Planet rugby

This week's rugby news in brief

Best move

MOMENT of the weekend had to be Neil Best charging into the Munster 22 with the quarter-final evenly poised at 26-19 and 10 minutes to play. The former Ulster flanker was understandably enthusiastic about playing against fellow Irishmen.

Best made it into the 22 alright but the ball didn’t as it was ripped from his grasp by David Wallace moving in the opposite direction. Ronan O’Gara’s subsequent reliving kick seemed like a seminal moment.

UCD team of 1970 remembered

UCD may be back struggling in Division Two this season but the college programme paid tribute to perhaps their greatest ever team, celebrating 40 years since they captured the Leinster Senior Cup by defeating Terenure 14-3 in the final, with Paul MacWeeney’s match report from The Irish Times on Monday, April 27th, 1970.

Five of their pack went on to be capped by Ireland – Fergus Slattery, Shay Deering, Kevin Mays and the Feighery brothers, Tom and Con. Right winger Tom Grace is the only back to be officially recognised by the IRFU although centre pairing Frank O’Driscoll and Henry Murphy played against Argentina when that wasnt considered an international.

O’Driscoll’s son is the current Irish captain, of course, while fullback and captain Derek Scally’s son Ciarán also came through UCD and played for Ireland, while Grace’s son Conor is an international basketballer.

The late Shay Deering’s son Shane won a minor All-Ireland football championship with Westmeath back in 1995 and left winger Joe Cummiskey’s son Andrew currently plays in the centre for UCD.

Get that camera out of here

SKY Sports had access to all areas at Thomond Park for Saturday’s Heineken Cup quarter-final, or so they thought.

It is not the brightest idea to leave the sound on when televising live pictures from a psyched-up Northampton dressingroom just seconds before they burst on to the pitch but at least the camera got in the door. The studio duly apologised for the run of expletives.

When another portable camera attempted to provide a closer view of Munsters on-field huddle moments before kick-off it was clearly shooed away by a Munster official.

Some things remain sacred apparently.

Semi-final places decided

THE regular season of the All-Ireland League wrapped up over the weekend with the newly-trialled eight-team Division One A topped by Cork Constitution. They will now face third-placed Dolphin, who they defeated at the weekend, in the semi-final play-offs next Saturday at Temple Hill. Second-placed St Mary’s are at home Division One B champions Old Belvedere.

It may seem strange that Old Belvedere made it into the top tier play-offs but that was the agreement put in place by the IRFU to get the lower division clubs to buy into an elite league that the AIL so desperately needed. In fairness, they will hardly be out of place in the semis having ended the season with a crushing 48-3 defeat of third-placed UCC.

Young Munster join them in Division One A next season – providing the IRFU don’t rip up the current template after the upcoming review – with Clontarf and UL Bohemians going the other way. Lansdowne and Bruff went up to Division One B with Ballymena and Ballynahinch going the other way.

Recruitment policy pays off

GEORGE Naopu and Miah Nikora – not exactly household names, are they?

One of the criticisms levelled at Connacht is their recruitment policy but the New Zealand-born number eight and a replacement outhalf played significant roles in securing their side’s place in the Amlin Challenge Cup semi-final with a 23-20 defeat of Bourgoin on Saturday. Formerly with the Highlanders in New Zealand, Naopu was awesome off the back of the scrum while Nikora replaced Ian Keatley just after the hour mark to slot two penalties to level matters and the winning drop goal that keeps the Connacht dream alive.

Having come through the New Zealand underage representative ranks, Nikora featured for Wellington and Taranaki but may have a future out west.

Connacht’s progress remains blighted by financial constraints – only one-year deals were handed out for those out of contract, including incoming head coach Eric Elwood – but their dual assault on Heineken Cup qualification remains alive. Munster come to the Sportsground next Sunday.

25? The number of points the Clemont kickers left behind them at the RDS on Friday night.