Remarkable value: Maybe it's a reflection of how well the teams were going in Division Three of the AIL but it was great to see a crowd of about 500 thronging Donnybrook for the game between Old Wesley and Greystones. There were 160 people at the lunch and, speaking of which, Greystones offer remarkable value when they entertain at Dr Hickey Park.

For the princely sum of €16 you receive a four- course meal, a stand ticket and a programme. It's a non-profit-making venture but shows how some clubs are obviously getting it right and being pro-active in terms of getting people to come along and support.

Everitt outstanding

Ireland's Barry Everitt and Paul Burke had the Sky Sports commentary team for the English Cup semi-final between London Irish and Harlequins groping for one superlative after another to describe the kicking performances of the respective outhalves. Dewi Morris waxed lyrical about Everitt who celebrated his 26th birthday on Saturday.

The London Irish number 10 kicked eight from eight with the placed ball in extremely windy conditions and inspired his team to a 32-27 success (at one stage London Irish led 26-0). Burke also kicked excellently but for the watching Keith Wood and his erstwhile team-mates it proved to be a very disappointing afternoon.

Prominent Australian

A select few who chose the sofa on Saturday afternoon and decided to watch the English Cup semi-finals might recall where they had seen Northampton centre Peter Jorgesen before. Jorgesen, who scored two tries in the Saints' success, once played at Thomond Park when helping the Australian Schools to victory over their Ireland counterparts, scoring a try that day. He was the golden boy of Australian underage rugby in the early nineties but decided to head for the delights of rugby league before coming back to union.

Exiles' hungry mascot

Given current professional climate in rugby union, it's not surprising that teams court huge levels of funding through sponsorship. Apart from a main club sponsor for instance, as many ancillary sponsors as is feasible in terms of pitch hoarding, programme advertisements and just about every square inch of players' kit is sought.

In international rugby there is legislation that governs the size of the logos on jerseys but the same can not be said of the club game. However in pursuit of a little additional financial income, London Irish win this column's award for the most innovative sponsorship deal.

Patrolling the sidelines during their cup semi-final victory over Harlequins at the weekend was the team's mascot, Jumbo (we're relying on Sky Sports analyst Dewi Morris for the correct name) who appropriately enough is an Irish Wolfhound.

It was also understandable given Jumbo's sheer size that he should be wearing a type of blanket that you'd normally see on a racehorse. But is was on that blanket that this column noticed very nifty branding, for Jumbo is sponsored by Pedigree Chum dog food. So there you have it, Guinness may sponsor the London Irish players, but Jumbo has cut his own deal.

It's probably fair to say that all concerned are happy, not least Jumbo who one would imagine goes through a few tins during the week. And no we don't want any e-mails about London Irish going to the dogs or any other jokes of that ilk.

Top Ten punches

The Planet Rugby website (www.planet-rugby.com) has come up with a novel way of celebrating the protracted Martin Johnson saga. It has decided to catalogue 10 infamous punches, including the England captain for his haymaker that left Saracens hooker Robbie Russell requiring a few stitches.

Here are the top 10.

1. Federico Mendez (Argentina). The then teenager laid out England second-row Paul Ackford at Twickenham in 1990. Ackford never saw the punch coming, taking the full force on the jaw.

2. JPR Williams (Wales). On the Lions' unbeaten tour to South Africa in 1994, Willie John McBride's men weren't adverse to getting the retaliation in first. Williams decked Springbok lock Moaner van Heerden in the third Test at Port Elizabeth.

3. Philippe Sella (France). The brilliant French centre demonstrated his pace when running in from midfield to fell Australian lock Peter Fitzsimons in Sydney (1990).

4. The Lions (Australia, 1989). Having lost the first Test, the Lions were fired up for the second and a massive brawl erupted following an altercation between the respective scrumhalves, Robert Jones and Nick Farr Jones. It prompted the former to remark. "I knew I'd be alright as I had three English policemen and a Gloucester builder on my side."

5. Serge Blanco and Eric Champ (France). A World Cup quarter-final saw England wing Nigel Heslop receive a two-pronged assault from the French pair. A concussed Heslop missed the semi-final and final as a result.

6. Wayne Shelford (New Zealand). Poor old Wales second-row Huw Richards suffered a double ignominy in the 1987 World Cup match. Shelford took exception to Richards hitting All Black team-mate Gary Whetton and promptly laid out the Welshman with a punch. When Richards came to, he was promptly sent off for his original act of foul play.

7. Tim Rodber (England). The former Lion and soldier administered swift justice on Eastern Province's Simon Tremain on England's tour in 1994. Rodber hit Tremain several times before the latter could react and was then sent off.

8. Ngalu Taufo'ou (Tonga). He ran 20 metres to lay out England flanker Richard Hill during a 1999 World Cup match.

9. Duncan McRae (NSW Waratahs). Ireland's Ronan O'Gara was on the receiving end of a sickening assault as McRae, pinned him on the ground and punched the Irishman 11 times. The Australian's seven-week ban was a joke as O'Gara required eight stitches.

10. Martin Johnson (England). So much has been written about the incident involving Robbie Russell that there is no point in dwelling on it. Johnson received a three-game ban.

Stand-ticket winners

There was a tremendous response to last week's competition in which this column offered two pairs of stand tickets for Ireland's Six Nations Championship match against Italy at Lansdowne Road on March 23rd. We asked who scored Ireland's only try against England at Twickenham this season and the answer was Ronan O'Gara.

Sara McElwain and Colm Tarpey are the lucky winners and they will each receive a par of tickets for the Italian match.

This week we have another pair of stand tickets on offer. All you have to do is answer the following question and e-mail josullivan@irish-times.ie with the correct answer. Which Ireland player scored a hat-trick of tries against Scotland in the recent Six Nations game against Scotland at Lansdowne Road?