The Oireachtas XV tog out at 11.30 a.m. today at Sydney Parade in Dublin to take on the Westminster XV in the ninth annual game for the Bobby Porter trophy. Named after the late Tory MP who was chairman of the Westminster side, the teams, drawn from members, staff and associates of the Dail and Seanad on one side and the Commons and Lords on the other, play each other each year before the Ireland v England international and are very jolly occasions indeed.
Unfortunately, last year the London game was cancelled at the last minute when the Irish couldn't field a team. It was rumoured that some had cried off because they feared Westminster was fielding some old rugby league players from the new ranks of new Labour. This morning will tell.
This year's Irish captain, the former GAA champion Jimmy Deenihan, hasn't had much success in getting his colleagues involved. Only deputies Simon Coveney, Brian Hayes and Billy Kelleher are certainties. Other stalwarts such as Sean Power, Gerry Reynolds and M.J. Nolan are injured. The rest of the team will be made up with associates such as Malalchi Quinn, son of Ruairi, and Stephen Stack, former Kerry footballer. Deenihan hopes to have a strong team in place in the autumn for the World Cup competition involving parliamentarians from these islands as well as France, South Africa and New Zealand. The games will be played in Ireland and England.
Westminster players include Lord Addington, Hugh Edwards, Ian Davidson, Andy Reid, Nick Hawkins, Jeff Ennis and Philip Oppenheim.
Today's ref, as usual, is PD Senator John Dardis and after the game they will all repair to the headquarters of the sponsors, AIB, in Ballsbridge. Then it's off to the first division game at Lansdowne Road which will be attended by Bertie Ahern and David Trimble. After their discussions, they'll be cheering for the same side. Whether both will join in singing God Save the Queen, which will be played for the second time at a Dublin international, remains to be seen. It's unlikely though.