IRFU pull the plug

Planet RugbyTG4 last night screened a documentary on the national anthem entitled Amhrán na bhFiann - Sa Bhearna Bhaol, in which, as part of the programme, George Hook and Fintan O'Toole made some uncomplimentary observations about Irish rugby's adopted anthem, Ireland's Call.

Apparently, the IRFU took umbrage over this and as a consequence pulled all footage of their rugby players. "They felt it wasn't complimentary enough for them," reveals a TG4 source.

Among the clips taken out of the documentary was footage of Jerry Flannery and John Hayes crying in Croke Park while singing Amhrán na bhFiann.

Nice work, gentlemen. Good to see perestroika, glasnost, freedom of speech, open debate and all the rest of it are alive and well in 62 Lansdowne Road.

Numbers tell the tale

ERC's granting of a 9pm kick-off on a Sunday for the Toulouse-Leinster game didn't go down well with Leinster supporters, and assuredly reduced their numbers by several thousand.

This was at the behest of Canal+, as in France evening kick-offs, even on a Sunday, are regarded as prime television slots compared to afternoons.

With regard to 9pm kick-offs, as the French also demonstrated during the World Cup, they clearly don't believe in affording supporters much opportunity to socialise afterwards.

An ERC spokesperson makes the point that while Leinster supporters would have had to take Monday off work to attend last night's game, "travelling supporters would have to take Fridays off work if a game is held on Friday night."

Nevertheless, coupled with Thursday evening kick-offs at the behest of Sky - albeit granting welcome exposure to the European Challenge Cup - it is clear that paying spectators come well down the food chain.

As for television viewers, it's interesting to note that 30,000 watched Leinster's game against Leicester last weekend in Ireland live on Sky Sports, whereas 110,000 watched the highlights that night on RTÉ.

Says a lot really.

Fans see funny side

With regard to the apparent booing of Irish coach Eddie O'Sullivan during that Leinster-Leicester match at the RDS, one reader who attended the game puts the episode into some context. Throughout much of the second half there was apparently an on-running row at the back of the South Stand involving a spectator(s) who had sought to keep a ball kicked into the crowd by Felipe Contepomi when landing a penalty and a Leinster official and some stewards attempting to retrieve the ball.

At the same time as O'Sullivan appeared on the big screen, a further four or five stewards were making their way up to the back of the stand and were booed.

Whatever about the extent to which the Irish coach was or was not booed by some of the Leinster crowd, it was good to hear the previous night in Ravenhill that some Ulster fans were retaining their humour despite their team slumping to a 32-14 defeat to Gloucester.

Although the game had long since been lost, a group of Ulster fans stationed in front of O'Sullivan took every replacement by Mark McCall as an opportunity to observe: "Eddie, that's how you do it. It's called a replacement."

Learning their lines

Some of the Toulouse first-team squad were a bit bemused when turning up early for training on Saturday and catching sight of their under-18s playing their Albi counterparts. With the Toulouse youngsters running up over a century of points despite taking off players and declining conversions long before the end, their coach Trevor Brennan used the game to try out a few ploys for harder tests ahead.

Well into the second half, having scored three of their tries off garryowens, Brennan had the team primed to join in a 15-man lineout.

"They were a bit puzzled, but we had practised it and it was amazing to see all the backs get the hang of it, putting their heads in the right place. They really worked it and rumbled it in from the 22-metre line."

Watching former team-mates asked him where he came up with the idea.

"Ah, it's a move I picked up along the way," he quipped.

Pink City blues

Toulouse has become a popular haunt for Irish rugby supporters in the last five or six years, and in particular has become a regular haunt for stag parties on match weekends such as this one. Among the several hundred Leinster fans who made their way to the Pink City this weekend was a group of 16 on a stag weekend for Eoin McCormack, the St Mary's scrumhalf and brother of Leinster prop Ronnie, just returning from a shoulder injury to club rugby.

The only slight hitch to their weekend is that McCormack, who is due to marry Suzanne Burke on December 29th, doesn't drink. "Or at least he didn't before he came away this week," commented one of his companions in arms. "Apparently he tried a drink once but didn't like it. Somebody should have told him it's an acquired taste."

Damages precedent

Damian Hopley, the chief executive of the Professional Rugby Players' Association, has warned of a "very dangerous precedent" after the former England hooker Phil Greening was ordered to pay damages to Aurélien Rougerie over an onfield incident more than five years ago.

Greening, capped 24 times before his retirement in 2005, was ordered to pay €40,500 in damages after the Clermont Auvergne and France winger sustained a throat injury following a hand-off by Greening in a pre-season match in 2002.

Rougerie had initially sued for €90,000 after undergoing three operations related to the injury.

Hopley told the Daily Mailhe was worried about the ramifications of the verdict: "This is very shocking for the game - it sets a very dangerous precedent in a full-contact sport. Because of that there is bound to be widespread concern at this ruling."

This week in words

"The Clermont Auvergne halfbacks are like a sign you would see in a Tesco special offer. Pic and Bai."

- Jim Glennon on Newstalk Radio last Friday.

"There'll be nobody buying after today though."

- Glennon yesterday, following Munster's 36-13 win.

"We were physically dominated - we were bullied the whole game and I thought the referee got bullied as well."

- Former England coach Andy Robinson after his Edinburgh side were beaten 39-0 by Leicester.

"It was our best performance of the season without a shadow of a doubt and against a very good side. The biggest sign of respect we could have paid Ray (Gravell) was to come here and play some hard-nosed tough rugby, just the way he liked it."

- Shaun Edwards, the Wasps assistant coach, after their 33-17 win over Llanelli.

"A blip remains a blip if nothing's blipping done about the blip."

- An ex-player's observation about the IRFU's review process.