If Eddie won’t change his personal tactics, the bell will toll once more

I WOULD like to apologise to readers for my seriously inaccurate column that appeared on this page on the first Friday of September.

In it, I praised the Irish rugby team, comparing its attitude to that of Roy Keane — a winner — and predicted that it would make a serious challenge for the 2007 World Cup.

Clearly, I was very wrong, as befits someone who never played at a higher level than the Sundays Well seconds, and that was 20 years ago. That’ll teach me to stick my neck out. But I know lots of people who have played at the very highest level and who are analysts now with detailed knowledge of the game.