PLANET RUGBY: UNTIL SATURDAY the English side, according to the RBS statistics, had not lost a single lineout or scrum in the matches they had played in the Championship. Clearly their set-piece play had been one of the small success stories of this group of players. Ireland had lost four lineouts.
But where the Italians and the Welsh failed against England, Paul O'Connell succeeded after five minutes and 56 minutes when he nicked the third English throw. Then after 18 minutes and 56 seconds Ireland won a scrum against the head.
And on the issue of statistics, are we harping on too much now about England's 10 yellow cards in four games? Far from antagonising referees, which is what one former England player did last week, Clive Woodward always made sure he had a referee at his training camps to keep the players acutely abreast of the rules and consequences of breaking them.
Steve Lander was the man. Maybe they should dig out his phone number.
Food for thought and bafflement
THANKS BRIAN. We're easily confused, so we've confused some more food aphorisms with their authors. Who said what?
"Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad."
"No man in the world has more courage than the man who can stop after eating one peanut."
"Welcome to the Church of the Holy Cabbage. Lettuce pray."
"When the seagulls follow a trawler it's because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea."
"He was a bold man who first swallowed an oyster."
Answers from: Channing Pollock, Brian O'Driscoll (indirectly), James I, Anonymous, Eric Cantona.
* EXCHANGE OF the Month has to be the post-match conversation between Declan Kidney and Tracy Piggott.
Looking towards their fourth game of the Six Nations in Murrayfield, Kidney made an observation about the opposition.
"I've never met a soft Scot," said Kidney.
"Neither have I," replied Piggott.
Gardaí get heave on at Dubarry Park
RECESSION YES, but the cheering public never thought that it would get so bad at Dubarry Park on Friday night after the Ireland A clash with their English counterparts.
Irish and English fans whooped and clapped as three uniformed gardaí jumped out of their patrol car in the rugby ground's car park and began pushing.
They finally reached the gain line and got the engine turning before chugging their merry way towards Athlone, to an enthusiastic round of applause.
* IN THE old days the Irish and English press used play a friendly match. Hands of friendship between countries and all that. It doesn't happen anymore, and when you look around the press box in Croke Park you can see why.
On Saturday those milling around included Neil Francis, David Humphreys, Ryan Constable, Donal Lenihan, Eddie Butler, Paul Ackford, Emmett Byrne, John Kelly, Stuart Barnes, Tony Ward, Hugo McNeil, Austin Healy and Matt Dawson. Poachers turned gamekeepers in more than a few instances.
Saracens to get South African look
FORMER LONDON Irish centre and new Saracens director of rugby Brendan Venter has denied he is trying to poach South African players to join him at the English club, claiming rather that he wants to "create a rugby home for South Africans".
Saracens' squad was plunged into a state of uncertainty with the news that 15 of the 38 senior players were to be released at the end of the season, including former All Black Chris Jack and the club's longest serving player, Kevin Sorrell.
It is believed that many of the released players will be replaced with Springboks as the South African owners - who also have stakes in Super 14 sides the Sharks and the Stormers - pursue a policy of tapping into the potential South African fan-base in London.
According to South African Sunday newspaper Sondag, Springboks Schalk Burger, Jean de Villiers and Schalk Brits have been approached.
De Villiers and Burger turned down the advances.
Nick not nicked
THE GRANDMOTHER of England secondrow and former basketball star Nick Kennedy was from Limerick, and had he wanted he could have declared for Ireland. Indeed, former Ireland coach Eddie O'Sullivan sought him out for such a career move.
Playing with former Blackrock boy Bob Casey at London Irish you might have thought would have been a good advertisement for the Irish game. Then again, Casey had been ignored by Ireland and O'Sullivan for so long maybe the unsaid views of a truly exiled player seeped through to the now thoroughly English Kennedy.
Johnson takes a carpet beating
MUNSTER PLAYING Leicester in Welford Road a few years ago in the Heineken Cup and Ronan O'Gara kicks a winning penalty from the halfway line.
Martin Johnson, then retired, although never retiring, and supporting his beloved club, is walking from his seat in the stand towards the tunnel.
"Hey Martin," screams a fella with a Cork accent, a Munster scarf around his neck and a raspberry face. "Do you want to buy a red carpet . . . it's only half-used."
