It started as a Six Nations weekend of high hopes but in the end was washed away by relentless rain, injuries, defeat for Ireland and a reality check on the optimism after victory over Wales.
There was a strong English crowd and the value of building a programme of events around the big game was demonstrated in a solid 6% increase in the crowd at Leopardstown on Saturday for the running of the Hennessy Gold Cup.
This fixture was switched from its usual Sunday slot to 24 hours earlier to avoid a clash with the rugby and was rewarded with an attendance of more than 10,000, many of them English fans.
The impact of playing on a Sunday in the RBS Six Nations is significant with many more fans arriving for a day trip and returning last night as opposed to making a full weekend. That is particularly felt in a year when there are only two home fixtures.
The injuries suffered by Simon Zebo and Jonny Sexton also highlight the sometimes fleeting nature of a sporting career and will be seen as justification for Sexton’s €750,000 a year switch to Racing Metro in Paris.
His hamstring injury may just result in missing the Scotland game in two weeks but could be worse and missing more may yet question his starting place at least in the British and Irish Lions tour.
Zebo’s broken bone will mean a ten week spell on the sidelines and missing Munster’s Heineken Cup quarter final. As a breakthrough player he would have hoped to build on the sparkling game against Wales and force his way into the superstar category over the coming months. That time will now have to wait.
For the many top level companies involved in sponsorship around the Six Nations there will be disappointment that Sunday’s game did not create the memorable impression that was hoped for.
The tantalising prospect of a Grand Slam from the clouds would also have bolstered the IRFU’s hopes of signing a new and lucrative kit deal following the departure of Puma but that will now have to rely more on graft than glamour.
At least the camp will have been buoyed by the arrival on Sunday morning of Sadie, a daughter for Brian O’Driscoll. Who knows she may inherit a genetic disposition for the game and end up playing for the Irish women’s team who did manage to inflict a first defeat in 40 games on England in the Six Nations at Ashbourne on Saturday.
See how Accenture is activating its sponsorship of the RBS Six Nations
See how Ulster Bank is activating its sponsorship of the RBS Six Nations
See how Guinness is activating its sponsorship of the RBS Six Nations.
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Glimmers of hope through the rain
