Bring on the boys in black and blue

European Cup Diary: Trevor Brennan looks forward eagerly to next Saturday and the long-awaited visit to the Stade  unicipal of his former Leinster team-mates.

I would like to begin this column with a response to an article about me in a Sunday newspaper over the weekend. Normally, the occasional expletive in an interview is deleted and doesn't see the light of day, but to be honest I was embarrassed by the language used in quotes of mine.

I'm also a little weary of the stereotypical image of me. It's old, overused and one-sided. There are many layers to Trevor Brennan. I am no Cinderella man. Jaysus, I didn't even have two ugly sisters.

Now to the rugby. To the Irish team who won the Triple Crown: I take my hat off to all and I will gladly sit at home and cheer for you while you represent your country so well. I have been honoured to wear the green jersey. I have lived the dream and I hope the dream continues for all of you.

While the French were celebrating their Six Nations title Ireland were in the English back garden celebrating a win and another Triple Crown, and in Toulouse the Top 14 continued.

We've had six games since the pool stages of the Heineken Cup were completed, and have won four of them, the most recent against Agen at home last Friday night.

With all our internationals back they didn't have much time to celebrate their tournament win, but it was good to see them all back working and training the Monday after their Six Nations success. No rest for them.

Because the players are contracted to the clubs and not centrally contracted, they were also available for the Narbonne and Toulon games on the free weekends in the Six Nations, but I think it's important to stress how well some of the younger guys did in their absence.

For example, the week before last we travelled to Perpignan and were only just beaten, 15-13. This is not an easy place to go even with a full team.

This is Catalan country, remember, and you definitely know you're in a different part of France when you go there. They speak their own language and they do believe they have a separate identity from the rest of France.

You know you're in Perpignan as soon as you've arrived there because every building and every shop proudly carries the colours of the team. They are very passionate about their team and I don't know whether they're all given a free flag when they go to the Stade Aime Giral on matchdays but if it's a 13,500 capacity, I'd say 13,495 have blood and gold flags.

We scored the game's only try, and I was over the line myself but their hooker managed to get his arm underneath the ball. The television pundits also reckoned we had a legitimate penalty by Jean Dubois, which cleared the top of the posts, but the touch judges didn't award it.

For myself I told the younger lads this was a great opportunity for them and there was no need to have any fear. It was great to see everyone put their bodies on the line the way they did. We defended very well and they were reliant on five kicks, scoring a late penalty to win 15-13.

Guy Noves doesn't normally congratulate the team when we lose but he did that day. In the dressing-room afterwards he pulled us into a huddle to say how proud he was of us.

The Top 14 is enormously important for the French players and public alike, and there is a huge amount of pressure on us to obtain a top-four finish and a place in the semi-final play-offs. The leading six or seven clubs are quite closely bunched and if you lose one game it can drop you out of the play-off spots.

Luckily, we have things outside of rugby to relieve that pressure. Music, for instance. From rock 'n' roll to opera. Starting with the rock 'n' roll, a few weeks ago I got a call from Daniel Ryan, who is a friend of Denis Hickie's. Daniel is a member of a band called The Thrills, who were supporting the Oasis gig in Toulouse, the title of which was Don't Believe The Truth.

He asked me if I'd like to go to the gig, so when Ireland played Italy earlier in the day I met him in the bar for a late breakfast and a few pints.

We shared a few stories and a few laughs about our respective careers, and according to Daniel and the other four lads in The Thrills, rugby is the new rock 'n' roll. They never stopped talking to me about past matches and told me any free time they have from gigging and touring they're at matches. I was amazed.

Thankfully, none of them are built like rugby players, as I had to fit all five of them and their manager in my Peugeot 407 - two in the front, three in the back and one in the boot - to get them to their concert in the Zenith Stadium. That's rock 'n' roll for you.

What a gig! They gave me 12 free tickets and even dedicated a song to me.

Paraic McMahon, their base player, squeezed into one of my Toulouse shirts for the occasion. Actually, he was swimming in it, but he wore it for the whole gig. I thoroughly enjoyed it, as did my friends.

As for the opera, what a contrast! We happen to have a 120-kilo Argentinian prop who could give Pavarotti a run for his money. Omar Hasan played his first solo concert, Tang'Omar, last week in front of 300 guests. Although it was more Spanish tango, he is training to be an opera singer. Accompanied by a pianist, Roger Pouly, he sang 20 songs in an hour and a half. What a voice! What a performer!

He began with El Ultimo Café and continued with Adios Muchachos. I discovered that Omar can not only sing, but he can dance also. He should go a long way. C'etait vachement bon.

Well, the European Cup, and we're playing Leinster. It had to happen eventually, I suppose, but it is still some turnaround when you think of it.

I've played with Leinster teams at underage level and six years at senior level.

Funnily enough, I made my European Cup debut for Leinster against Toulouse in 1997 at Donnybrook, and it's a game that's still talked about over here; especially the general havoc I caused that particular day. I was taken off with 10 minutes to go, by which stage I'd still done enough to be named man of the match, putting Christophe Deylaud out of the game and getting sinbinned as well.

This time, nine years on, I'll be wearing the red and black against my old team and some of my old team-mates. It took four years playing here for that to happen. I am trying to convince my doubting Toulouse team-mates that I am 110 per cent Stade Toulousain now.

I suppose, if I'm being honest, I'll just try and treat it like any other game. A must-win game, and another step toward a European Cup medal, the ultimate goal. Bienvenu, Leinster.

PS: On July 21st, my own family and the O'Neill family in Leixlip are holding a "golf day" in the Garda's Westmanstown Golf Club in aid of The Friends of the Irish Meningitis Research Foundation.

I've already lined up two teams from France and I hope a lot of my friends and acquaintances in the rugby and sporting world will lend their support.

The entry fee is €1,000 for each team of four, which I know sounds a lot, but it's only €250 per person and it's for a good cause close to the hearts of both families.

As well as a round of golf, there will be entertainment, dinner and prizes that night in the clubhouse.

Anyone interested can contact either Ronnie Brennan at 086 1725700 or Fergal O'Neill at 087 6930549. Your support would be greatly appreciated.

Trevor Brennan's regular European Cup column can be read at www.ercrugby.com