MICK DOYLE, the former Irish rugby coach, was described as being "ill but stable" last night by a spokesperson for Beaumont Hospital where he underwent emergency surgery at the weekend after suffering what is believed to have been a clot on the brain.

Doyle, who coached the side that won the Triple Crown in 1985, but who is best known these days for his media work with the Sunday Independent and RTE, was recovering after an operation in the Dublin hospital yesterday.

Friends described the next 24 hours as being "critical" for the veterinary surgeon from Kerry who was capped 22 times during his playing career.