Quins-born lady in red risks wrath of English

BARBARA RICHARDSON will be easy to spot at Thomond Park tomorrow afternoon.

She will be the lady wearing a custom made red dress adorned with the Munster crest that has become a familiar sight to fans of the Red Army on their adventures throughout Europe.

Yet tomorrow’s Amlin Challenge Cup semi-final will be a strange occasion for one of the province’s most colourful supporters. Richardson was born and raised in the heart of Harlequins country and — whisper it — is a paid up member of the English club. But she won’t be suffering a crisis of conscience when game time swings around.

She reasoned: “You can’t go to a match and not back one of the teams, so I have had to make a decision. It’s Munster.

“And that’s even though they (Harlequins) may not let me renew my season ticket! It’s probably going to be like watching Dr Who from behind the settee. I don’t want anybody even bruised or cut and, really, I probably would just would like them to toss a coin and say that Munster won it. As far as Harlequins are concerned, I’m going to their end of season dinner; they might well seat me at a table on my own!”

Richardson’s support for Munster began with a trip to watch former Quins player Paul Burke line out for the province. She was hooked and her allegiances quickly shifted across the Irish Sea.

Her reasoning? “I have made a lot of friends, and I feel privileged to have had access to so many great and decent players. I have been given a fantastic welcome by so many people in Munster. I’ve had a guy like Paul (O’Connell), a Lions captain, get off the bus just to say hello to me. That’s something that makes following them worthwhile.”