Nothing to do with Vietnam but...

History was made last week in Dublin - in all sorts of ways - with England playing Ireland in a rugby match at Croke Park, the home of Gaelic sports and a place where all other sports besides GAA ones were banned until recently. Rugby may not have been one of the "effeminate follies" T. W. Croke, the Archbishop of Cashel, was referring to in 1884 when he laid out his plans to restore Irish sports and shrug off English influences - he mentions "lawn-tennis, polo, croquet, cricket, and the like" - but still...

Here's the beeb's take on it (pre-match)if you're interested and a Guardian link on the fears over the singing of God Save The Queen, which was a pre-match concern.

Fittingly O'Gara and Shaggy showed their Gaelic football skills to finish the English off.




Been smiling all week.