When red meets blue, friendship goes out the window

Convention tells us that, for 80 minutes at Lansdowne Road this evening, men who are good friends and teammates on international weeks will put aside their friendships and substitute them with animosities born of blood.

That may be but it is hard not to think that for the likes of Donncha O’Callaghan and Brian O’Driscoll there must be an element of comfort in the sight of the grizzled old vet in the trench opposite.

Winning may be everything in sports but simply taking part is something which all players – no matter their age – should still appreciate, not least the professionals wearing red and blue in a Dublin suburb this evening.