Brian’s Blog: Paris, Rory And Bob

It was a quiet weekend, until the match started at the Stade de France. Then I spent the next 80-plus minutes pacing up and down in the kitchen shouting and gesticulating.

There was a tiny bit of envy when Ireland were leading 17-6, that I was going to miss out on one of the great days in Irish rugby but the overwhelming feeling was one of delight.

When the French came back it looked like they would kick on and win the game, but the boys showed great character and resilience to hang on.

The last 10 minutes went very slowly. I know the boys are disappointed with the draw on the basis of the lead they had established by half-time.

Unfortunately we picked up a couple of injuries. Paulie (O’Connell) showed a lot of strength to play on with damaged knee ligaments but that doesn’t surprise me at all. Conor Murray’s injury looked a sore one and it’s good that it is not as bad as it was initially feared.

On a personal level in terms of my rehabiltation regime, things are progressing well and I would like to report that I have nothing new to report!

I watched Rory McIlroy win the Honda Classic and was hugely impressed with the manner in which he won the tournament.

His short game was incredible, featuring some great up-and-downs but it was the management of the round that was so striking in terms of maturity and clarity of thought under pressure.

To achieve what he has done in terms of some of his goals, winning a Major and becoming world number one, is fantastic; particularly by the age of 22.

I attended Bob Casey’s testimonial last Thursday in London. It was unfortunate that it fell on the week of the refixed Paris match but there was still a healthy Leinster representation.

That just reinforces how highly he is viewed as a person. I was tempted to bid during the auction for Wimbledon tickets, a lesson with Pat Cash and a two-night stay in London, but unlike the lads in Paris I lost my nerve in the end.