Concentrating on the weekend of March 22/23, when the Irish rugby team did the (almost) unthinkable and secured a Grand Slam victory for the first time in many years, I was interested in seeing how a traditionally football-oriented tabloid paper kept up in its coverage against the more traditionally rugby-bound columns of the national broadsheets.
In typical tabloid fashion, the Sunday Star lead their celebration section with "Slambod Millionaires!", simultaneously including both Brian O'Driscoll (BOD) and the Oscar-Winning (and therefore relevant to champions) film Slumdog Millionaire, as well as alluding to the paucity of Irish rugby's trophy cabinet down the years and their sudden rise which is mirrored by a young Indian slum boy in the film. Quite brilliant really.
In terms of content, the Star pales in comparison to The Irish Times' impressive coverage. A good six pages of large broadsheet paper are dedicated to the celebration and analysis of the victory with a multitude of columnists, while the Star pays its dues but concentrates on the images of the final victory, almost in order to tell the story with pictures.
The Irish Times Sports Section simply prints a massive picture of O'Gara wheeling away in celebration after his drop-goal which ensured the win in Cardiff, with the simple line "Ireland deliver on a Grand scale". Reaction is almost over-covered, with players, coaching staff, fans and columnists' own opinions all included as well as more analysis of the game and the tournament as a whole. I found the coverage in The Irish Times much more satisfactory to read than the Star's, as it was more in depth and had greater feeling.
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