Nostalgic returns for Brady and O'Dowda; Thornley pays tribute to Eddie Butler

• Author: Nathan Johns
• Published date: 20 September 2022
• Publication title: Irish Times: Web Edition Articles (Dublin, Ireland)

The return of the URC last weekend sees Gerry Thornley's Tuesday column return to these pages. However, instead of focusing on the mixed bag of results for the provinces, the untimely passing of Welsh commentator Eddie Butler is what dominates, Thornley highlighting his own experiences with the former international in his tribute: "It is as the iconic voice of rugby on BBC, eclipsing even the great Bill McLaren, that he will be best remembered and loved. For as well as being intelligent, erudite and articulate, he was blessed with a ridiculously lyrical voice. Whenever the BBC put together a rugby montage with Eddie's mellifluous voiceovers they were compelling viewing. He could have made reading the telephone directory absorbing." In more current, province-related news, Andrew Goodman has spoken about his decision to leave the Crusaders and coach at Leinster 12 years after first arriving in Dublin as a player

In rowing, racing together again as if they'd never been apart, the Irish women's four crew of Aifric Keogh, Emily Hegarty, Eimear Lambe and Fiona Murtagh - which won Olympic bronze in Tokyo last summer - reunited to win their heat on day two of the...