England v Ireland
Saturday March 15 2008 - Kick off 3pm

15 Iain Balshaw (Gloucester Rugby)
14 Paul Sackey (London Wasps)
13 Jamie Noon (Newcastle Falcons)
12 Toby Flood (Newcastle Falcons)
11 Lesley Vainikolo (Gloucester Rugby)
10 Danny Cipriani (London Wasps)
9 Richard Wigglesworth (Sale Sharks)
1 Andrew Sheridan (Sale Sharks)
2 Lee Mears (Bath Rugby)
3 Phil Vickery (London Wasps, captain)
4 Simon Shaw (London Wasps)
5 Steve Borthwick (Bath Rugby)
6 Tom Croft (Leicester Tigers)
7 Michael Lipman (Bath Rugby)
8 Nick Easter (Harlequins)

Replacements
16 George Chuter (Leicester Tigers)
17 Matt Stevens (Bath Rugby)
18 Ben Kay (Leicester Tigers)
19 James Haskell (London Wasps)
20 Paul Hodgson (London Irish)
21 Jonny Wilkinson (Newcastle Falcons)
22 Mathew Tait (Newcastle Falcons)

Ireland Coach Eddie O’Sullivan has named Ronan O’Gara as captain of the Ireland team to play England in the RBS Six Nations Championship this weekend. This will be the Munster outhalf’s first time to captain the side that sees one personnel change from the team that played Wales last weekend.

Geordan Murphy returns to the fullback position, but will undergo a fitness test later this week to confirm his selection in the team. With Brian O’Driscoll unavailable due to his hamstring injury and Murphy returning to the side, there has been a reshuffle along the three quarter line.

Rob Kearney has reverted from fullback to the left wing and Tommy Bowe switches flanks to the right side. Shane Horgan moves to inside centre and Andrew Trimble moves to the No.13 jersey to form a new centre partnership.

The Ireland team to play England in the RBS 6 Nations Championship on Saturday, 15th March 2008 in Twickenham, London at 15.00hrs is as follows:

Player Club Caps

15 - Geordan Murphy* Leicester 55
14 - Tommy Bowe Belfast Harlequins/Ulster 12
13 - Andrew Trimble Ballymena/Ulster 23
12 - Shane Horgan Boyne/Leinster 60
11 - Robert Kearney UCD/Leinster 5
10 - Ronan O’Gara Captain Cork Constitution/Munster 81
9 - Eoin Reddan Wasps 9
1 - Marcus Horan Shannon/Munster 55
2 - Rory Best Belfast Harlequins/Ulster 21
3 - John Hayes Bruff/Munster 83
4 - Donncha O’Callaghan Cork Constitution/Munster 44
5 - Paul O’Connell Young Munster/Munster 50
6 - Denis Leamy Cork Constitution/Munster 30
7 - David Wallace Garryowen/Munster 44
8 - Jamie Heaslip Clontarf/Leinster 7

Replacements:
16 - Bernard Jackman Clontarf/Leinster 8
17 - Tony Buckley Shannon/Munster 6
18 - Mick O’Driscoll Cork Constitution/Munster 14
19 - Simon Easterby Llanelli 64
20 - Peter Stringer Shannon/Munster 81
21 - Paddy Wallace Ballymena/Ulster 7
22 - Luke Fitzgerald Blackrock College/Leinster 3

Not considered due to injury:
Gordon D’Arcy (Lansdowne/Leinster) {Arm}
Girvan Dempsey (Terenure College/Leinster) {Hip}
Jerry Flannery (Shannon/Munster) {Hamstring}
Brian O’Driscoll (UCD/Leinster) {Hamstring}

by Helen Macrae

Nothing like a good old bodice-ripper on a Monday evening. When we went to see “The Other Boleyn Girl” (starring Natalie Portman, Scarlett Johansson and Eric Bana) I was half-expecting yet another plodding historical drama, but instead was pleasantly surprised when the film turned out to be more like an episode of Jerry Springer from the 16th century. The film (”Las Hermanas Bolena” in yet another bizarre example of Spanish film title translation) is an adaptation of the book of the same name by Philippa Gregory, and is a tale of romance, intrigue and backstabbing set against a defining moment in British history.

Portman and Johansson play sisters Anne and Mary Boleyn, who are suddenly thrust from their quiet existence in the country into the world of London court life by their ambitious father, in the hopes of attracting the attentions of the King. Both actresses do a sterling job, especially Portman, who for the most part comes across as a complete and utter bitch who will stop at nothing until she is Queen of England. Eric Bana on the other hand plays a macho and rather unsympathetic Henry Tudor who will do anything to get Anne into bed (creating the Church of England, anyone?).

Although certain historical elements are glossed over, such as religion and the break with the Catholic Church, director Justin Chadwick manages to create a cohesive and enjoyable film, beautifully produced and clocking in at just under two hours running time (perhaps just a little bit too long?). For those of you who remember the “divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived” rhyme from school, you can probably guess what happens at the end, but this only adds to the drama!