i'll Still Be Watching Spooner

Nathan "Spoons" Spooner plays as an out-half with the Leinster team who to the disappointment of the local crowd were beaten in the Heineken Cup semi-finals by Perpignan. He came to Dublin two years from Sydney with his school-teacher wife Eloise who also happens to be a bit of a whiz with the pole vault. The couple live in Ballsbridge - if they threw a rugby ball from their house it would land in Lansdowne Road - and say they couldn't be happier in their adopted home.

"The people are fantastic," says Nathan, when asked what he enjoys about life in Dublin. "The atmosphere generally in the town is great and the social life is incredibly busy". While admitting he is not a voracious party animal, he says a typical night will start with pints in Kiely's pub in Donnybrook. The evening will continue with a trawl of the pubs on Dawson Street, Café En Seine is one favourite, before he ends up in Lillie's Bordello or Annabels. "If it gets really late we will end up in a wine bar on Leeson Street," he says.

The Leinster coach Ken Ging has been "very supportive" since their move. "We have been well looked after which made settling into a new town much easier," he says. "Dublin is very different to Sydney but some things are the same. People are humorous and laid back which is a lot like the way people are back home," he says. "The friendliness of the locals is probably the best thing about Dublin for me".

Eloise is equally enamoured with the city. "There is nothing that I would be doing at home in Brisbane that I can't do here," she says. "It is very easy to live in Dublin and to get about. What has been great is that we haven't had any worries about making friends. There are always people wanting you to go out even if sometimes I can't because I have training the next morning". When she is not down at University College Dublin training with her athletics team, Eloise likes to browse the stores around Grafton Street. She is a fan of the Powerscourt Design Centre in the Powerscourt Townhouse where the clothes of local designers such as Mariad Whisker and John Rocha can be found.

The couple have used their Dublin base to explore the rest of the country. "We have been all around Ireland, to Kerry, Cork, Connemara and Sligo. The only place we haven't seen is Donegal so that is next on our list," he says. Both Nathan and Eloise say the unpredictable climate is the only thing they don't like about Dublin. "We are used to such hot summers at home," says Nathan. But even dull and wet weather won't tarnish memories of their time here, says Eloise. "The city really is an amazing place to walk around. I love the Georgian architecture and the general atmosphere in the town. And when the sun does shine Dublin is a really beautiful place," she says.