Clive Woodward was in the RDS today for the One Zero Conference, the conference about which there's been so much talk.
Inevitably, he was asked about the 2003 Lansdowne Road stand-off when the England rugby union team, in the eyes of Joe Duffy's callers, disrespected this country and its hallowed institutions.
Woodward thought the whole thing was "fantastic".
He showed a singular lack of concern for Mary McAleese's footwear. She was made trample the Lansdowne Road grass in her Presidential plimsolls.
A new detail emerges from Woodward's talk. You recall how Martin Johnson was drawn into a finger-jabbing shouting match with an earpiece wearing Irish official when asked to move along? Apparently, they had a bit of previous with the man with the earpiece.
Interestingly, Woodward suggests that the jobsworths in charge of proceedings in Murrayfield and Lansdowne Road do their best to unsettle England all day.
I thought it was amazing. That was a pressure moment and he handled it really well. All I know is that it was just one of those things that happened.
When you play away in the Six Nations, it is quite a challenge. When England go away, it's Scotland, followed by Ireland, in terms of people giving you grief and a hard time. There must be committees wondering how to really wind England up.
It was 10 minutes before kick off, for a big game. Some Irish guy came smashing our dressing room down, saying "out, out, out."
I said "who are you?" Eventually we got rid of him, the referee came. So Johnno went out and stood next to the same Irish guy.
Woodward was seated in the stand, chuckling at the spectacle.
So, I was in the stand now, chuckling at all this, and Neil Back is winding up Johnno, with this guy next to him, saying "don't do it Johnno. Don't do it.
That's it and there was all this stuff happening. And it was one of those comic book moments and there was nothing serious about it.
And I promise you, when I read about it that it was planned, that's absolute nonsense. We just went out and stood where we thought we were supposed to stand. I thought it was fantastic but I liked the scoreline better.
Yeah, the scoreline was the worst thing.
