Fair play to Old Belvedere RFC, they were quick off the mark.

When Ireland head coach Andy Farrell was asked about his walking wounded in the wake of last Sunday’s win over Scotland at Murrayfield, he joked that he might have to look at some of the ‘Belvo’ U12s to fill out the team for this weekend’s final match against England.

The person in charge of the club’s Twitter account couldn’t let such a golden opportunity pass, posting: “Calling all Belvo minis’ parents: Please have the lads on standby for 17:00 next Saturday. We’ll play Sunday morning training by ear.”

Given the way that the Irish management have been able to dip down the depth chart in recent times, you wouldn’t put it past Farrell that he already had those Belvo minis primed.

Josh van der Flier wasn’t suddenly able to throw lineout darts in Edinburgh because he was asked to do so after injuries to hookers Dan Sheehan and Rónan Kelleher – these are the contingencies that elite teams work on.

It’s why Ireland were able to beat Australia last November with Jack Crowley and Ross Byrne as their out-halves, despite neither being in the initial squad that had been named for the autumn internationals.

It’s why Cian Healy was able to play as hooker against Scotland – again, it wasn’t a case of just throwing him in and hoping for the best: because they are specialist positions, teams have to note on the official teamsheet which replacements can play in which front-row slots.

Well-run machine

That Ireland were able to win 22-7 despite all of the injuries just shows what a well-run machine it is at the moment. Make no mistake – despite the low scoring tally, Scotland played well, but just not as well as Ireland.

And at the same time, that result and England’s 53-10 shellacking against France won’t count for much at Aviva Stadium on Saturday evening.

On paper, all of the perfect ‘Design Your Own Grand Slam’ ingredients are there: St Patrick’s Weekend, at home, against England. It could be a party for the ages. Or a great missed opportunity.

Let’s not bring the mood down, though. Up until now, we’ve sensibly left it to the team and management to spot the pitfalls and prepare well enough to avoid them, and they’ve done that admirably.

Being logical, there’s no reason why anything should change on that front, but none of us would watch sport or be enthralled by it if we were simply treated to the expected thing happening all of the time.

The big occasion can inhibit or inspire – our money’s on the latter when it comes to this Saturday.

Punch-up at International Boxing

Held by the International Boxing Association (IBA), the Women’s World Boxing Championships began in New Delhi in India this week and will run until 30 March.

Ordinarily, we’d discuss the Irish hopefuls and draw a line from the influence of Katie Taylor, helping to create a pathway that was not always there in the past.

However, there is no Irish representation there, nor will there be any at the men’s championships in Uzbekistan in May.

The decision to boycott – both in terms of fighters and referees – was taken by the Irish Athletic Boxing Association (IABA) last month, after concerns about the IBA’s lack of transparency and governance. The United States of America had taken a similar stand.

“IBA practices and activities are not of the standard required to secure our sport’s future,” the IABA statement read.

“There are no winners in the current landscape. All members deserve a level playing field in tournaments run to the highest possible standard by an organisation which has their welfare, their futures, and their sport at its heart.”

One can imagine that the IABA did not come to their conclusion lightly, as the short-term upshot is to deny its boxers the chance to win medals on the international stage. Amy Broadhurst and Lisa O’Rourke, winners last year, are unable to defend their titles.

Taking a stand is never easy – if it was, everybody would be doing it. We can only hope that this one achieves a positive outcome in the long run.

Passing of Liam Kearns

Last Sunday night brought the sad news of the passing of Offaly football manager Liam Kearns at the age of 61.

In such cases you will hear people say that it puts things in perspective, but the majority of people involved in or interested in sport do have their priorities fairly well in order.

Essentially, sport is the escapism when the perspective gets a bit too heavy.

Liam Kearns had a gift for coaching and he was able to sprinkle stardust on Limerick and Laois, taking them to provincial football finals, and Tipperary, whom he led to an All-Ireland senior football semi-final for the first time since 1935.

The supporters of those counties will remember the great days out that he helped to generate, and of course those in Offaly will lament the fact that his premature death means that he wasn’t able to carry on the work of John Maughan there.

But, above all, anyone with an ounce of involvement in the GAA will mourn the loss of a husband, father and a valued colleague in An Garda Síochána up until his retirement.

You never know when it’s your time, so it’s best to cram in as much as you can and the Kerry native did that. How fitting that the fixture-list for Division 3 of the Allianz Football League should pair Tipp and Offaly this Saturday evening in Thurles, the perfect occasion to acknowledge his coaching work.

To his wife Angela and daughters Rachel and Laura, his wider family and circle of friends, we send our deepest sympathies.