Hugh Farrelly, writing in The Irish Independent, praises the influence of foreign players in Irish rugby.
"When Thai boxing sensation Poonsawat Kratingdaenggym was produced for the Irish media in Dublin last week ahead of his world title bout with Bernard Dunne, the location chosen for the press conference was ... wait for it ... Jimmy Chung's Chinese emporium.
"This led to the (entirely reasonable) query of why the event was not staged in a Thai-based location and a response along the lines of: "Ah sure, 'tis all the Orient". Quite.
"As a nation, we have no problem spreading ourselves around the globe but are less comfortable when foreigners arrive over to Irish shores (there is little doubt part of the reason we have to vote on the Lisbon Treaty again this Friday is attributable to the misguided notion that a No vote would help control our borders).
"The foreign influx into Irish rugby has proved less unsettling. It began in the early 1990s with the clubs and has increased in frequency and influence as the game has developed over the intervening two decades."
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