Present Tense »

• Bye Eddie. It’s not you, it’s us. OK then, it’s you…

  March 20, 2008 @ 10:18 am | by Shane Hegarty

  We had some good times together. The rainswept night at Lansdowne when we destroyed the Australians. Winning the first of our recent Triple Crowns (don’t say it didn’t mean something to you). Beating England four times on the bounce.

  But it’s over now. It had been drifting for some time now, we both knew that. It had become stale, familiar. The seven-year itch was kicking in. We had hoped for so much more, but perhaps we expected too much. We had some fun, but it was never going to last. It’s time to move on, to get on with our lives. For the sake of the kids.

  As a mark of respect, we shall be wearing our collars at half-mast today.

• Ireland v Wales: some observations

  March 10, 2008 @ 8:05 am | by Shane Hegarty

  1) Boy, did the novelty of Croke Park wear off quick. The Moon has had more atmosphere over the past few weeks.

  2) If they must insist on the irritating practise of playing music at crucial moments – Carmina Burana when the team runs out; a bit of racy diddly-eye when Ireland scores – then they should carry through the idea fully. Some Russian funeral music when we concede; Beck’s Loser when we traipse off defeated; the Laurel and Hardy theme tune whenever Bernard Jackman lumbers on the pitch.

  3) It was €70 for a ticket. The match in Paris cost €32 for an almost identical view as the one I had at Croke Park this season. Presumably, when the IRFU gets its own stadium back and doesn’t have to do the lodger thing anymore, the ticket prices will come down. Yes … and they’ll have marshmallow cushions and free massages too.

  4) One good result: they’ve been working hard to get the time down between the teams running on the pitch and the match starting. They shaved a full minute off it on Saturday, cutting the preamble to only 14 mins. It’s hard to identify where the time was made up, but it’s possible that Mary McAleese has been working hard on the Stairmaster.

• Welsh take the mick out of us

  February 28, 2008 @ 9:34 am | by Shane Hegarty

  Can we declare war?

  

• Ireland v Scotland: after all the hanging around

  February 26, 2008 @ 10:12 am | by Shane Hegarty

  Back to the weekend’s rugby, for a moment. Some observations.

  Before we get to the match itself, by the end of the eight and a half hours of broadcasting, didn’t George Hook look knackered?

  Like a drunk at closing time. Or a fighter in the corner as the bell goes for the last round. He roused himself as much as possible, but it was clear that a marathon bout had taken its toll.

  Now, to Croke Park. (more…)