Compiled by Johnny Watterson

Fans sign up for the Ireland jersey

TODAY O2, the sponsors of the Ireland team, are launching a new concept to generate a more overt link with supporters. Fans can now have their signatures collected at O2 stores and put on Irish shirts. O2 are collecting up to 2,500 names and will print them on the numbers of all the Ireland players in the Ireland v England game at Croke Park.

They can tell the fans which player their name is on and on what part of the number it is located. Each player usually has three shirts for a match. The fans are able to put the names on the shirt numbers through a technique known as nano printing.

The precedent was set last year when Richie McCaw's number on his jersey for an All Blacks match was made up of thousands of tiny signatures. Paul O'Connell, incidently, was recently asked whose name he would like on the back of his jersey.

He said former Irish winger, Simon Geoghegan, a hero of his as a kid.

Brian O'Driscoll said that Mike Gibson and Ray McLoughlin would be the players to go on his back.

Aquatic omens good for Terenure

IS THERE reason to think Terenure College are favourites to take the Leinster Senior Schools Cup? If so, they’ve already kicked off 2009 in winning style.

The boys’ senior swim team of Finbarr McTiernan, Cian Murphy, Salim Sebaoui and Ciarán Rogers did the double at last weekend’s Leinster Senior Schools Championships at the National Aquatic Centre, taking both the 4x100 metres freestyle and medley relays.

With the Terenure College pool out of action for the past few years – it has now reopened — the schools’ swimmers drifted off to other clubs, but they regrouped to pull off the feat for the south Dublin school.

What has that got to do with rugby, you ask. Well, the swimming title may turn out to be an omen. Last year Belvedere College took the senior boys relay titles at the same championships and went on to win the Senior Cup.

Foley still tops Irish Heineken charts

THE Ireland player with the most Heineken Cup games is no longer seen on the playing pitch but on the sidelines. Retired Munster captain and twice Heineken Cup winner Anthony Foley remains at the top of the list of Heineken Cup participants, followed closely by former team-mate John Hayes.

Foley has set the target at 86 appearances, with Hayes sneaking up on him with 84. The Leinster player with the most appearances, Shane Horgan, is way down the list with 67, the same as Munster and Ireland prop Marcus Horan.

And, Heavens to Murgatroyd, the legend Brian O’Driscoll is only mid table on 55 appearances, with the long-retired Leinster number eight and current airline pilot Victor Costello above him with 57.

Treviso collect the most cards

BENETTON Treviso might have taken a pasting from Leicester over the weekend and might be propping up the bottom of their pool, but they are market leaders at one thing: collecting cards.

The Italian outfit lead the red card table with two. Benjamin De Jager was shown the line for a head butt, while Nicola Cattina went off for punching. They also top the yellow cards tally, with four.

Ravenhill stands gone with winds

RAVENHILL Road in Belfast must have been the worst place of all the venues to play rugby over the weekend.

The flag poles were horizontal, penalties were being blown back at players and Ulster backrow Stephen Ferris was seen shivering as he scrummed down at the end of Ulster's surprise win.

The fans in the temporary stands probably weren't that dry either and wouldn't have been comforted by the words of Sky commentator and former Ulster and Ireland winger, Tyrone Howe.

"Belfast is where they built the Titanic so those temporary stands might not be up to much," he observed.

The driving wind and rain actually forced the evacuation of the temporary stand during the game.

Further west, it obviously wasn't all the better as the AIL match between Galway and Buccaneers had to be abandoned when the posts blew over.