Little doubt Irish soccer team sponsor Arnold O'Byrne and his Opel comrades were delighted to see the Nissan logo still plastered to the pitch at Lansdowne Road for Ireland's friendly against Paraguay on Wednesday.

What came off so easily on players' shirts and Keith Wood's head during the Five Nations rugby match last Saturday between Ireland and France proved more difficult when the groundsmen tried to erase it before the soccer match.

The Nissan logo had been painted over in green paint but it was still easy to read at the Lansdowne Road end, like a partially blotted out piece of graffiti. No Opel logo anywhere on the pitch. Wonder how that one was explained.