Scrummy meeting

Brian Cowen hosted a lunch last Saturday for the Welsh First Secretary, Rhodri Morgan, before the match in Lansdowne

Brian Cowen hosted a lunch last Saturday for the Welsh First Secretary, Rhodri Morgan, before the match in Lansdowne. "Brian was very chipper before the match," Morgan's press secretary told Quidnunc this week ". . . a little less so afterwards." The Welsh party proceeded then to the RDS where they met Maurice Manning, Mike Burns - an old friend of Morgan's - and a horde of Welsh supporters.

After that, it was across the road to Horse Show House for more bonding with the Welsh visitors. "Rhodri is a fanatical rugby fan," his spokesman said. "You'll find him on the terraces every weekend."

Dinner was in Restaurant na Mara in Dun Laoghaire. They retired, happily by the sounds of it, to the British embassy residence in Sandyford.