The New Boys

The plastic Paddy debate may rage but the way Richardt Strauss belted out Amhrán na bhFiann ahead of his Test debut at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday evening suggests playing for Ireland is no mere flag of convenience for a rugby mercenary.

Nor too the scrummaging of tight head prop Michael Bent, the newly arrived New Zealand-born grandson of an Irish woman who has barely had time to pass even Jack Charlton’s residency test of downing a pint of Guinness but who packed down with gusto following his 71st-minute introduction off the replacement’s bench. Bent, 26, won a penalty against the powerful Springbok front row at the first opportunity and continued to hold his side of the scrum up for the remaining minutes of the game to complete an impressive early introduction to his grandmotherland.

“In fairness to Michael he’s come in from nowhere, he’s held up his front and managed on two scrums to get a penalty off one of them,” Ireland coach Declan Kidney said of Bent. “Look, Michael, it’s been difficult for him. I think there’s been a lot of publicity around Michael Bent’s name coming into it but we needed to get somebody in there and for the last 10 minutes he’s come in and done a job and fair play to him for that.”