Planet Rugby

A roundup of today's other rugby news

RTÉ sports floor manager’s memoir

The name Tadhg De Brún would be unfamiliar to the wider public but to the common sports reporter he is the guy from RTÉ who always seems to have the necessary interview target firmly under his grasp just moments after every major sporting event.

The RTÉ floor manager is calling it a day after the Springboks’ visit to Croke Park on November 28th and has penned a memoir, “Tunnel Vision”, remembering 30 years banging on dressingroom doors (the man is braver than most) and minding George Hamilton.

Anyway, here is one of those stories, told to De Brún by Clive Woodward. This was back when Clive was playing against Ireland at Twickenham. One of the English players was a diabetic so a “young lad” was supposed to bring some sugar lumps to the player at half-time. Arriving on the field the kid panicked turning to the nearest player, one Moss Keane, with an offer of some sugar cubes.

“The young lad had great difficult understanding the significance of the heaving breathless reply given in Moss’s trademark Kerry accent.

“’Who the f**k do ye think I am . . . Nijinsky?’”

We suspect Moss was referring to the horse and not the dancer.

Heineken Cup for Lansdowne Road?

Heineken Cup coming to Lansdowne Road?

Last week Irish sports CEOs (Philip Browne, John Delaney, Padraic Duffy and Pat Hickey, to name the four Dons of the major sporting families) gathered, at a hotel on Lansdowne Road as it happens, to rubber stamp a submission to the Government entitled “Why Irish Sport Matters” in order to safeguard future funding.

It hasn’t even been a rumour in the wind, but from reading the accompanying booklet it appears the Heineken Cup final is coming to the Aviva Stadium (that new shiny thing on Lansdowne Road) in 2011.

This is listed beside two already confirmed events coming to Ireland in 2011, the Solheim Cup and Europa league final.

The announcement is at least seven months away so this may be a little presumptuous but surely so many big names wouldn’t put their signature to something that isn’t going to happen.

Strauss signs off with yellow card

Cheetahs hooker Richardt Strauss ended his Cheetahs career with a 75th-minute yellow card, for dissent, in a typically aggressive, yet thoroughly entertaining Currie Cup final on Saturday at Loftus Versfeld (Yes, the second Lions Test venue).

Strauss is expected over in Dublin shortly. Predominantly a hooker, he has also featured at openside flanker. Good news for Leinster fans is the 23-year-old should be in decent nick having spent most of the season on the bench behind his cousin and Cheetahs captain Adriaan Strauss.

Two tries from Bryan Habana, in his last game before joining Western Province, ensured the Blue Bulls dominance of South African rugby continued. Morne Steyn’s boot also contributed as they ran out 36-24 victors.

Rugby on reel  

A video clip is available on Youtube of the upcoming Clint Eastwood film, Invictus, that tells the story of the relationship between Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman) and Francois Pienaar (Matt Damon) leading up to and during the 1995 World Cup. It is an early Oscar contender but there are three immediate concerns for rugby followers: Damon's physique, the South African accents, and whether the action shots can live with the benchmark that is Oliver Stone's Any Given Sunday.

Magners League ‘spokesfan’ search

The Magners League have begun the search for Ireland’s first professional fan or “spokesfan”. Offering the opportunity of a lifetime to one lucky job-seeker to become the “Magners League Professional Fan” for this current season.

The many benefits include “seats at Magners League games, meeting rugby stars, getting to know team managers and trainers, travel, (some) fame and the appreciation of new-found fans”.

The winner must be available to attend matches in every round from December through to next May’s grand final. They will work with Setanta Sports production team, interviewing players and fans as well as providing match summaries and their own blog.

Applications will be taken up until November 24th, 2009. For further details visit http://www.bulmers.ie/profan.

New website focuses on AIL

We came across a welcome addition to the Irish rugby website fraternity recently called Top8.ie, which provides some much-needed emphasis on the AIB League’s new Division 1A top tier.

Top8.ie provides up-to-date statistics, bullet point reports from matches and squad pages with player status (Leinster Academy, etc), appearances and position.

However, the most interesting aspect is the “Tipping” section where “four of Division 1A’s finest players” provide their opinion on each fixture. “The player with the greatest score at the end of the season receives the gong of being Top8.ie’s first ever Tipping Comp champ. In the interest of privacy the winner’s true identity will be revealed after the final round has been completed.”

Australian-based Irishman Eoghan Ryan is the brains behind the website with assistance from several players like his former team-mates Barry Keeshan of Dolphin and Richie Lane of Cork Constitution.