Ireland look to boost Triple Crown hopes with a museum-worthy win

Moss Keane was forever struck by the numbers of displaced Irish working people resident in north London whom he was representing whenever he pulled on a green jersey

HISTORIC: Referee Alan Hosie signals a try scored by Gerry McLoughlin at Twickenham in 1982.

OF all the bucket list destinations out there a trip to the world rugby museum at Twickenham might not be every Irish citizen’s first pick. Which is a shame. Yes, there are a few sepia-dipped images of olde English heroes with huge moustaches but any supporters over for Saturday’s big game will also discover some significant emerald-tinted artefacts.

There is the jersey, for example, worn by the Irish forward Harold Sugars in his country’s first international against South Africa in 1906, when Sugars scored two tries but Ireland still lost. There is also a salute to the evergreen (in every sense) Mike Gibson while Noel Murphy’s jersey from the 1959 Lions tour of New Zealand, complete with the jagged holes inflicted by assorted All Black studs, needs no additional subtitles.