By John O'Sullivan
Toulouse into Heineken last eight
TOULOUSE have qualified for the Heineken Cup quarter-finals following yesterday’s convincing 33-21 bonus-point win over Harlequins.
Maximum points for the French side means Pool Five rivals Cardiff Blues and Sale Sharks now lie six points behind the three-time champions with just one round of matches to go.
Florian Fritz bagged the opening try for the hosts before second-half tries from Jean Bouilhou, Cedric Heymans and Maxime Medard eased Guy Noves’ side to victory and the knock-out stages at the Stade Ernest-Wallon.
Mike Brown and Ugo Monye (two) crossed for the visitors who suffered their fifth-successive defeat of this year’s competition.
But it is the seventh season out of eight that the French giants have reached the last eight of Europe’s premier competition.
McGovern doing well in Italy
FORMER St Mary’s College schoolboy Brian McGovern is playing this season with Venezia Mestre in the Italian Super 10 Championship and acquitting himself very well by all accounts.
Released by Connacht after his two-year development contract came to an end, the 18-stone prop, who can play on both sides of the frontrow, decided not to give up on his ambition to become a professional rugby player.
The problem for McGovern at Connacht was that he got very limited game time and there’s no question that he is profiting from his time in Italy.
A recent try scorer against Rovigo the 23-year-old McGovern – he’s 24 at the end of the month – is getting a good education in the art of the scrum from Italian, Argentine and South African veterans.
It’d be nice to think that the fact he’s shown the gumption to go and try to develop outside of Ireland would not be lost on the IRFU: hopefully it is a case of gone but not forgotten.
Rugby speak
“But I always like to see both sides of the story. I’m taking a referees course so when I criticise them I can back up what I’m saying.”
– Former England hooker and BBC pundit Brian Moore doesn’t do half measures.
“I was brought up in New Zealand and I’m proud of where I come from but I’m proud to be an Englishman as well.”
– There isn’t a trace of irony as Bath’s New Zealand-born centre Shontayne Hape reflects on his selection for the England Six Nations Championship squad having qualified on residency grounds.
“We are not just talking about earning tough away trips in Heineken Cup quarter-finals. If things go badly, there may not be an English team in the knock-out stages.”
– Sky’s rugby analyst Will Greenwood contemplates a Heineken Cup knock-out stage without English teams.
All Black legend's GAA background
ROB Kearney, Shane Horgan and the rest of the Irish players are not the only ones in European rugby competition to have played Gaelic football. While most Irish players picked up a ball and kicked it somewhere along the line, few outside of the country have.
But Keith Wood’s former team-mate, the legendary All Black backrow Zinzan Brooke, was well acquainted with the sport. When he lived in London, he played with Harlequins. The team became the first English club to win the then European Shield in 2001.
As well as rugby, though, Brooke played Gaelic football, both before and after his rugby career. Initially he was introduced to the game by fellow All Black Bernie McCahill at Auckland Gaels Gaelic Football Club and when living in London when his career was finished he also turned out for St Brendan’s of London.
Perpignan offer Hook a way out
FRENCH champions Perpignan have offered James Hook a three-year deal but the Lions and Wales player is going to have to persuade the Ospreys to let him go 15 months before his contract is due to expire.
Hook has apparently become disillusioned with life at the Liberty Stadium were he has lost his place at outhalf to 20-year-old Dan Biggar.
He’s still a part of Welsh coach Warren Gatland’s plans having won the last of his 37 caps at fullback during the November Tests.
The Ospreys have turned down one approach from the Catland club.
Out of favour
ONE-time Cork Constitution and Ireland under-21 international secondrow Shane O’Connor – he was a member of the underage national side that reached the Under-21 World Cup final in Glasgow, losing to New Zealand – has been deregistered by Harlequins in favour of centre Nils Mordt for the Heineken Cup.
O’Connor played in a few early-season games for the club and did well but hasn’t been given much of an opportunity since then. Harlequins won’t qualify for the knock-out stages of the European competition.
