PLANET RUGBY:RETURNING TO the Under-20 Grand Slammers, it's interesting to note how many of the players have developed. Felix Jones is with the Leinster Academy and Aidan Wynne with Connacht. Shane Monaghan is with Leinster and Darren Cave started in the centre for Ulster on Saturday.
Keith Earls is now Ireland and Munster and Ian Keatly is with Connacht, while Paul O'Donohoe is also a Leinster player. Cian Healy, Richard Sweeney and Jamie Hagan formed the frontrow and all are Lions, with Hagan on the bench for the first time last week for the sick CJ van der Linde.
Leinster Academy's Conor McInerney was also in the team, as was Andrew Brown from Connacht, while the backrow consisted variously of Ulster's Thomas Anderson, Kevin Sheahan, who was invited to play with the US Eagles, captain and Ulster backrow David Pollack and of course O'Brien. Forgotten anyone?
Match-throwing merely 'targeting'
LANGUAGE IS a great thing altogether. Castres arrived in Dublin, largely with their second string of players saying they were targeting a certain match.
But it wasn't Saturday's Heineken Cup match against Leinster. Rather it was their French Championship match in two weeks' time. In Ireland we would call what they did it throwing a match. In France they say it is targeting a game. Viva la difference.
McClean clears up O'Brien 'mystery'
CONVERSATIONS WITH UCD director of rugby John McClean are always illuminating and last week having read the umpteenth article on Seán O'Brien's "sudden appearance" on the Leinster scene, McClean pointed out that O'Brien was an outstanding player for UCD as well as a central part of the Under-20 Grand Slam winning team in 2007.
In short, O'Brien has been on the radar for some time and to see what's truly going on around the province you really have to shift your ass out of the RDS press box.
Kidney well got
EVIDENTLY DECLAN KIDNEY is still going through the honeymoon period. The Ireland coach was out in City West last Friday sitting at the Taoiseach, Brian Cowan's table. Kidney was attending the annual Fianna Fáil fund raising bash as a guest of the Taoiseach in what is the biggest fund-raiser of the year. Hurling coaching legend Brian Cody was also among the 1,700 guests.
Taite makes it 100 not out in AIL
DLSP's STALWART tighthead prop Keith Taite made his 100th consecutive AIL appearance on Saturday in the Division Two fixture against Bruff in Kilternan.
In doing so, the frontrow emulated DLSP scrum half Brian Hogan, who became the first player in Ireland to achieve this feat some years ago. He is still only 25 and in addition to his 100 AIL appearances, he also played in the three successive Leinster Cup finals which DLSP reached in 2003, 2004 and 2005.
• ARE THERE any red faces in the ERC today? In Cardiff's match against Biarritz at the Arms Park, a drop goal from French man Julien Peyrelongue clearly appeared to go over the bar. Irish referee George Clancy decided to go upstairs to the TMO John Sheahan. Simon McDowell and Seán Flannery were the touch judges. However, while most people believed the kick was good, the TMO said no and the kick was, controversially, not given. As John McEnroe once asked "Am I allowed to challenge Hawkeye?"
Stcherbina undergoes neck surgery
NEWPORT GWENT Dragons centre Marc Stcherbina has undergone neck surgery in France following his injury during the team's Heineken Cup defeat against Toulouse yesterday.
The 32-year-old Australian was hurt in a tackle during Dragons' 26-7 loss.
Dragons chief executive Gethin Jenkins has remained in France with him, and Stcherbina has now been joined by his partner, Tazmin, at Toulouse's Purpan Hospital.
Jenkins explained: "Marc has had an operation to stabilise his neck following damage to a disc and a crack in a bone.
"The operation has gone well, and he has movement in his arms and legs.
"He will now undergo further tests before a decision will be taken on when he will be returned home to Wales.
"Dragons staff will remain with him, along with his partner, Tazmin, who flew out to Toulouse today."
