Daly's special award

Planet Rugby / Compiled by John O'Sullivan: Irishman Ken Daly, a native of Dublin and coach to the Boston College Rugby Football Club in the US, has been conferred with the Rev William J Donlon Special Achievement Award for his 37 years of service as a coach to both the men's and women's rugby teams at the university.

Daly is recognised for his role as an ambassador of the sport of rugby at Boston College (BC) since 1968. During that time he has introduced the game to 1,200 students, coaching them in more than 2,000 games and winning better than 70 per cent of those contests. He has been also instrumental in the growth in the popularity of rugby at university level in the north-eastern part of the States.

The Boston College women's team has played in the National Championship three times, winning in 1992 and finishing runners-up in '91 and '94. Furthermore, five players (men and women) have earned All-America honours.

Daly coached both Boston College rugby teams in the autumn and spring of each year until 1991, when he relinquished the men's team. The 2005 women's spring team was the 100th squad he coached at the college.

Ken, one of a family of 10 brothers and sisters, grew up in Swords in north Co Dublin. He emigrated to the US in 1960, working with Aer Lingus at Logan Airport, Boston, until his retirement in 1994. He and his wife, Rosalie, raised three children - Kendra, Tara and Brendan. Sadly, Rosalie passed away in 1996 after a battle with lung cancer.

He began playing rugby at the age of eight as an outhalf and played as a student at Belvedere and Rockwell colleges. He entered the shipping business in Dublin and then travelled to North America. He had never coached until a chance meeting with some BC students who were attempting to play the game on a field in Cleveland some 37 years ago. He appears to have done okay since.

Clive on the web

It seems that Lions coach Clive Woodward's woes are not quite at an end. His assertion that they were the best-prepared unit in the touring side's history was debunked by New Zealand during the summer. Now according to the Rugbyenews website it appears they weren't the smartest.

The acclaimed Southern Hemisphere rugby website claimed to have obtained handwritten notes belonging to Woodward or one of his assistant coaches while attending the Auckland club rugby final at Eden Park three weeks after the dead rubber international between the Lions and the All Blacks.

"A notepad from the Hilton Hotel, where the Lions were based for the duration of the 11-match tour, featuring comments scribbled in pencil, was left behind in the coaches' box. The notes include reminders pertaining to the hakka (sic): Full tracksuit and the players remaining on the field after the match for the official presentation of the Lions series trophy to All Black skipper Tana Umaga.

Tellingly, the final annotations (written in capital letters) read: PLAY, NO IF ONLYS and NO MORE VIDEO BREAKDOWN."

Rugbyenews.com contacted a leading New Zealand handwriting analyst who described the writer as a "self-sufficient introvert who actually needs no other person to survive. They truly believe they have the answer. They are pessimists, procrastinators, easily irritated, and could be blunt and stubborn." The website goes on to venture. "The last two traits apply to Woodward, who stands out as the likely creator of the notes, but he's certainly no pessimist. After all, this is the man who told everyone that the best side actually lost when both England and the British and Irish Lions were hammered in New Zealand in 2004 and 2005."

The analyst continued. "This is a complex person who maybe is a law unto himself. He/she will never give up easily. You would never really know what they were thinking and hence would be difficult to get to know."

Anniversary match

Limerick Institute of Technology rugby team will attend a civic reception in Derry today, ahead of a match against the University of Ulster in a game to mark the 125th anniversary celebrations of City of Derry rugby club. The Limerick students are the current All-Ireland Colleges rugby champions.

LIT will face a team comprising players from the Universities of Magee, Coleraine and Jordanstown in this special game. The Limerick side can call upon a number of high-profile players, including Conan Doyle, the current Garryowen and Ireland under-21 outhalf. He has already played for the Munster senior side this season in the Celtic League.

They also have Fergal Lawlor the Ireland under-19 captain, Pat O'Connor and Brian Moran, son of Denis Ogie Moran, former Kerry captain and member of the famous Kerry four-in-a-row team. The match will take place today at Judge's Road with a 2pm kick-off.

Resplendent Aussies

The Australian rugby team will be looking resplendent in their new jerseys ahead of their arrival at Lansdowne Road. The Wallabies will sport the new design for all four Tests in Europe. Unlike the last alteration that caused a mini-uproar about eight years ago and was met in Australia with widespread opposition, this one has been custom-made by Canterbury in close consultation with senior Wallabies such as Lote Tuqiri, George Smith and Phil Waugh.

The green hoops are removed from the sleeves and replaced with a green, stretchable panel under the sleeves and down the side of the jersey. The new stretch panelling is designed to provide greater freedom of movement and help reduce jersey tackles.

Waugh enthused: "It's a fantastic new design. It's important for the team to feel proud of the jersey; we are sure the fans will love it just as much."

Rugby insults

"More Eric Sykes than Eric Bristow." - The London Independent's rugby correspondent Chris Hewett in reference to England hooker Steve Thompson.

"In his guest appearance on Hell's Kitchen Henson was startled by the revelation that the turbot was a fish rather than a souped-up car." - Donald McRae in the Guardian.

"I'd rather crawl across broken glass naked than speak to Will Carling." - Dick Best in a newspaper article no doubt still recalling the fact Harlequins sacked him following a dressingroom revolt led by Carling.

"The sidestep is the small man's act of retribution. In a game of big men this is the one moment of revenge." - Former Lions and Welsh legend Gerald Davies.

"A fuse deliberately seeking a match." The Guardian's Robert Kitson's description of Bath and England secondrow Danny Grewcock.

Taken from The Big Book of More Sports Insults by Jonathan L'Estrange.