Planet Rugby

It said in one newspaper during the week Steve Hansen (below) likes a challenge. It's a bit like a British officer squinting into the sun before turning to a soldier at Rorke's Drift and saying, "Did you see something move?," as 10,000 Zulu warriors materialise.

A great incentive for schoolboy rugby players in the Leinster Schools' Senior Cup competition was the attraction of playing at the national stadium, Lansdowne Road. A player didn't need to make it to the final as the semi-finals were also played there. Unfortunately that will not be the case this season as the penultimate stage of the cup will take place at Donnybrook. Given Ireland's two home Six Nations Championship matches in May, against Scotland and Italy, and the current state of the pitch - it will not be improved by this week's soccer international against Russia - a decision was taken that only the final would be played at Lansdowne Road.

Injury prone

Now this column is aware sports people are prone to the odd injury or two but few will eclipse the one suffered by New South Wales Waratahs' new boy Mat Rogers in terms of the manner of his misfortune.

The former Australian rugby league star who has switched to union missed last Friday night's warm-up game against the Auckland Blues after picking up a freak injury. Rogers was positioning himself on a massage table at the Waratahs' Narrabeen training base when it gave way and crushed the tip of the middle finger on his right hand. An X-ray revealed there was no break but the tissue at the end of his finger has been severely damaged. It hasn't really been a great seven days for Rogers as he broke his nose in the final of the Brisbane World Rugby Sevens on Sunday. Given that misfortune can come in threes, his team-mates are steering clear of him.

School squabble

The old-school tie ethos that prompts the defence of the alma mater in verbal squabbles has produced a bit of dissention in the ranks of the Leinster senior squad. The probability of a Leinster Schools' Senior Cup quarter-final meeting of Blackrock College (they have to beat Gonzaga at Donnybrook today first) and St Mary's College (they have qualified) has seen two individuals prepared to put substantiate the sledging with a few euro: one hundred or so.

Now this column does not want to embarrass the two individuals - well not yet. We may of course choose to name the loser after the game takes place at Donnybrook on Sunday. For the record this column, in another guise, tipped St Mary's to reach the final.

Hansen's history

Taking over the coaching job at Wales requires a strong stomach, particularly for an "outsider". Hansen may not have the CV of his predecessor Graham Henry but he was a faithful lieutenant to the New Zealand director of coaching Robbie Deans at Super 12 and NPC level, while in his first season in charge of Canterbury (at NPC level in 2001), his side romped to the first division title.

Hansen, a centre, played his provincial rugby for Canterbury, mainly for the B side, and he started coaching at club level - with High School Old Boys, in tandem with Neville Duckmanton - just 12 months after hanging up his boots. Hansen and Duckmanton enjoyed tremendous success with High School Old Boys, winning the championship in 1995.

In 1996 Hansen joined Canterbury as a back-line coach. Robbie Deans joined the following year as head coach. With Deans being a back-line coach, Hansen became forwards' coach, the position he has since held with distinction. When Deans moved up to the Crusaders Super 12 team in 2000 - when Wayne Smith won the All Black head coaching job - Hansen joined Deans, and the duo coached the Crusaders to their third Super 12 title in as many years. Deans stepped down from his NPC duties in 2001 leaving Hansen to coach Canterbury to the NPC title in 2001.

That'll all seem a doddle compared to his next job.

Recruitment drive

IT seems the IRFU's recruitment in Britain, through the Exiles, is once again gathering pace if the Ireland under-19 squad is anything to go by in judging the explosion of new talent. There were six players from England in the 26-man squad that was used in Ireland's 34-0 victory over Italy at Thomond Park last Friday week. Loosehead prop Stephen Bennett and left wing Edward Hoadley made the starting XV but the bench included Terence Molloy (Stoneyhurst College, England), Robbie Shaw (Wasps), John Hill (Wasps) and Paul Lidster (Bristol).

The Ireland under-19s are coached by Willie Anderson and Hendrik Kruger with Westport's Michael Cunningham as manager. They take on England at Broadstreet RFC in Coventry (7.30) on Friday night.

Indeed it is a busy weekend for Ireland underage teams. The under-21s take on their England counterparts at Coventry RFC (5.0), the Ireland Students team (coached by Phil Lawlor and Pat Murray; Maurice Field is the manager) head for Bournemouth (7.15), The under-19s are on at 7.30 p.m. and finally, Ireland take on England in the A international at Northampton (8.0). All these matches take place next Friday.

IRISH TIMES/AIB Team of the Month.

J Lacey

(Shannon)

J Norton G Brown Cian Mahony A Maxwell

(St Mary's) (B'rock) (Cork Con) (Ballymena)

Conor Mahony B O'Riordan

(Cork Con) (UCD)

F Roche J Fogarty P Bracken

(Shannon) (Cork Con) (Galwegians)

D Sheehan D O'Callaghan

(Clontarf) (Cork Con)

D Blaney D Quinlan C McMahon

(Terenure) (Shannon) (Shannon)

At the end of the present campaign an IrishTimes/AIB team of the season will be chosen by The Irish Times rugby writers, Gerry Thornley, John O'Sullivan and Johnny Watterson. They will be honoured at a dinner at which they will receive individual awards to commemorate their achievement.