Moran gets off lightlyWhile Gary Ella's injury worries with Leinster caused some grief last week, the upside was that the team were able to hand out a new cap on Friday night to Jason Moran.
The 21-year-old UCD prop and former Ireland under-21 came on late in the match for Leinster's narrow win over Ulster.
Moran, however, was subsequently tied up with UCD, who actually didn't play an AIL match over the weekend, so he escaped the traditional humiliating rites of passage for a new cap of having to sing a song on the team bus. That treat still awaits him.
Titleholders out in force
Ulster's first Sunday match at Ravenhill, against Leicester next weekend in the Heineken European Cup, is expected to be a controversy-free zone despite the proximity of some local churches convinced sport on the Sabbath is akin to dancing with the devil.
The faithful who turn up to what is expected to be a packed house full of vim and vigorous support for the home side will at least get a chance to see some of the "World Cup heroes" from England, who will arrive covered in precious metal given to them by no less a celebrity than the Queen of England.
Not only will the White Knight himself, outhalf David Humphreys, step onto the pitch with his MBE safely stashed at home but Leicester too are expected to dazzle with the broad sweep of their New Year's honours.
The Magnificent Seven, as the Tigers website is calling them, all received Palace honours. Martin Johnson, their World Cup- and Grand Slam-winning captain, cashed in his OBE for the higher CBE award, while six others - Neil Back, Lewis Moody, Martin Corry, Ben Kay, Dorian West and Julian White - gathered either CBEs or MBEs.
Keeping tabs on Drico
Rumours. Always rumours. This week's was the arrival of Irish forwards coach Niall O'Donovan to the south of France, where Perpignan were in action.
The European Cup finalists of last season attracted Munster forward Mick O'Driscoll to their impressive set-up. It's always a good idea to keep an eye on the wild geese, even if the IRFU embargo on using them remains.
Christian to be tempted
While Eddie O'Sullivan is gearing up for the Six Nations Championship, which begins for Ireland in Paris in February, he might spare a thought for the former All Blacks coach John Mitchell, now the coach of Waikato.
Mitchell was sacked (well, he reapplied for his job after the World Cup and didn't get it) following New Zealand's departure at the semi-final stage and was replaced by former Wales and Lions coach Graham Henry. Mitchell, who could never be accused of diplomacy, coached the All Blacks for 28 Tests, won 23, lost four and drew one. His record was the third-best in New Zealand history, yet he was shown the door. Munster recruit and All Black legend Christian Cullen (27), had a number of comments to make about Mitchell.
In his autobiography, Life on the Run, he said: "If you're on a professional team anywhere else in the world and you got treated like shit and didn't like a coach (Mitchell), they would move on to better things. He gave me a shit excuse about not picking me because of an inexperienced midfield which has nothing to do with me . . ." Cullen goes on to call Mitchell and his assistant Robbie Deans "jokers" and says he "didn't trust them from day one".
The question arises as to what Cullen - still a world-class player and contracted to Munster for four years - thinks of the regime change back at home. Will Henry now try to lure back arguably the best full back ever to play the game?
Respect at a premium
Clive Woodward had this to say about the BBC's decision to have David Campese present one of their annual awards to the English rugby team.
"To choose Campese was an error, bad judgment, and sums up British sport because they made a joke about the presentation. We had Princess Anne, Sir Bobby Charlton and George Cohen in the audience and they could have delivered the trophy. Instead, they chose a player I have little or no respect for. It was a crass decision by somebody."
Clive's remonstrations are usually to the point, except at Lansdowne Road, where he remained so quiet when the entire English team refused to move for President Mary McAleese before the championship-deciding Six Nations game last year. When Martin Johnson was asked to follow protocol he, like his coach, was straight to the point.
"I'm not fucking moving," he snarled, having been asked six times not to embarrass the President, the IRFU and the RFU. A crass decision by the English team for someone they had little respect for?
Three-point landing
Dubarry Park on Friday night was a far cry from the World Cup, where some score-lines travelled well into the hundreds. Ronan O'Gara's one successful kick from two attempts for Munster's 3-0 win over Connacht in the Celtic League was reminiscent of a different era.
Driving sleet and rain were the main contributory factors on a freezing evening. "Even when the subs went out to warm up they came back shivering," said one Munster official.
In all there were four kicks at goal compared to 15 in Leinster's match against Ulster in Dublin.
