Contepomi thriving in France

PLANET RUGBY:IT SEEMS there is life after Leinster for RDS favourite Felipe Contepomi. Happily recovered from the knee injury he sustained in the 2009 Heineken Cup semi-final win over Munster, the Argentine maestro has played several matches for his new club, Toulon

Reports in France suggest he is back to his best. He was the pivotal influence in Toulon’s 19-6 victory over leaders Castres.

Speaking of matters French, Leinster’s European Cup quarter-final opponents, Clermont Auvergne, lost 22-13 to relegation- threatened Bayonne. The only silver lining was the return of Benoit Baby following injury.

More than one team unbeaten

The perils of taking information at face value no matter what the source was once again emphasised when we reported in last week’s column that the DLSP J4 team was the only one to go through the season unbeaten.

That apparently is not the case.

It seems Terenure’s all-conquering J5 team and Seapoint firsts have also yet to taste defeat this season.

The Terenure squad managed 13 wins and a draw during their campaign and received their pennant recently from Leinster branch president Des Lamont.

Meanwhile, Seapoint have carried all before them in the Leinster Senior League Division 1A.

Rwandans get trip of a lifetime

HONG KONG will play host to a little bit of rugby history when Rwanda’s national team, the Silverbacks, play in the 10-a-side tournament, Kowloon RugbyFest. A 13-man squad, plus coach and manager, will make the long journey from East Africa later this month.

The Silverbacks – named after Rwanda’s signature mountain gorillas – will also benefit from training sessions with elite coaches and go to watch the world famous Hong Kong Sevens in what promises to be the rugby trip of a lifetime.

“Many of the guys have never been outside Rwanda, never seen the sea and never flown,” says Hong Kong-born rugby enthusiast and Rwanda volunteer worker Dave Hughes, who is organising the project.

“The visit will be a real eye-opener for them and hopefully something that will encourage and inspire them for the rest of their lives.”

Rugby Speak

"The most painful lessons are often the most powerful and for me that is definitely the case."

– England outhalf Jonny Wilkinson insisted he has learnt from a painful lesson handed out by the Scots when losing in 2008. Wonder how he’s feeling this morning after England managed a draw on Saturday in Edinburgh?