Irish Rugby

Speculation that the final of the Heineken Cup would be switched to a French or even Spanish venue has been dismissed by ERC Ltd who have issued a statement to that effect

Speculation that the final of the Heineken Cup would be switched to a French or even Spanish venue has been dismissed by ERC Ltd who have issued a statement to that effect.

The Presidents of the two clubs, Marcel Dagrenat (Perpignan) and Reni Bouscatel (Toulouse) made representations to the ERC to have the final switched to a more convenient venue for French supporters. Those suggested were Marseilles and Barcelona, both of which have stadia that can hold 60,000.

However, ERC turned down the requests insisting the match will go ahead at Lansdowne Road.

Centre Chris Farrell had a NatWest 6 Nations debut to remember as his man-of-the-match performance helped Ireland to a 37-27 bonus point win over Wales at the Aviva Stadium.

Ireland skills and kicking coach Richie Murphy spoke to Irish Rugby TV about Dan Biggar, Liam Williams and Leigh Halfpenny and the attacking threats they will pose for Ireland at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday (kick-off 2.15pm).