himself at fullback this weekend, and for the whole World Cup has been under some domestic public pressure in New Zealand for Ian Foster to replace him with the significantly younger Crusaders star Will Jordan.

Oct 12, 2023 | independent.ie | Brent Pope

October 1991. Summer had come early in New Zealand. My team, Otago, had just won the national rugby championship for the first time and I was looking forward to some well-earned beach time. A phone call early one Sunday would change the course of my life. I just didn’t know it at the time. Would I like an off-season playing rugby in Dublin with St Mary’s RFC? It sounded like an adventure. I was single and had my own business, so I would not be missed for a few months. In truth, the decision was easy.