ALL rugby talk last week seemed to centre on the second autumn fixture between Ireland and New Zealand in the Aviva Stadium on Saturday evening and, to a lesser degree, on the women’s match between Ireland and Canada at UCD earlier in the day.

However, there was plenty of action at Donnybrook Stadium on Friday as 16 teams competed in the hugely successful all-Ireland senior school girls’ X7 finals. In the semi-final, Rockwell College lost out by a golden try to Gorey Community College, who went on to beat Presentation College Thurles in the final. In their semi-final, debutantes Presentation beat the 2015 winners Sacred Heart, Tullamore.

We are certain that there were many more players from the world of equestrianism at Donnybrook but those we know for sure who lined out included show jumper and top camogie player Grace O’Donnell (Presentation College Thurles) and Susie Doyle (Rockwell), winner of the working hunter championship at the RDS this year on Fiona O’Dwyer’s Knocklucas Chloe.