Trap fails again to catch the Skinny Rat

WITH The Strapping Bull gone to his eternal, er, reward, we came to the couch last night concerned for The Skinny Rat.

Unlike The Bull, or indeed Ireland for most of last night’s clash, this rat was able to navigate his way out of the corner with some stealth.

But it was good while it lasted, the full eight minutes of suspense from the 6.30pm programme start. Until then, John Giles and Graeme Souness had tapped it around. With some style, Souness swatted away a question about how fringe players would react to being given a chance to stake a claim: “I don’t know, because I wasn’t one of those, fortunately enough.”