You cannot pass the egg without breaking omelettes. There's more than one way to skin a leek. All work and no play makes Geordan mad...

Well at least after last Saturday there's a buzz back in the air and when you bring up Irish rugby in conversation at least people don't look quite as nauseous anymore.

All of a sudden Eddie O has a headache of a very different nature from the relentless, blood-pressured thumper he must have endured for the last five or six months, and if he's to be true to his mantra of "picking on form" he's just got to go for Geordan Murphy for the match against Wales. Hasn't he?

Against France, Geordan looked like he was playing in glue, but last Saturday he was gliding around like Fred Astaire with a top-hat and cane. Such is the fickleness of sport and all that, but if Dempsey is picked, I'll eat my top-hat and it will almost certainly finally drive Murphy around the bend.

Murphy's two most recent outings go some way to explaining why the former Leicester coach Dean Richards called him the George Best of Irish rugby. One performance was how Best used play on a Saturday afternoon, the other was how he played on a Saturday night.

If you ever needed an example of how rugby has taken off here, a taxi driver waxing lyrical at 3am about "Gordon" Murphy's "offload in the tackle" before "Tyrone" Bowe's superb "finish" just about takes the biscuit.

We didn't learn a huge amount after last weekend's Six Nations games - except France aren't as good as they first looked, Wales are maybe not as good as they first looked, England are possibly better than they first looked, Ireland are probably better than they first looked, Scotland are worse than they've ever looked and Italy are just mad.

The Scots have always been proud of their sense of humour and they certainly needed it on Saturday. But their try scorer, Simon Webster, is not a good advertisement for the orange turbo boots worn by the Toulouse twins Clerc and Heymans; in fact he should be relieved of them. Fast though he is, he's not in their league, and with the scrum-cap and the pale-blue skin he looks more like a Martian than a rugby player.

There's something not right about backs wearing scrum-caps. You can understand a forward - who has his head in places you wouldn't put your feet - needing a bit of protection, but it's not like Webster risks losing his modelling contract, is it?

By the way, I would venture Jamie Heaslip is the only forward in Irish rugby history to don white boots, but one would hazard it's a "Leinster thing" and it's highly doubtful it will catch on in Munster. Culchies in white boots? Perish the thought!

While the atmosphere may not have been electric last Saturday, it was a far cry from the lack of spark in the Italian match. Bad as Scotland may be, it was great to see so many Irish players really igniting and lifting the crowd in a way we haven't seen for some time. Whatever the negatives, there were plenty of magical moments to raise the pulse and send most home happy.

But as Eddie O and Warren G set their stalls out for all their press interviews - where they'll make out "there's nothing personal in this" (yeah, right) - thanks to England beating France, the rest of us can rub our hands in eager anticipation of the next instalment.

If it was a presidential race Eddie O would win hands down. He has the furrowed brow of sincerity, the head leaning to the side, and the gift of making nonsense sound vitally important. Gatland on the other hand looks like he could do with a good laugh. One thing he can be sure of - even if he does win the Grand Slam he's unlikely to win personality of the year. He's about as colourful as air.

But as we know, it's not a presidential race and if Eddie O is to prevail, this time he's going to have to be brave. Go on, Eddie O, do the right thing! If he does, the following scenario may transpire.

Irish rugby team hotel: head coach ponders classic dilemma between head and hip. This week E O'Sullivan visits G Dempsey's room.

EOS: Howya, Girvan? How's the hip?

GD: It's fine. Cleared up completely. Raring to go against Wales!

EOS: Oh yeah, that's great, yeah. You still look a bit stiff though, Girv. You can't peel a spud with a sieve, you know.

GD: Good point, couldn't agree with you more, but I've no stiffness at all. It's amazing how good I feel - not even slightly sore. It's as if it never happened.

EOS: You can't rush these things though. Sometimes a thing might not feel sore, but it is sore, you know? For example you can't tell if a kiwi's ripe by looking at a banana. I think we'd better not risk you against Wales. It's gonna be helter-skelter, up stick and bang 'em and see where the chips lie when the dust settles. That's Six Nations rugby. D'you follow?

GD: Not really, to be honest.

EOS: Girv, you're one of the most experienced and reliable players in the squad, but sometimes you have to squeeze out the pips before you suck on a lemon. You know?

GD: Sorry, I'm not with you.

EOS: You can't pluck a chicken with a spatula . . .

GD: Sorry, I'm . . .

EOS: Sometimes you have to buckle your belt, even if you're wearing braces . . .

GD: No, still don't get it . . .

EOS: I'm picking Geordan. See you!

Exit E O'Sullivan.