Ireland's rugby fans `are smartest'

IRELAND'S WIN over Italy yesterday may not guarantee overall victory in rugby's Six Nations tournament, but the team have already trumped all the opposition in one way: they have the most intelligent supporters.

A test of fans from the six countries in the event placed the Irish highest. Devised by researchers at Bath University, the test covered the five core areas of intelligence - logic, verbal ability, general reasoning, visual-spatial ability and numbers.

The Irish had the best overall average with 79 per cent, as well as the best logical abilities, averaging 83 per cent. By contrast, the Welsh, seen by some as loquacious, came bottom in verbal ability with an score of only 55 per cent. The English fans topped the table for visual-spatial ability, recording an impressive 80 per cent.

And who came last, overall? The French.