The path has cleared for Robbie Henshaw to don the Ireland 13 jersey many believe he was born to wear, but the Ireland management want the pressure to stay off the Connacht youngster as long as possible.

Felix Jones is not in the business of counting the minutes he gets in an Ireland jersey, but he has 80 of them to make an impression when he lines out at full-back against Georgia tomorrow.

Brian O’Driscoll says he could never understand or accept why people from Leinster would support Munster in the early years of the Heineken Cup.

“It is difficult to know yourself,” Van Gogh once wrote, about self-portraits, “but it isn’t easy to paint yourself either.”

You used to refer to a jar of Bovril as something you either love or you hate, the same can be said about the most famous beard in rugby.

Triple Crowns weren’t high on the agenda when Jonathan Sexton began life as an international but the Racing Metro out-half would dearly love to claim the honour when Ireland face England at Twickenham on Saturday week.

It can’t be easy filling in for arguably the greatest Irish player of a generation but Brendan Macken has not done a bad job covering for Brian O’Driscoll this past fortnight.

There were mixed emotions at the end of a frustrating day at the Aviva Stadium when goal-kicking proved the difference and injuries threatened to derail Ireland’s remaining Six Nations ambitions.

James Coughlan has promised Munster will not lack aggression at the breakdown as they aim to avenge Leinster for their RaboDirect Pro12 defeat at the Aviva Stadium last November.

DECLAN KIDNEY, inthe company of his coaching assistants, spent most of yesterday making the final adjustments to his Rugby World Cup squad, completing a measured process that wasn’t fuelled by last-minute panic or even altogether influenced by the results of the last three weeks. Adrenaline, he said in the aftermath of the 22-26 loss to France, is for the players.

DECLAN KIDNEY will seek further clarification from International Rugby Board referees’ manager Paddy O’Brien following a day of frustration in Rome at the whistle of French referee Romain Poite.

THERE were no insults and no fresh wounds opened yesterday as Felipe Contepomi assessed an Irish fly-half.

SCORING three tries in two Test matches in the space of a fortnight will take some beating for rugby-mad 22-year-old Keith Earls but yesterday he again found himself in the limelight as the Grand Marshal of the Limerick St Patrick’s Day Parade.

Keith Earls will start Ireland's Six Nations game against Scotland on the wing again, something he doesn't mind as he says he is learning about the position from Tommy Bowe, who he says is "one of the best wingers in the world".

WELL, we might as well get the big question out of the way early doors.

IT PROMISES to be one of the mouthwatering head to heads in the 2010 RBS Six Nations Championship. In one corner you have the best player in the world in 2009, Ireland captain Brian O’Driscoll. Facing him is one of rugby’s most controversial and yet potentially most explosive players, France’s Mathieu Bastareaud.

A QUICK study of Leinster centre Fergus McFadden’s rugby CV reveals the extraordinary statistic that he has played more often for Ireland than Leinster.

AS Leinster bring back some heavy hitters for Friday’s Magners League clash with the Ospreys at the Liberty Stadium, it’s fair to assume defence coach Kurt McQuilkin has put the players through the wringer this week.

FOR 10, long dispiriting years, Brian O’Driscoll has toiled in the cause of Leinster.

JONATHON SEXTON has gone through some tough times with Leinster, but he’s still prepared to place his future in the hands of Michael Cheika.

Defence coach Alan Gaffney believes Ireland remain in peak physical condition as they pursue a first Grand Slam in more than 60 years.

Ireland backs coach Alan Gaffney expects his RBS 6 Nations title-chasers will have more space to manoeuvre against Scotland than in their defence-dominated win over England.

THE 2008 RBS Six Nations Championship may be only two games old, but Brian O’Driscoll’s form has never come under so much scrutiny since the day he first broke onto the senior side on tour in Australia in 1999.

BRIAN O’DRISCOLL was refreshingly open at the captain’s table in Killiney yesterday — from thoughts on life without Gordon, to candidly relating how the negative reaction to Saturday’s win over Italy impacts upon the squad, and explaining why there is “freshness” in camp despite rumours of players working in a stale environment.

THE two surprises in the French team for tonight’s game see David Marty preferred to Yannick Jauzion in the centre and Sebastian Chabal’s selection in the second-row.

THERE’S a cameraman with UTV, a gregarious blonde-locked man called Albert Kirk, and before Saturday’s monumental match against England, he was doing a few tricks in the Croke Park press-room to relieve the tedium of the Scotland/Italy game on television.

PAUL McKENZIE will start the biggest game of his short career when he lines-out against Leinster in the eagerly-awaited Magners League clash at Ravenhill this evening (7.30pm).

NOWHERE to run, nowhere to hide. As the rain came pelting into their tanned faces in the final quarter of Sunday’s international in Lansdowne Road there was surely only one thought running through the heads of the beleaguered Aussies — please referee, blow it up.

Barry Coughlan

As past tournaments have proved, The Ryder Cup seems to bring out something special in Irish golfers, writes Charlie Mulqueen, Oakland Hills.