A rubgy miscellany compiled by
JOHNNY WATTERSON
ANALYSE THIS
RUGBY these days leaves little to chance. Every team analyses the opposition and themselves. Richie Murphy, Leinster’s senior skills and kicking coach, explained over the weekend he would go to the office on a Sunday following a Saturday match and pick up the statistical breakdown, carried out by Emmet Farrell and Evan Kane.
Each coach, Joe Schmidt, Greg Feek, Jono Gibbes and Murphy does his individual work on reviewing the game on a minute by minute basis. A busy outhalf can make up to 80 plays in a match and the review, according to Murphy, can take up to four hours.
Sacre blew: Munster referee Fitzgibbon on hand as Harinordoquy's dad loses his cool
IMANOL HARINORDOQUY’S father caught the eye last week for getting involved in a bout of fisticuffs during Bayonne’s game with Biarritz in the Top 14. Basque encounters can be colourful affairs, especially when the bespectacled father of a French legend weighs in himself and throws a punch at one of the players. Naturally it’s on YouTube now.
The referee at the centre of the fight seemed to handle it well in his perfect French. So here’s cheers to Munsterman Peter Fitzgibbon, who has joined the ranks of Alain Rolland as one of Ireland fluent French-speaking referees.
Fitzgibbon has been on the IRB Elite panel since 2009 and works full-time for the IRFU as a development officer in the Leisure Rugby department. The Francophile is member of the Munster Association of Referees, having played his rugby with Thomond RFC.
- IT WAS pointed out during a dull first half in Wales’ match against Australia in the Millennium Stadium that the home side was an inexperienced team. Scarlets and Welsh right wing George North was earning his 16th cap.
In November 2010 the 6ft 4in North was named in the Wales team to face South Africa, making him the joint-third youngest player to represent Wales behind Tom Prydie and Norman Biggs and equal to Evan Williams.
He thanked Warren Gatland by scoring two tries and set a number of Welsh and international records in the match. Aged 18 years, 214 days, North became the youngest player to score a try in his debut for Wales.
The previous record holder was Tom Pearson, who was aged 18 years, 238 days when he scored against England in 1891. North has played 17 times for Scarlets, just one more time than he has for Wales.
Wall fall: Claw offers prop crash course in Munster way
DONNCHA O’CALLAGHAN might forgive us if the story is not quite the way he told it on RTÉ radio last week. But in Munster they have the wall of trust. When new members arrived at the club they would be asked to fall backwards off the wall and be caught by their team-mates.
A new prop arrived some years ago and was asked to “do” the wall of trust. Naturally, he flipped backwards expecting the team to catch him. But low and behold he went crashing to the ground on his back with a terrible thud.
After a moment of stunned silence Munster and Irish prop Peter Clohessy (right) walked over the stretched player and leaned over him. “Welcome to Munster,” said the Claw. “Trust nobody.”
- Nathan White, the Kiwi prop, who scored a try against Cardiff on Friday night, Fionn Carr, Damian Browne and Seán Cronin do not have a club assigned to them while they are playing for Leinster, while most of the other squad players do. It makes you wonder about the point of tagging players with clubs when they are never going to play with them. When did Brian O’Driscoll last play with UCD?
