Brian's day in the SunLeinster 19 Leicester 16

Brian's day in the Sun, Uploaded by M+MD.

We had a wonderful 30 hours in Edinburgh last week-end. When I purchased the tickets for the Heineken Cup Final last November, I had expected to go see Munster do the double. I had considered that I had 2 horses running especially after Leinster demolished Wasps in their first home game. But I really didn't expect to to wearing Blue on the 23rd of May in Edinburgh.

But Blue was the colour and rugby was their game! Leinster were almost as good against Leicester as they were against Munster 3 weeks ago. There defence was massive and even more surprising the loss of Contepomi to injury wasn't even noticed. His replacement Johnny Sexton played with supreme confidence. He dropped kicked a goal from the half way line about 20 minutes into the first half. Rocky Elapm was immense and fully deserved his man of the match award. Its hard to see how we will be able to hold on to him in the northern hemisphere after the season he has just had with Leinster. He's still young enough to contend for a place on The Wallabies and it is much easier to do this on home soil than on the other side of the world.

We had great seats 3 rows back on the Lower East Stand. We met up with Paul and Colette in a very good Italian restaurant just past Princes Street on the Murrayfield side. Colette had made the long overnight trip via Larne and Conor Simon and Matthew made the trip with them. She had stayed overnight in Glasgow and travelled over by train to Edinburgh.

Lunch
Uploaded by M+MD

Chris and Paul
Uploaded by M+MD

After lunch we walked to Murrayfield. There were a lot of Blue jerseys quite a bit of green and White for Leicester and the odd smattering of Red Munster fans. I think they will shout for Leinster - though for some it will be hard. However you can be pretty sure they will not be supporting the English team - even if it is captained by an Irishman. They will remember Leicester as the team that took away Munster's unbeaten Heineken Cup record in the old Thomand Park in the very last game before they redeveloped the ground. Anyway Geordan Murphy is a Leinsterman!

Drico Dancin'
Uploaded by M+MD

Rocky Stormin'
Uploaded by M+MD

The match was played at a very high tempo from the kick-off. Leicester were defending our side of the pitch. We had a storming run from Rampaging Rocky Elsom in the first 10 minutes and very soon afterwards Drico dropped a goal and we were 3-0 up. No unsettling early advantage to Leicester! Then the sides exchanged penalties Johnny Sexton showed no nerves and stepped up to make it 6-3. Then came the proof that Leinster were up for this. After a Leicester clearance failed to make touch, Johnny had the ball on the half way line, he had a little time, he attempted the drop goal. It seemed to hang in the air forever... It looked over to me... But its hard to tell... Referee Nigel Owens holds his arm aloft. IT'S OVER.

Johnny Sexton's first Penalty
Uploaded by M+MD

I read later that Sexton spoke with supreme confidence in the dressing room before the match. "It's already written", he said, "we're going to win this match and there's nothing we can do about it". I'm sure the seasoned warriors were wondering about this - but he was playing like he believed it and that kind of confidence was clear throughout the team. Drico had it; Elsom always has it; Healy had it; Fitzgerald had it; they were playing with confidence fulfilling their destiny.

Leinster dominated the first half an hour. But you can keep a team like Leicester boxxed in for ever. They got into the Leinster 22 and started to threaten the line. The Leinster defence held solid. Then Stan Wright made an early tackle on a man without the ball. Nigel said "cynical" yellow card. Leicester know how to use an opening like that and 5 minutes later just before half time they were in under the posts. 9-13 and halftime.

Lads Scrummin'
Uploaded by M+MD

Mal Collectin'
Uploaded by M+MD

Second half we were still a man down and Duprey kicked a penalty 9-16. Now it was time for Leinster to stand up. This was the position we all feared. Leicester getting an advantage and then relying on their experience to hold out and win. But there were still 35 minutes to go and Leinster didn't panic. They continued what they had started in the first half. Back to 15 men again they started to dominate the game again. The forwards worked a patient set of moves close to the Leicester line culminating in a try by Jamie Heaslip which Sexton converted. 16 all and 30 minutes to go - game on. Leicester had to replace Geordan and then Duprey and the Kayser for Chuter, then White for Castro. Their scrum improved. It was close for a while with the Leicester changes. But Leinster defence was solid.

Then it came, with 10 minutes to go Leinster got a penalty in range. Sexton kicked a horrible curling ball which somehow managed to curl back between the posts and over! 19 - 16 and we started the countdown. Leinster never really doubted that they could hold on. The Leicester team was now tired and on the back foot. They had nothing left to give and when Owens blew the final whistle the stadium turned BLUE.

Victory, Uploaded by M+MD.

Some of the fans couldn't contain themselves and launched a series of one man pitch invasions. Conor had a think about it but he was well spotted and didn't make it. The early pitch invaders got off lightly and were returned to the stands. Then they began to show off sprinting between aging marshalls to the cheers of the crowd. They were rewarded by being frogmarched off the pitch and into the oblivion of the Edinburgh evening!

We Won
Uploaded by M+MD

Catch me if you can
Uploaded by M+MD

The presentation over the team went on a slow lap of honour. They were savouring every minute - and why not.

Stan Wright
Uploaded by M+MD

Shaggy
Uploaded by M+MD

When they finally disappeared down the tunnel we too exited to the balmy Edinburgh evening.

Going Home Contented, Uploaded by M+MD./div>

Rocky Elsom - Man of the Match

Rocky Elsom - Man of the Match, originally uploaded by M+MD.

Regina Specktor new Album "Far"

Regina giving an amazing performance of Blue Lips on Later...With Jools Holland, the other night, from her upcoming album "Far", out June 23!

The Curragh RFC Reunion

Faithful Fans 1978
Uploaded by M+MD

A reunion for a rugby club is quite an unusual event. The Curragh rugby club has had a number of different incarnations. The has been a rugby club in The Curragh since 1927. However its main function seems to have been to participate in the various All Army competitions. However in the early 60s it took on a new form. The genesis of that was in the cadet class of 1963 and 1962. The club entered into the Leinster Branch competitions and famously won the Town Cup in 1967. Shortly afterwards it opened a club house. However the club house was burned down in . In the 70s the club could field 3 teams each week-end and had a lot of success at seconds and thirds level.

Barney Dobey
Uploaded by M+MD

In 1977 Gerry McMahon (later Chief of Staff) was appointed Chairman of the club and my father, Barney Dobey was appointed president. A new clubhouse was built at this time and funded by week-end discos. A large extension and new dressing rooms were added to this. It was an exciting time for the Club and The Curragh RFC suddenly became a large part of our lives. Barney was very excited about the new Welsh coach Bob Coles who introduced a new outlook and approach. That year the First Team had a great season. They won their section of the J1 league and qualified for the first round of the Leinster Senior Cup.

James Mary McNamara
Uploaded by M+MD

They got the dream cup tie against Wanderers who were based in Lanadowne Road and included a number of full Irish Internationals on the side. Best of all the match was played on the famous Lanadowne Road pitch. In the end Wanderers ran out winners but the margin of 12 points flattered then. As I recall it they pulled away just at the end.

The team also got to play in the final of the J1 League against St Marys seconds. Victory in that match would allow the club to go senior - a very big deal which had only been done once before at that time. The game was postponed a couple of times because of the weather. In the end it was played in April when the ground was harder. Winning against the seconds team of a senior club was very difficult in Leinster. There were no restrictions against "dropping down" a senior player who may have played senior the previous week to play seconds the following week. The meant that in serious matches the senior club could always field a very strong side. So it was against St Marys and to the great disappointment of the club they lost the final and missed the chance to go senior.

Perhaps is just as well. There was much debate as to whether or not it would be right to take up that opportunity. There was a danger that The Curragh would not have the depth and would spend their time propping up the league. There was no concept of being relegated from the senior league at the time. It was a one way only deal! Maybe that's why Marys made sure that they kept these Curragh upstarts out of the League. It was a double disappointment that year. The Curragh also lost to old local rivals Athy in the Towns Cup Final in Tullamore.

Dobey Cup 1988 (Katy Dobey)
Uploaded by M+MD

Barney was President for 2 years before he was posted to the Middle East with the UN. Our family connection with The Curragh continued down 3 tracks after Barneys untimely death in August 1981. Firstly the club asked if we would donate a trophy in memory of Barney. This became the Dobey Cup which was played for by underage teams (under 14s and under 16s) in a one day blitz each January.

Seany at Scrum Half
Uploaded by M+MD

The second connection was through my cousin Seany Hayes who moved from his native Limerick to work in Portarlington. He was living in Newbridge and being new to the area (and always with the eye out for a new recruit) Barney introduced him to The Curragh. Very soon thereafter a rusty Seany was playing with the Seconds team. He broke his way onto the Firsts and Seany went on to be the only non Army captain of the club. <p>The Curragh had another shot of going senior in the eighties - beaten by Blackrock. The club also lost another Towns Cup final - this time to Kilkenny.

Sean McCann 2009
Uploaded by M+MD

V Drogheda 1986
Uploaded by M+MD

The third connection was my younger brother, Brian. He played for the Curragh for three years from 1986 - 1989. He played on the 1st XV as No. 8 for a duration of that period. Brian is the only family member ever to have worn the oak leaf yellow, something that he's proud to have been associated with – he had the pleasure of playing with Seany on many occasions in a No. 8/No. 9 partnership. He also went on the second Ross on Wye tour with the Curragh RFC in 1988. The first was in 1977. There is a photo somewhere (but not located) of Barney in a black felt hat on that first trip. It was known as "The President's Hat".

But why a reunion? Well in the nineties the number of playing members in the club began to dwindle. The nearest local club Old Kilcullen was suffering the same challenges. A merger was proposed and after much angst on both sides - after all they were local rivals - a trial merger was agreed. In that way Newbridge RFC was formed and the 2 clubs of Old Kilcullen and The Curragh passed into history. The initial deal was for a 3 year trial period and funds were segregated in the new club to allow either side to escape. Twelve years later, the merger has been a success and with no prospect of any revivival of The Curragh RFC it was decided to give it a good send off with a proper Irish Wake.

We had a marvellous day. There were lots of old familiar faces from 30 years ago. There were also some missing - no longer with us. Most of the Cup winning team from 1967 were there and in a very nice surprise gesture the current holders of the Towns Cup - Boyne brought down the cup for the day and it was presented again to Barry Studdert the captain of the 1967 team.

Barry Studdert and the Towns Cup, Uploaded by M+MD.

A DVD was made consisting of memories from the last 40 years. There was also a CD of old photos and newspaper clippings. More than 240 people showed up to the NCO's Mess in The. Curragh Army Camp. We had a reception before a wonderful meal. The Taoisagh, Brian Cowen made a brief appearance and gave a very amusing account of his rugby playing days. He would be better known for playing Gaelic Football with Clara. But he played full-back at rugby when in school in Roscrea. He even got a Leinster Schools Trial. Playing opposite him was Hugo McNeill who later won many international caps for Ireland and was on the Lions tour to New Zealand in 1983. Cowen had the audience falling about the place as he explained how at the time he could see how much rugby mean to McNeill and so he took himself off the pitch at half time!

Connie McMcNamara
Uploaded by M+MD

Connie McNamara
Uploaded by M+MD

General Dermot Earley
Uploaded by M+MD

The MC for the day was the always funny Connie McNamara. We had speeches from Sean McCann (now General Sean McCann officer commanding The Curragh Camp) but I knew him as a fiery number eight. We had the great Roscommon footballer Dermot Earley, a fellow county man and good friend of Barney, (now General Dermot Earley Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces). His son and namesake Dermot plays centre field for Kildare. Maybe this year he might do what his father narrowly failed to do - win an All-Ireland medal. (But that's another one of my hopeless causes - up there with Leeds United for the Premiership!) Dermot senior played rugby for the Army and The Curragh at a time when the GAA banned players from playing "foreign games". He used the pseudonym Des Late and was always missing from team photos. Dermot had kind words to say about Barney and his time as president.

It was a great day and a fitting way to finally lay the club to rest.

Padraig Harrington tries Happy Gilmore swing

Another Play-Off defeat for Leeds United

The playoffs are just an exciting lottery. Three years ago Leeds were in the play-off finals to go back to the premiership. They lost 3-0 to Watford. The following season they were demoted to League One; placed in receivership and deducted 15 points. In spite of this handicap they made it to the League One play-offs last year. But again no luck and no promotion. This year we are back to that old consolation "there's always next year".

Croke Park Drama Munster 6 Leinster 25

The build up was fantastic. It was going to be the largest attendance in the world for a club match. Tickets were hard to get - though thanks to bring a Leinster season ticket holder I had 12. There was no real problem getting rid of them Katy Mark Lisa and Dave were all on the Hill while Mags myself and Senan were in the Davin Stand or Canal End.

Munster V Leinster
Uploaded by M+MD

Red and Blue in Croke Park
Uploaded by M+MD

World Club record attendence
Uploaded by M+MD

Half Time - Murt and Leo
Uploaded by M+MD

We went for a drink in a packed pub just at the top of Jones Road. We accidentally ran into Seany and Mairead. Seany had a veterans Munster supporters shirt - the one with Bank of Ireland on it. Seany was at the Munster All Blacks match back in 1978. We talked about our plans for going to the final. I called the match a 5 point victory for Munster - Seany thought it would be 10. We both agreed it was a cup match and anything could happen, but not with any great conviction! Contepomi's lack of form against Munster was hard to credit. Someone said something about how hard it was to get 3 victories in a row.

Munster Leinster Match History Professional Era, Uploaded by M+MD.

We got to Croke Park about an hour before kick off. The Red outnumbered the Blue though as kick-off approached it evened up. I would say it was 50000 Munster to 30000 Leinster. We had great seats in the eleventh row from the from in the lower stand. Munster were warming up down our end.

The roars for both teams were huge when they took the field at 5.25. Munster kicked off playing towards the Hill. Contepomi took that ball and laid down a marker from the kick-off. He went straight through RoG and certainly made a statement. The early play went over and back with a lot of intensity. Leinster got a long range penalty shot which Felipe missed. Then we had a period of strong Leinster attack. Elstrom was very strong taking the ball into contact and Nacewa seemed to be everywhere. 20 minutes in Contepomi took a drop at goal and the lead 0-3. Almost immediately Munster had a penalty and Ronan pulled it back to 3-3.

Necewa makes a break, Uploaded by M+MD.

Contepomi turns and twists his knee
Uploaded by M+MD

Sexton's first kick of the ball
Uploaded by M+MD

Then Leinster went on the attack again. Contepomi was in the thick of it. But hour twisted his knee and Johnny Sexton was brought on as a replacement. His very first touch was to take a penalty. Which he slotted over making it 3-6. The Leinster crowd were wild but it didn't seem like a huge problem to Munster fans. But Leinster kept on the pressure continuing to play down into our stand. Finally they got the breakthrough with s great run by Necewa who offloaded to D'Arcy and although Earls catch him about 3 metres short of the line, D'Arcy's momentum carried him over in the corner for a try. Sexton missed the conversion, 3-11. I still wasn't worried - Munster know how to grind out a win - but this was a very powerful Leinster performance so far. RoG kicked a penalty before half time to calm our nerves - 6-11.

Leinster Attack, Uploaded by M+MD.

However it didn't last long! Just after the second half started a great back line movement with 2 long passes and a wonderful fingertip offload by Horgan to Fitzgerald, followed by a sublime sidestep and Luke scored a great try down at the other corner - oh my god, Sexton converted - 6-18.

Howlett escapes Horgan
Uploaded by M+MD

Nacewa V Howlett
Uploaded by M+MD

Fiji V New Zealand!
Uploaded by M+MD

Now I gotcha!
Uploaded by M+MD

Drico's intercept try
Uploaded by M+MD

Munster started a long period of sustained pressure on the Leinster line. Wave after wave of red headed in our direction. But the Leinster defence held out everytime. That hard game against Quins was now looking better and better. The defence was awesome to watch. The commitment from Leinster was translating into frustration from Munster. They continued to attack but there was no way through. Then 20 minutes into the second half came the hammer blow.

O'Gara took a long time to flip a long pass - O'Driscoll saw it coming and intercepted cleanly and the ran 75 metres with O'Gara and Howlett in pursuit - but he was never going to be caught and he scored under the posts. An easy conversion to make it 6-25. The game finished out down our end - the best we could hope for was a consolation try but even that was not permitted by the Leinster defence.

O'Connell and Quinlan Charge, Uploaded by M+MD.

It was a great occasion and a famous Leinster victory. I will be at the Final again this year but wearing something borrowed something blue unfortunately not red!

D'Arcy, Kearney, Horgan, Jennings
Uploaded by M+MD

Fogarty, O'Brien, Kearney, O'Kelly, Dempsey
Uploaded by M+MD

THOMOND PARK

THOMOND PARK, originally uploaded by L09C.

Fortress Thomond repels Leinster - Munster 22 Leinster 5

Thomond Park
Uploaded by M+MD

There was a great atmosphere in Thomond Park on for the derby game between Munster and Leinster on Saturday evening. For Leinster, this was their best chance to defend their Magners League title. For Munster, it was a chance to pull away from their nearest rivals. For both teams, the most important thing was to get through the match free from injury, in advance of the Heineken Quarter finals next week-end.

Celtic Tenors & Pete St John
Uploaded by M+MD

I drove down to Limerick on Saturday afternoon. John and his fellow Leinster supporter, Paul travelled down with me - for them it was their first trip to Thomond. We arrived down in plenty of time. We left Dublin at 4 and were parked and inside the ground by 6.45 - very comfortable for a 7.30 kick off. The game was a complete sell-out and there was a great atmosphere in the ground as the teams warmed up on the pitch. The Celtic Tenors were there to provide the pre-match entertainment. They sang that Limerick anthem "There is an Isle" and were joined by songwriter Pete St John for a great rendition of "The Fields of Athenry". There was a strong Leinster contingent just beside where I was sitting and they were pretty vocal throughout. But the Munster fans easily made the most noise.

Munster V Leinster, Thomond Park, Uploaded by M+MD.

Leinster were the better team for much of first half. They were far superior to Munster in the breakdown. But Munster went in at half time 6-0 up with O'Gara scoring 2 penalties and Contepomi was seriously off form missing all of his kicks on goal.

That's a Second Row Forward!, Uploaded by M+MD.

D'Arcy's Try
Uploaded by M+MD

In the second half Munster began to get the upper hand. First with 2 more penalties and then with a great try from Keith Earls, bringing the score to 17-0. Then D'Arcy scored a well worked try. Then Shane Horgan made a second defensive error to let Barry Murphy pass him on the wing and set up an easy pass to put substitute Fogarty over for a final try. That was it, game over, with the final score 22-5.

O'Connells Line Out
Uploaded by M+MD

The biggest surprise of the night was Contepomi's failure to get even one kick over the bar. As an Argentinien and Leinster player each miss was gleefully applauded by the Thomond crowd! Rocky Elstrom was easily the best Leinster player but RoG was man of the match. Elstrom almost got in for a second consolation try at the end, but Stringer who had just come on as a sub appeared out of nowhere and toppled him.

That pretty much secures the Magners League for Munster. They have Scarlets Connaught and Ospreys at home and Cardif Blues away from home. Ospreys are the only real danger left in the Magners League, but they have to play both Munster and Scarlets away from home.

Bull Hayes replaced, Uploaded by M+MD.

Ronan on Form
Uploaded by M+MD

The competition for places on both teams for next week-end will be intense. The Munster supporters behind me were roaring at the ref to blow up full-time for nearly ten minutes at the end of the game. They were worried about an injury to Bull Hayes. Buckley replaced the Bull in the 67th minute but Buckley had to go off again, injured, after just 4 minutes. Munster had no choice but to Hayes bring back on. This problem the only weak point in the Munster set up. If Buckley is back fit for next week-end it will relieve many worried Munster fans.

It was a late drive back to Dublin but the roads are getting better and we were all home before 1pm.

Next week-end we have a very busy Easter Sunday. First up at 1.00 is the Heineken Quarter-final between Munster and Ospreys. That is followed by the Quarter-final between Harlequins and Leinster in London. After the rugby is all settled we get the final day of the Masters in Augusta. Even if there is no Irishman in contention the return of Tiger will almost certainly be under discussion. We also have the final round matches of the National Football League to be settled that afternoon.

Sports Seasons

This Blog has become quite rugby centric over the past few weeks. That shouldn't be a surprise in the year that Ireland won the Grand Slam. Especially when me and my Nikon were at four of the five matches. The focus on rugby will continue I hope until the end of May as Munster try to retain the Heineken Cup. My Nikon (and me!) has tickets for that final in Murrayfield on the 24th of May.

Padraig Harrington, Uploaded by M+MD.

Tiger Woods
Uploaded by M+MD

Next week I won't be at the next big Sporting event - the Masters Golf at Augusta. The Irish flags will be flown by Padraig Harrington and the not wonder Rory McElroy. Tiger is of course back on the scene after a 9 month lay-off and will want to retain the Masters to show that he is really back. Phil Mickleson has come very close to stealing his No 1 spot in the World Rankings which willl give Tiger the added incentive - not that he needs one. We can look forward to more golf during the summer when Harrington will be trying to win three British Opens in a row. That is something that hasn't been done since Peter Thomson (1954-56). Unfortunately my Nikon won't get to to many of those golf events.

Then we have the All Ireland Football and Hurling championships starting in May. We will certainly get to a few of those games this summer. Kildare have had a good run in the National League and so they are setting me up to have my heart broken again this summer.

Speaking of heartbreak I have stayed very quite about Leeds. Its not that I've given up - but as they have dragged themselves back into play-off zone again I just don't want to speculate about those possibilities after our play-off heartbreak in 2 of the last 3 years. Automatic promotion looks impossible now Peterboro beat Leicester City last week-end which was probably our best chance that the gap might close.

Of course those other heartbeak kids the Irish soccer team raised our hopes with a first minute goal against Bulgaria last week-end only to play rubbish for the rest of the game and conceed a own goal in the second half for a very unsatisfactory home draw. Then last Wednesday we had almost the direct opposite outcome in Bari when Italy scored in the first 10 minutes only to be caught by a last minute goal by Robbie Keane. Another 1-1 draw - but this time away to Italy - the World Champions!

The joys and heartbreak of sport. Its just what we need to distract is in these dreadful economic times in which we find ourselves.

Teams named for Munster V Leinster match

Munster have fielded all 8 of their Irish Internationals who started against Wales in Cardiff. Leinster have named 3 out of 5 with Brian O'Driscoll and Luke Fitzgerald not even on the squad. Its a little odd - maybe Leinster have resigned themselves to a loss and are placing all their hopes on the re-match that will result if tehy can beat Harlequins in the Heineken Cup quarter-finals. Of course I am assuming that Munster will beat the Ospreys! The trip to Murrayfield in May is looking even more hopeful!

Munster V Leinster this week-end

With the Heineken Cup quarter finals the following week-end, the final teams selected, for this top of the table clash, will be interesting. Munster probably have the greater depth - it was the second string Munster team who almost beat the All-Blacks last November, although they were helped at that time by the number of players not eligible to play for Ireland. This factor doesn't help the coach's dilemma this time. Leinster have reasonably depth - the Magners League performance last week was not on the basis of the strongest possible selection.

Leinster 0 Munster 18, RDS, Sept 2008, Uploaded by M+MD.

The squads have been announced. The Leinster squad of 29 now includes Brian O'Driscoll; Jamie Heaslip; Luke Fitzgerald and Rob Kearney. The question is will they start and how long will they play. Cheika is keen to reverse the 18-0 drubbing which Munster gave Leinster at the RDS back in the Autumn. A loss for Leinster will probably close out their chances of retaining the Magners League Trophy, though there are four more games after next Saturday. However a seven point deficit is very hard to make up.

The Munster squad of 26 includes the Grand Slam. Again the question is who will start and who will finish. Ian Dowling is also back fit, he is a very welcome return.

The final 22 will probably not be named until Saturday morning.

April Fools Day in the Media

Many media outlets in particular celebrated April Fool's Day today with spoof reports and advertisements.

The Irish Times reported that the Revenue Commissioners were planning an electronic tagging system for 'high net worth' tax exiles. The system would be provided by a US firm called 'Failproof'.

Herald AM featured no fewer than three spoof stories, two on the front page and one on the back.

For sports fans, the prospect of a high-profile addition to the resolution of the Cork hurling management saga was raised by a report saying Denis Walsh was poised to add Roy Keane to his backroom team.

On the news pages, US President Barack Obama was reported to have paid a surprise overnight visit to Co Offaly on his way to the G20 summit - to the annoyance of Taoiseach Brian Cowen.

And, in a report readers might be slow to dismiss as a phoney, the paper said graduates were to face a ban on moving overseas until they completed paying back their student loans.

A report on the Australian Herald Sun's website said the symbolic 100,000-capacity Melbourne Cricket Ground would be bought by 'Mekong Industries, one of the largest companies in China', and renamed the Mekong Stadium. Victoria state Tourism Minister Tim Holding said Melbourne was bidding to hold the running of the bulls when the contract the Spanish city of Pamplona has held since the 13th century expires. Mr Holding said the bulls would run down the cafe-lined streets in the centre of the city, adding a new event to sit alongside the Australian Open tennis and the Formula One Grand Prix on Melbourne's sporting calendar.

Also in Australia, more than two dozen people in Melbourne woke to find their cars wrapped in cling wrap. he cling-film bandits striking at popular shopping precincts, outside railway stations and in sought-after residential areas, tightly wrapping cars in the plastic wrap. At least 28 cars were reportedly wrapped including one vehicle in Clarendon St in South Melbourne, another on Domain Rd, South Yarra, Church St, Richmond and again at Clifton Hill railway station.

Meanwhile Microsoft has revealed its latest blockbuster title for the Xbox 360, Alpine Legend. A variation on the popular Guitar Hero games, it would let players test their yodelling skills and, for a limited time, come with a free goat.

German FFH radio announced to listeners that Chancellor Angela Merkel was pregnant at the age of 54. Ms Merkel has always said she was 'too busy' to start a family.