Fidler on the hoof

"I FEEL that among all the Gloucester players he is the fittest and most certainly hot totty." So says the nameless (presumably female) fan on the www.robfidlerfans website.

And when she says 'fittest' she is not referring to his score in the bleep test. The message also says a lot about the social background of English rugby fans, 'most certainly hot totty' is not a phrase you come across too often on soccer websites.

Rob Fidler of Gloucester and England is not a name well-known to Irish rugby supporters. It is easy to find higher profile players at Kingsholm. There's Henry Paul, the ex-rugby league star from New Zealand whose switch to union and subsequent selection for England caused such a furore last season.