Roy Keane and Denis Irwin earned the bragging rights at Old Trafford recently courtesy of the Ireland rugby team. According to team-mate Ryan Giggs, a former underage rugby league player with Salford, there is keen interest among some of the Manchester United players in the fortunes of the respective rugby teams in the Six Nations Championship.

Giggs is a big fan of the Welsh team but pointed out that their 44-12 defeat against England on the opening day of the Six Nations didn't direct too many jibes at him because "fortunately the English lads aren't into rugby too much. But certainly Roy Keane and Denis Irwin follow the Irish, the gaffer (Alex Ferguson) follows Scotland and Mikael Silvestre and Fabien Barthez keep an eye on France". Instead of racing down the left wing at Old Trafford Giggs very nearly enjoyed a rugby league career following in the footsteps of his father Danny Wilson, who played union for Cardiff and Newport before switching to league with Salford.

"I was probably as good at rugby as I was at football in my teens but it made weekends impossible. Often I would play a football match for Salford boys on Saturday morning and then a rugby league game for Salford District on Saturday afternoon." He'd play another two games on the Sunday, one in each code.

"Just before I signed for Manchester United I was supposed to attend the Great Britain rugby league trials." Ferguson knocked his league ambitions on the head and Giggs happily chose football.