Other rugby strories in brief

Inverdale's England uber alles

Sometimes the BBC just can't help themselves. Good as the Beeb is blah, blah, blah, the secret thoughts of their presenters sometimes seep out onto the airwaves. The latest "outrage" was committed by the urbane presenter John Inverdale, who clearly couldn't help himself during the BBC coverage of the last Six Nations weekend.

As reported last week in the Welsh newspaper The Western Mail, Inverdale's words have prompted a formal complaint from the Labour MP Chris Bryant.

The Welsh member was clearly upset by the anchor's reference to Ireland's game against Scotland and Wales's match against Italy as the "warm-up" matches before France met England.

To paraphrase the former Taoiseach CJ Haughey (who was paraphrasing Othello), "we would like to think we have been of some service".

 Two men looking after number one

Well, who shafted who? As Eddie O'Sullivan meets Warren Gatland this weekend in Croke Park, new details have emerged that suggest their rivalry goes way back to 1996, when Gatland came into the Connacht and Galwegians set-up rather hastily to replace the Irishman.

Later, as we know, O'Sullivan came into the Ireland set-up to eventually supplant the Kiwi.

Symmetry, then, but O'Sullivan has tended to be portrayed as the character with the knife in his hand.

Coaches are in unsafe jobs and seek security. They look for the best terms in the best jobs and that appears to be what both Gatland and O'Sullivan have been doing for more than 10 years.

 Irish hit Bagshot

The Ireland team will not fly into Heathrow, or Stansted, or Luton, or City Airport, or Gatwick when they take to the skies for their final match in the Six Nations championship at Twickenham on March 15th.

Rather, Brian O'Driscoll and his team will land in Farnborough, the former military strip, better known for its air show every two years but now turned into a commercial airport.

The town of Farnborough is in the northeast of Hampshire and near to the boundary with Surrey, 34 miles southwest of London.

The squad will be staying in Pennyhill Park and Spa Hotel, which is set in 123 acres, and is about 10 miles away in Bagshot.

A Michelin star chef and, importantly, rugby pitches to suit the tastes of Clive Woodward, who had the England team staying there when he was coach, mean the Ireland team should be well catered for.

And, one suspects, far enough out of London to keep prying eyes away.

Whither Murphy as Ellis returns?

Harry Ellis was on the bench for Leicester at the weekend after coming back from long-term injury. The England scrumhalf, who missed out on the World Cup last September, was on hand on Saturday against Leeds (who they beat with a bonus point 34-21) at Welford Road to road test his knee after the long lay-off. He came on after 59 minutes.

The comeback, however, may have implications for Frank Murphy, who has been filling the position while Ellis recovered from his ligament damage.

 Varsity boys kick off big weekend

Do they still throw eggs at each other? Yes. Good. Do they still get tanked up before the match? Yes. Good. Wear your worst clothes, folks, because the rugby festivities for the Ireland v Wales international weekend kick off on Thursday at Donnybrook (kick-off 7.30pm), when UCD and Trinity compete in the Annual Dublin Colours Match.

College have won 32 of the previous 55 meetings but the Trinners boys will be looking for a repeat of last year's performance, which saw them win for the first time in 10 years, 16-13.

UCD, coached this year by their former captain Bobby Byrne , are eighth in Division One of the AIB All-Ireland League, while Trinity, coached by Tony Smeeth, are 11th in Division Two.

Warriors' woe

The Emerald Warriors are finding the going difficult in the J4 league. The Warriors were formed in August 2003 to give gay and bisexual men the opportunity to play competitive rugby in Ireland and internationally.

The hosts of this year's Bingham Cup in June haven't been enjoying their best league campaign in the run-in to the big tournament, which will see 40 teams competing in Dublin.

Prior to this weekend, they have played 13 matches, lost 13 matches and conceded 723 points!