Prepared to dye for the cause

A riot of colour, blues, greens, reds, all intermingling on a soggy canvas. It was a washing powder salesman's dream at Lansdowne Road on Saturday. Someone had removed the wet paint sign with catastrophic results.

The French impressionists preferred the understated look, a hint of colour discreetly applied, the occasional flourish to bring out that flushed complexion. The Ireland players, in contrast, harboured no such qualms; after all they were at home among friends, 49,000 of them shoehorned into Lansdowne Road eagerly anticipating the Spring collection, a four-part series.

Keith Wood favoured a bold and dashing fashion statement in launching the new season - body painting. Without considering his own safety, he plunged headlong into a giant Lloyd's TSB Bank logo on the halfway line, emerging with his stubbled pate resembling a giant blue gooseberry.

The IRFU, never an organisation to miss out on a marketing opportunity, immediately dispatched a white towel to preserve the moment in a Shroud of Killaloe keepsake, £5.99 at the IRFU shop.

Wood's fashion statement sent his peers scurrying for a similar look, preparing to dye for the cause. Some had no choice hopelessly caught in the glare of a gigantic Nissan logo. Eric Miller still bears the scars, garish red streaks that may defeat even the most potent non-biological powder.

Professionalism's latest manifestation, on-pitch advertising, literally added colour to Saturday's international. Lloyd's TSB Bank, sponsors of the Five Nations championship, decided to advertise in the most obvious manner.

For the first time ever at Lansdowne Road, logos were allowed on the playing surface as opposed to just in the in-goal area. One logo monopolised the halfway line, another an area between the 10 and 22 metres lines at the Lansdowne Road end.

While Lloyd's TSB sponsor the tournament and therefore have title rights, Nissan paid the IRFU £25,000 to secure their canvas. The arrangement would have been ideal for all parties concerned were it not for the Irish weather and the national trait of prevarication.

Work on the painting did not begin until late on Friday: this, coupled with excessive overnight rain produced disastrous results, leaving more than the players red-faced.

A spokesperson for the IRFU conceded: "The paint went on a bit late and that coupled with the excessive overnight rain meant that the logos had not dried adequately. It was just an unfortunate combination of circumstances."

The sponsors were content to shrug off the setback, pointing out that the exact same artwork was laid down at Murrayfield where there were no such problems.

They also added that there was no danger to the players from the paint, a fact of which they were very conscious when deciding on this form of advertising. They were adamant that they would take note of public reaction and were keen to point out that there will be no repeat of the scenes last Saturday.

No harm done then, just the minor irritation for the IRFU of having to supply some turpentine along with the carbolic soap in the showers.