The News Review:
- Signs point to all-Welsh frontrow for second Test
- Sponsor backs rugby club’s handling of crisis
- Brian ‘Driscoll puts Leinster’s Heineken Cup triumph ahead of …
Signs point to all-Welsh frontrow for second Test
Irish Times
A striking feature of this tour has been how national interests seem to infiltrate the media’s thinking on so many selection issues and this column is perhaps as guilty as any. The absence of Rory Best from the squad even as a late call-up for the stricken Jerry Flannery seems all the more puzzling. As a further aside it seems curious in the extreme that Wasps and England prop Tim Payne was preferred to Marcus Horan a two-time Heineken Cup and Grand Slam winner over the weekend. If so then the presence on the bench of the Wasps and England bulwark Simon Shaw suggests he may somehow have moved above Donncha ’Callaghan in the pecking order. The latter at 30 is five years younger than Shaw and is also a recent two-time Heineken Cup and Grand Slam winner. He’s hardly any slouch when it comes to providing grunt and grind at ruck and maul time.
Sponsor backs rugby club’s handling of crisis
Bath Chronicle
“They acted confidently and quickly and we’re looking forward to them putting it behind them. S&N which also brews Fosters and John Smiths has been suppliers to the bars at the Rec for the past three years. Heineken has a rich rugby heritage through its long-running sponsorships of the Rugby World Cup and the Heineken Cup – European club rugby’s premier competition. The rebranding of the stand is the second name change for the next season with the temporary East Stand to be known as the IPL Stand thanks to sponsorship from Bath IT firm IPL. S&N will continue to be the main supplier to the Rec bars although the Gaymer Cider Company will also continue to supply Blackthorn cider. Theakston will continue as the official cask ale supplier to Bath Rugby. S&N trading director Tim Galligan said: “Bath Rugby is a major club in English rugby and the Recreation Ground is a great sporting venue.
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Brian ‘Driscoll puts Leinster’s Heineken Cup triumph ahead of …
Telegraph.co.uk
More than a Grand Slam more than any achievement either in the emerald green of Ireland or even the red of the Lions ‘Driscoll cherished the Heineken Cup victory earned alongside his mates in the blue of Leinster. Vapour trails of glory stretched behind him. “I can’t see any reason why we can’t think of a winning Lions series” said ‘Driscoll albeit acknowledging how incredibly difficult that would be. “Confidence is a massive component in a player’s mindset.