Few positives as red rose get back on track

WE had our plans about what we wanted to do and where we wanted to go but circumstances overtook us, as they overtook quite a few people last Saturday.

A comparison between Ronan O’Gara and Jonny Wilkinson to provide the meat of our piece, maybe, with a side dressing of form lines and World Cup prospects, but that was wiped from the menu in the 21st minute of the game, of which more anon.

Perhaps we should have known. Saturday was unusual from the moment this column got on the train. The number of gents sporting the red rose — collected at all points along the track between Charleville and Portlaoise, it seemed — was a surprise, for one thing. Who knew about the sleeper cells of Home Counties rugger fans deep undercover in the midlands? In Dublin there was something that didn’t gel either. Whether that was because of the scattered Donegal cars with accompanying green-and-gold flags, which signalled that time was a little out of joint for a rugby international, or the eye-rolling attempts in the Aviva to generate an atmosphere ... the chap in the middle of the field with the microphone must have been happy when he looked for arms in the air: there was no shortage of hand gestures being made near this spectator.