LIKE Steve Staunton at the start of an ill-fated stint in charge of the Boys in Green, Mary Coughlan can — for the foreseeable future — tell teachers, their unions and their schools: “I’m the gaffer…”

The Boys in Green can expect a tough test in tomorrow's friendly at Thomond Park, according to Australia manager Pim Verbeek.

The Republic of Ireland will kick-off their UEFA 2011 Under-21 European Championship qualifying campaign with a home fixture against Turkey in March.

Ireland 58 Switzerland 86

TRAWL through your memories of Ireland’s famous away days of the recent past and games like Copenhagen and Seville in ‘93 or Amsterdam and Lisbon in 2001 probably come somewhere near the top of the list.

THE Know Racism campaign has succeeded in making Irish people more tolerant of cultural differences, its chairman said yesterday.