PETER JACKSON on Monday: IRFU have €4m reasons to celebrate

The last time Ireland won back-to-back titles, they sailed home from Liverpool to Dun Laoghaire carrying nothing much more than the clothes they wore. And they travelled third class, with the selectors in first.

When Karl Mullen’s team disembarked that Monday morning 66 years ago after clinching a second successive Five Nations crown in Swansea, nobody batted an eyelid. Paul O’Connell and his conquering heroes flew home yesterday having earned substantially more than the nation’s acclamation.

The gleaming trophy reaffirming their official status as the third best team in the world carries a first prize for the IRFU of more than €4,000,000. The players’ bonus for retaining their status as champions of Europe is understood to be around €45,000-a-man.