ONE CANDIDATE FOR AN IRISH ELITE DIRECTOR The Rugby Football Union placed advertisements for their new Elite Rugby Director last week and there are some interesting criteria for candidates to mull over. Any person applying for the job needs at least five years' experience in a director of rugby role or equivalent and some experience at international level, either as a player or coach in a test environment. There aren't too many people out there with that kind of CV and it will be interesting to see who does actuallly end up with the job and what kind of a fist they make of it. With Eddie O'Sullivan apparently secure in his job and highly likely to see out his contract until the end of the 2008 Six Nations championship, it could be a post that the IRFU introduce into their structure in the coming years. If it works out for England, of course. And we'll give you one guess who'd be favourite to fill it in two years.

TAKING A CUT WHEN TAKING HIS SEAT Nice little gag from Risteard Cooper at the BT IRUPA awards ceremony.

In the persona of Bill O'Herlihy, Cooper said that he'd bought a table at the function through the Leinster Branch but when he got to his seat, it was FIlled with Munster people. Cue some nervous laughter from the Leinster Branch table, which for the record, contained no Munster people whatsoever. We think.