IN ONE sense, South African rugby star Jean de Villiers didn’t time his arrival in Ireland that well.

LAST WEEK Muhammad Ali came to town.

IS THERE any irony to be mined from the tributes being paid to Cork County Board secretary, Frank Murphy, falling on the anniversary of the outbreak of World War II?

SPARE a thought this morning for the domesticated fauna of the state of Minnesota. News broke this week of an incident involving a goat, some paint and an electric razor which was enough to bring tears to the eyes.

LIAM HAYES patrolled the middle of the field for Meath for many years, and now his weekly column in The Sunday Tribune is essential reading.

LAST Wednesday, I rang a pal who’s seen more than his fair share of inter-county training sessions with a proposition.

MORTAL after all?

THE first thing that probably strikes you looking at Munster’s best hurling team of the last 25 years – an initiative between the Munster Council of the GAA and the Irish Examiner – is the illustration of various eras within the province.

TONY BROWNE plays for Waterford against Kilkenny this Sunday in the All-Ireland SHC semi-final. He’s 36.

IMMORTALITY comes with a reddish crew cut. Waterford beat Galway yesterday by the width of a singlet, with John Mullane’s late, late point putting a spear in maroon hearts, as their manager said afterwards.