The Public Nuisance Podcast #073 “Like Being in a Car Crash Every Week” with Stephen Ferris

Welcome to a new episode of The Public Nuisance Podcast with me, Sean McComb.

This week we welcome Stephen Ferris to the podcast.

We cover the brutal physical reality of professional rugby, why every game feels like a car crash, GPS tracking, G-force collisions and how modern rugby monitors player fatigue, Brian O’Driscoll’s legendary toughness, earning respect inside elite teams, walking into the Ireland setup as a young player, free team meals and realising sport had become serious, boxing versus rugby toughness, dirty tactics, eye gouging and old-school rugby madness, Wayne Rooney and the death of street footballers, personalities in modern sport, Eddie Hearn signing rugby players, fake boxing build-ups and why Sean doesn’t buy into the drama, staying calm before a fight, dressing room nerves, players throwing up before games, how to know when someone is hurt in boxing, Carl Frampton’s rise, decline and unforgettable fight nights, walking Frampton out in Belfast, Ireland boxing camps, Paul Barnes, Kazakhstan training camps and Soviet-style boxing culture, rugby tours, Argentina nightlife and drinking culture, the chaos of team environments, playing darts with Michael van Gerwen, the madness of darts nights, growing up through sport, school rugby, football, working-class graft, getting a first rugby contract, taking opportunities when they come, Sean’s next fight plans, Croke Park, Katie Taylor, world title ambitions, Stephen’s work in rugby punditry and insurance, life after sport, real friendships after retirement, and much more.

New episodes every Tuesday.

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Sean McComb

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Killen Studios

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That Prize Guy

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The Wing Society

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Transcript

Welcome And Studio Setup

SPEAKER_01 0:07

Welcome to the Public Nations Podcast. Right here in Killen Studios, where you can get all your content. Photo shoots and podcasts, video editing, whatever you need, we've got it right here.

SPEAKER_03 0:18

Well the thing is about Rugby, Sean, is that you're in a car crash every single week.

SPEAKER_01 0:23

That's what I mean. That's exactly what I mean.

SPEAKER_03 0:24

Car crash every single week. And people think you know, they go to a match and they see the players playing, but they don't understand what goes in to the week leading up to that and the few days after they get your body recovered, to go again. Absolutely. And to go again and to go again and to go again. Like them boys, I think a couple of Ulster lads at the minute, around 20 games they've played. That was week 24, it was last week.

SPEAKER_01 0:51

I'm just thinking that's the same because I'm thinking 20 car crashes. 20 car crashes, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 0:57

Yeah, the G Force is going through your body. There was an interesting story. Brano Dreskel was playing against Wheels. Right? I don't think I was playing in the game actually, uh a good few years ago. And we all wear GPS monitors or yeah. For used to wear GPS monitors, and you've noticed them. So if anybody's watching the gamer open, you see a sweet square about that size, yeah sitting in the back of somebody's jersey. That's what it is. That's what it tracks and everything. G force comes through your body, how far you're running, high speed meters, you know, every collision that you're in, it'll register. Yeah. Now all the players also wear gum shields, yeah, which register if they've had a suspected concussion. Right? So that's why you see a lot of people coming off. I never wore gum shield.

SPEAKER_01 1:43

Yeah, I used to get my gum sheets off, John Hockey. I don't know if you know him. John Hockey, yeah, name rings of bell like that. He he he done gum sheets for a lot of the a lot of the rugby lads, but they they had like uh for me, not for me, but it had all the clippings in it, and it's like it makes you twitch and it finds your strongest bed point and all that. It's so like so tactical now, but you never wore one.

SPEAKER_03 2:04

Does he not? No, but from fucking first year in school, like right packed up a rule.

SPEAKER_00 2:09

I didn't ever wanna teeth for all right, like a rubber nose. It's just I have no excuse. I've had the worm from I was eating.

SPEAKER_03 2:22

Well at least we're not like Frampton, like an easy way to turn it to get the hair done the teeth on the whole lot. He's on the Botox now.

SPEAKER_01 2:30

It's gone. It's gone. But um I should they track everything with the stuff.

SPEAKER_03 2:41

They track everything, yeah. And then it's uh it's got this stage now where obviously you're more susceptible to injury when you're fatigued, right? You're more susceptible to getting knocked out when you're fatigued. Absolutely. Right. So if if two or three players are like you know, really dropping off a cliff, then the head coach actually has access to that information live, so he can then make a substitution. Yeah. Back in my day, that wasn't the case. It was sort of when I like I retired 2014, so it was just coming in. Yeah. Then the more the GPS uh side of things. When I first started playing rugby, you know, I think I've been knocked out, you know, getting a magic sponge. Uh you go, what's the score? 27, 12. Oh, yeah, you're alright, right? You know, and then the next day you wake up and you have a thumping sore head. Or do you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_01 3:28

We were saying about Brown Driscoll, so oh sorry, yes.

SPEAKER_03 3:31

I so in that game against Wales, it's the highest ever uh uh collision, G-Force collision in a match. I think it was a guy called Scott Williams that tackled Brandon Driscoll, and like M2 full yeah, he had a long collision like 10 metres per second, 10 metres per second. Fang and I can't remember what the G Force was. Look it up, but it it was insane. Like that's man. And he played a good innings, like he played one of these till he was 34.

Sponsors And Local Food Shoutouts

SPEAKER_01 4:02

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SPEAKER_03 5:04

First and foremost, he's a top lad, brilliant fella, really, really good guy. And um I uh when I first met him, I went into like I was only 20, 20 when I first went into Arch Camp. Like I was a sweet boy, like overwhelming.

SPEAKER_01 5:20

Overwhelming.

SPEAKER_03 5:21

We're walking into Kleiny Castle Hotel down in uh Docky, down uh Dublin, and uh walked in and this guy Simon Best, Rory Best brother, had given me a lift down. I can remember being in the restaurant, um, we walked into the restaurant and everybody was ordering food and all. You know, it's it's just like a meetup for like the the evening time meeting. So we get down for dinner or whatever, and big John Hayes walked in, and David Wallace like walked in, and Peter Stringer and Ron O'Gara and you know Treco and all that walking in, right? And I go, fuck it, I don't have my wallet with me. Like I was like, uh have a bowl of soup, please. Uh can I have a pillow pillow prompt, please? And uh surfing turf, medium air, right? I was like, what the fuck's going on? I said the same, and he was sitting beside me. Sam here, spot me 20 quid there. Would you like until I get up the road? He says, What are you talking about? It's all free. Excuse me. Cancel that save. Um, and that was it. I was like, flip Ben Hell. This is you know, we're getting into the serious side of things where everything's just taken care of. But I remember meeting Brian for the first time, like, and he just walked out. He's actually parked his car out the side of the Kleiny Castle, and um he came in the side door. He was sponsored by Lexus back in the day, big five-litre car or whatever, he's legend, like, and he came walking in and he just looked at me and went, hiya, Brian, and they just walked on, you know, and I was like, uh no no small talk here, like a bit of chit-chat or whatever. Uh, but there wasn't like at that time, you sort of almost had to sort of gain his respect, trying to earn his earnest respect, which uh hopefully I've done over there, but he was definitely like he was a magician, like yeah, he was hard as fuck. I'm telling you now, he was see if he came in here now, he would not want to get into scrapboard. I'm like, okay, yeah, yeah. Like we'll be male in general.

Boxing Versus Rugby On Toughness

SPEAKER_01 7:22

I just think we'll be people go like one of the last training of my gym, he's a coach of my gym, and he says me, I put him through a boxing session the other week, and he was like he plays Irish League football this guy, and uh he was training away and doing a bag session and getting different drills, but I done it with him at the end. I was I was alright, it was okay for me. And he was like just starting, he was like, Boxing's the hardest sport in the world. Like with like I was like rugby, football. Like to listen, I mean like you like the impact I can go ten rounds without getting hit. I can't play rugby match for getting hit. Rugby rugby players can't go like it. And he was like, I'd say box Isaac made going play I I've never played a rugby game for that reason. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Don't don't he was like so we can only imagine like how tough the lad and like you see Jay and I've played G grown up and you see how tough they are and they bottle on. Yeah, and you watch rugby and there's not a like there's people's teeth coming out and it's or you see busted head and it's just like go again, go again.

SPEAKER_03 8:24

I'll give you an example. Like I played against Stade France A in a European Cup game, Belfast, right? And there's a guy called David Atube who ended up getting banned for 54 weeks for eye gouging me, right? Look it up, David Atube, eye gouge. You see a picture of it, his finger I mean like four inches in my eye socket. That's insane. And in the same game, I got eye gouged by another guy called Julian Depuis, and he got banned for 27 weeks in the same game. That's mental.

Marketability And Fake Fight Build-Up

SPEAKER_01 8:56

Mental mental, but it's just a will to win, isn't it? Like just it's not a will to win, it's a few. Well, you get some dirty fuckers in the girl like along the way, but I suppose that's like I remember watching even like with football, I think that like dirty players in football, the big tricks of like when you look at Wayne Rooney, I remember like there was a story of Wayne Rooney when he came into like Avant Ground when he was 16, and he was like, he was just a street footballer, just rough, just kicking even at 16 he was like a man. But I remember he was saying this story, he's like, I remember going in, getting a call, the Avant first team at 16. I was like, What the fuck? Yeah, and when he started training, I was like, These are all shit. He's like, these are all shit, and he was just kicking him, like he was just he's like Don't McRoggins was there. Yeah, but he's probably like a hard man, but he's like, We're all shit now, we're just kicking him about and a 16-year-old doing that. And that's why he probably went on to be as good as he was, because he just had that on him. Yeah that like rough street type of footballer. You don't get that anymore. It's very technical now. Everything is well, I think what's probably with technology, you're able to see like what he does, so you can block it out. Then everything's just done technical. But like even GAA, like the foot gay like football now, they have to have two players or something in one half, so it stops people just blocking a wall, like like building like 15 players behind the no behind the ball, uh-huh and preventing people score like the scoring being so low because then I got one year and it was like no one could break them down, they just sat behind the ball. Tim McGinnis who just had a big fucking load of load of fucking bricks laying up the wall, just no one could break them down.

SPEAKER_03 10:29

What's your thoughts on personalities in the in the game, like uh especially boxing like this big because obviously just recently there's a couple of rugby players have signed with Eddie Hearn. Yeah, right, okay for the agency, the sport agency with his sporting agency, guy called Finn Russell, he plays out half for Scotland, one of the best in the world.

SPEAKER_01 10:49

Actually, seen that one, I've seen the one where he where it was announced.

SPEAKER_03 10:52

Another guy, Henry Pollock, who has like a bleach blonde hair. Oh wow. He's only like 21, 22, uh maybe a wee bit older now, 23. Um, but he's he's a good player, but he's just so marketable, like you know.

SPEAKER_01 11:04

That's what Harry Hearn's looking for. That's what he's looking for. Someone who has that's Harry Horn loves that gift take up. That's what you look at the public nuisance, it's kind of a shame age. I'm an ugly cut. Well, that's what he's looking for, marketable. Like people here are marketable and everything he does. That's why like Katie Taylor is so marketable. She's like she's a queen of Irish boxing, she's a queen of world women's boxing, like global superstar.

SPEAKER_03 11:35

Well, the reason I asked that is because anytime I'm watching boxing, it seems to be like every fight that's being made, there's like a fake build-up now. It's just like you know, these fake weigh-ins where they're having to go at each other and like pretend to hit each other and all, and then it gets the fight and it's such a letdown. Yeah. No, I I think you do get one or two, like where you're very interested in the build-up. Some of them are weakness.

SPEAKER_01 12:02

Like, see, to be honest, I've never done it ever, and I never will do it because it's like I don't care. Like, we're gonna fight anybody. So see all this pushing and shoving, it means nothing.

SPEAKER_03 12:11

What do you you you say a few words from time to time?

SPEAKER_01 12:13

Like, oh I don't say I just people as co I just go. I just like say, we'll do it, do it in the ring, you like people say I'm gonna do this thing, let's measure it and I go do it in the ring. It's no point stopping written, just do it in the ring.

SPEAKER_03 12:27

What's the worst you've got? Like if you're anybody saying, like, I'm gonna fucking kill you, you're gonna Nah, I've never really had anyone 'cause I I'm a messer.

SPEAKER_01 12:35

I I s like I slag people. There was a fella coming, he was sort like Serbian or something, he was giving me like whatever he was saying in his language in Serbian. I was like, um he's getting sent home or cauliflower ours, and everyone was laughing, and he was like looking, going, What? And everyone was like, Did you just make I was like, he fucks you he's number cauliflower ours? Because he was giving it that in his language, and everyone was laughing, and he didn't understand what I was laughing at, so he was asking the interpreter what he was saying, and then he looked at me and then he just starts laughing, and I'm like, fucking. So I just mess around and joke, I don't take it serious, as seriously as it is, because at the end of the day, when we get in the ring, all the preparations being done. I know exactly what I'm gonna do when I get in the ring.

SPEAKER_03 13:20

Like I remember like as a rugby player, sorry to cut you off, as a rugby player, when you're just about to go out, like honestly, you fucking run through that wall. Like I like you're absolutely pumped up to the fucking max. Like you have people in the change rooms are in the toilet, booking their guts up because they're so nervous. You have boys in fucking shiting themselves because if you know you've boys smashing their head off the fucking lockers to get themselves going. You've boys that are getting massaged in the corner. Everybody's sort of different.

SPEAKER_01 13:49

Everyone's different, that's what I was going to say.

SPEAKER_03 13:51

But it's like you're always suspecting.

SPEAKER_01 13:53

The amount of people who I uh who I've shot a dressing room before, like teammates who's been in my dressing room, and I've seen Emmons, and I'm like, there's people who just stand like just being silence. Like see I I've told I've said this before big potty McCrory. Yeah, he was in my dress room before, and he was like, That's f he's just we were all laughing and joking, and I was in the next time because I don't do pause and my team were all slagging and like joking or proper, like next stories laughing. He was like, That's insane. He's like, That's I can't believe you're fighting next. Because make sure it doesn't matter because everything's done. But I like when I walk in the ring, it's just I don't know. So when the bell goes, do you like no like I'm switched on when I pause no problem? Joking in between, but I'm switched on. I've been switched on like that the whole day, that whole week. I'm just like I ain't constantly go over and over and over. Nah.

SPEAKER_03 14:48

So if you if if you get clipped, like because somebody clipped me, like I'll be like, you fucking.

SPEAKER_01 14:53

There's times where you end up like you get a bit of frustration and you just like you you start trading and start, but it's not my style to start and trade with someone to talk. But like you go away from the game plan, so it's like it's it's it's it's very easy to do that. It's harder not to do it. Because it's like you gotta stay swift on. Like you just that comes with experience. I haven't done it in a long time, so like the more experience I've gotten, I've started to understand like that's what it's only one punch. I don't need to beat someone up for a full round, because see about boxing scoring is it's 10-9. Unless you put him down, it's 10-8.

SPEAKER_04 15:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 15:27

If I put him down twice, it's 10-7, and that's it, that's the first that'll go.

SPEAKER_03 15:31

So the other thing, the other question I have for you when I was thinking I was when I was coming up to see you, like, how do you know when somebody's hurt? Right? Because you see you see boxers' legs go, yeah, right, but that doesn't necessarily mean they're hurt, like like in terms of right now, I'm gonna waste 30 seconds energy here.

Following Frampton And Fight Weekend Stories

SPEAKER_01 15:51

That's the balance, it's trying to find that balance of no one, which is again an experience that comes me personally in the ring. I it's very hard to see it. Sometimes my coach will see it, and it's up to him to go, he's hurt. Because there's times I've hurt people and I hadn't a clue they were hurt, even spawn. When I'm training with someone spawn, it's full whack spawn, it's full blip like you're you're beating the shit out of each other. Like and there's times I've heard people spawn, and then I go back to the corner and people like he's hurt, I'll be like, He's not hurt. And then after the spar, they'll be like, You can't hit me a body come breathing every 30 seconds. It's like fuck we should have known that then that's just the way it goes. But in in the ring, a lot of times, body language again, it's just known, like reading people's body language, how they start to fade when they come out full of confidence, and then you'll see them maybe backing off more than they it's just same we small behavioural changes within the ring, and it's to have our eyes, like for for a boxer to have that eye and see it, it's like you you know, like because I've always sat and watched like I'd be a big I traveled the world like following Frampton, like Vegas over the UK a couple of times.

SPEAKER_03 17:00

I didn't get to the gate of the fight in New York. Um the first one that he wore Manchester I got to Manchester Warrington, which was obviously disappointing.

SPEAKER_01 17:10

I was proper gutter because I was like Carl smash his head on like and that was the first shape of his life. And I remember at that time watching it, and I was going because Carl taxed me, he had a room that he didn't use, and he was like, Do you want to buy us a room? Because I was pay for this, and I didn't realise Frank wanted, but me and Christine a room anyway, but she's pay for it. So I I just sent him the money and I said, I will take it. I remember like going like after like a third round, I was like, This isn't the same Frampton. It's like like the the way just the like see when Frampton for how small he was and how compact he was, he was an unbelievable boxer. So he was coming out and he was letting Wynton just move. He was letting him move and move and move and move, and I was like, for like the first minute and a half, and then Wanton would just come in and just start throwing these mad attacks there, and Front was trying to trade with him, and I was going, that was the first time I realised me he's not the same fighter anymore.

SPEAKER_02 18:04

Has he said that about that fight?

SPEAKER_01 18:06

Nah, but I remember like like I remember watching it and being like, it's not the same fighter because before Frampton is slow, like his IQ was so good that he would he would recognize it, and I just think that was the start of his decline.

SPEAKER_03 18:20

Like I know it was disappointing. Like I was there flipping watched it. We went over for like three or four days. We're in Vegas for five days. Fuck that was so trash. Sure it was. Oh man, Michael O'Neill was with us, yeah. Um the Northern Ireland manager. Um, some crack, uh, brilliant fun.

SPEAKER_01 18:43

Um it's mad the support he brings, like the support front and had like even the build that the build that thing in the Titanic. Yeah, I walked him out on the stage. Class.

SPEAKER_00 18:54

And I was fucking rage.

SPEAKER_01 18:56

I made him windsor on his on his I made that. Oh yeah, I could jump my shoulders and walk in.

SPEAKER_03 19:04

But I can remember I was like, where was I going? Oh I a good friend of mine, Johnny Davis, the old strength conditioning coach at Ulster. We had signed up to do this uh MTB like mountain biking, right, across um Island, right? And it was like six hours or eight hours sort of thing. We've been training a good bit, like, and doing a good bit. And there's three of us, a guy called Simon Danielli, myself, Simon played for Ulster, myself, and JD. And it was on that Saturday, right? And like I had the bike and all packed up in this box and all right, ready to go and all. And Frampton sent me a message, he says, Oh, would you love you to you know walk me out, you know, with the boys or with my team or whatever. And I rang JD straight away. He says, JD, look, cancelled, mate. I have to go to go into this fight. He goes right there on. But I I was a bit stupid, like, because I didn't want to be the guy who was front centre, like fucking look at the cameras on me and all like I literally was like as far back, maybe 20 metres away from him, like when the entourage and everything was walking out. And then when we got to the ring, I didn't get into the ring. Ah, you shouldn't have to be around. And I should have got into the ring and see if I could the clock. Yeah, absolutely. I stood on the a stood on the canvas, but it didn't get under the through the roof. And I can remember like he was just like, you know, in the zone, just doing his own thing. Where I'd love to get in, give him a high five or whatever. Um text now, you like slagging each other off and amount of cellulite and all he has now got long.

Amateur Boxing Camps And Hard Lessons

SPEAKER_01 20:45

Him and my brother to be very close, like uh him and the broader grew up together basically boxing like through out, and they've just always stayed mates, which is class. My brother stopped boxing when he was a team with it. He went to like Ben Dingo in Australia in 2004 or something. Oh, like and uh they've just always had a good good friendship, and then obviously Polly Barnes is a very good friend of mine. I was see, like you telling that story of going to um like under the Irish setup for the first time. I was like me but Polly Barnes, uh he was like the Olympian that fucking he was European gold medalists and yeah, he was like five or six years older than me, Potty. But I was going on the Irish team for the first time. I when I won the Irish Elites, they called me on the Irish team, but I was only 20. And Polly was had so much experience him and Michael Collins or and he was like he just taxed me on Twitter, yo are you going to Dublin tomorrow? Because if you once you win the Irish Elites, you get an invite to you on the Irish team. And I was like, Yeah. And he was like, sweet, I'll grab you about two o'clock. He says, I was just going to get the bus. He says, Why is up your head I'm driving? I'll grab you at two o'clock. And I went, It says on the invite we're dinner for lab, but we were train at the training camp was in Limerick in New Year's. We actually met Paul O'Connell at dinner and potty and Paul on the field. He was in Yale. So we were going down to do a training camp in Yale, and uh Polly's like, I'll grab it at two o'clock. I said, Polly got our first size and he said 11. And he says, Don't mind that you had our folks at your first year. Two hours there. I was like, you're going down to trying to press turn up against. You want to be down there over half a day in the morning?

SPEAKER_00 22:19

I would have camped out the night before. And I think that was the start of my house. So we picked me up at the end. Polly Varsfault.

SPEAKER_01 22:27

Anybody listening? He picked me up at two o'clock. He's like, right, uh uh don't go nose. I was like, 'Cause you have to be like a certain weight, and I'll go on dinner. Like they want you to be like 10% of your body. But he's like, oh I can't do this. My combate, you just went my home fucks it wise up. And then when I got to see how they behaved, I was like now that sort of trickled into me. Uh-huh. And then whenever they turn pro and the new the new boxers come behind me, then I done the same remnants, and it was just it became like a fucking like I don't know. You'd have been away from home a good bit like in those days, were you? Most of we we lived we basically lived in Dublin uh Tuesday to Friday every week because you won funding. Once you were on the ice team, you run funding and you were full-time like and then you were away to Kazakhstan. We done my first ever training camp was Kazakhstan for a month, and it was rough, like rough.

SPEAKER_03 23:17

You ever do Spala in Poland? No. Did you ever go to Spala?

SPEAKER_01 23:20

Never been to Spala, but probably like I think. But it's like Kow third. Oh, yeah, yeah. No, it's beneficial.

SPEAKER_03 23:34

It's fucking full of shit. What is I too? It takes more than that to have a lot of people. Get an extra couple of hours sleep. Like it's way, way better uh more beneficial for you.

SPEAKER_01 23:44

Yeah, we we travelled everywhere. Like it was like cuz I think boxing like because of the countries that are good at boxing, like Ukraine, we were in Ukraine like three times for a month each time. You're living there, and it's like you're eating some crazy food in Kazakhstan, or two or three times, Azerbaijan, you're in Russia, Eastern European are very, very good at boxing. So and our coach on our team, our head coach, what was Billy Wells. When Billy Wells left, it was Zarante. He was like he's Georgian and he's got that Soviet style. So he loves Soviet boxing, so he always brought us out of training camps. It was the worst thing ever. Like the worst ever.

Team Trips, Drinking Culture And Chaos

SPEAKER_03 24:21

I used to hate doing it, going on like a two or three weeks where you had to go away, the summer shite. Like we went away to Argentina uh in 2006 before the 2007 Rugby World Cup. So the the A team stayed at home because they were preparing, right? Yeah. And we had to go to Buenos Aires, and then we had a training camp for a week or ten days, Buenos Aires, and our first game was I can't remember where it was, and but like it was horrendous, like it was awful. It's just but with some night out, like that's what happened. You always find the way out, don't you? It was the best, best night out ever. The social committee done a good job that night.

SPEAKER_01 25:00

You always find like something like at the end of every major competition, we done the same. We like we weren't loud out, you weren't loaded out as a like a boxer, it was just like it was against the code of conduct. We signed a code of conduct and I already drink all by long trip, but we always made room for one night out at the end, and uh it was always the fucking the modest night. But one I'll not pronounce his name here. Um one of the lads, one fella. We all went to the casino and he spent like he ended up fucking absolutely fucking paradigm, had to be carried to bed by one of the fighters. Can't remember fuck all. Got up the next morning, going ballistic, like still drunk. We were gonna home on the bus. He was like, I fucking lost the ground. So we was going mad, I lost their grand. But we we we ran a ground. We were immense, so we were grand a funnel. We were all right, we were blocked there, he lost fucking egg ground, so we went nuts. And we went down to the casino and he had a receipt and he was saying, I fucking so he was going nuts, but we weren't really drinking. And then the head coach Billy Wells went nuts. He was like, What the fuck's going on here? I ain't not fucking getting on that, but I was just making my phone and back and he was like, You shouldn't have been in there in the first place, and you shouldn't have drinking, and he's like, Fuck you, you ain't getting and he was just because he was so drunk stuff. Turned out he didn't lose the acronym and they were then out of the casino, and then he had a receipt to prove it and he had his bank balance. So what happened was he didn't actually lose the acronym in the casino to give you a sweet card. So he loaded up, he loaded up with 8,000 pounds, but he wanted 8,000 air money and he put 8,000 our money in and a transfer and like say they were like I think they were like four or four times our money or something, whatever it was the currency. And he had like all the signs and had to give them it all back.

SPEAKER_03 26:48

Fair fair play.

SPEAKER_01 26:52

No, hundred percent. But the the bus was held up and the coaches were going mad and he got the money back, and then fuck me, it's Emmy, that's uh my bottom and something like that.

SPEAKER_03 27:02

Well, when we were in Argentina in our 2006 tour, we played our first game. Guy Jordy Murphy missed a drop goal in the last minute to win it. Now, Argentina to play rope by is a fierce place. Like we played in a football stadium and uh had like 30 metre high fences away around it, right? We were running out of the tunnel, they were spitting at us trying to throw stuff at us and all. And like we were the B team, like we weren't even the all the all the big lads we're only here for an eight. Well, after that game, I come off the bench and played, I don't know, 15-20 minutes or something. And we went uh we're like, right, lads, we'll have to go to the post-match function, right? Post match function, usually um it's well at home it would be black tire, suit, jacket. You go to dinner, the captain gets up and speaks, you know, the fucking committee member gets up and speaks, then the other team do the same, and then everybody comes together and you mix and all and you bring your family or girlfriends and all, all the usual bullshit, right? And we were like, right, oh fuck's it, right? So we're gonna boss post-match function. So next thing we're like, where's this post-match function? We're like, oh, it's in the middle of time. We're like, right, grand. So next thing this boss pop pulls up, our boss pulls up outside this nightclub, right? And outside the nightclub, there was about 20 I might be exaggerating, 25 unbelievably fit women, right? Wearing little to nothing, mini skirts or like hot pants, boob tubes, and they were holding a drink called Inferno, right? And it's like the Argentinian aftershock, like so to speak, right? So we get out, and as soon as you open the doors of the bust, James Paul. Right, we're like, here we'll go, bikes. That's good. Like saying, like, you know, one guard take her arm, bring us in. Next one, no good. So they were like just bringing us bringing us in, bringing us in. Um I mean, I mean these cards were 10 out of 10, like, and I was only 20, 20, 21. I was only 21, like, so I thought um Christmas is just come like so. We were in the in the nightclub and we're drinking like flat out, and there's a guy called Tony Buckley, he just won his first cap. So there's this kind of thing, thankfully, it sort of disappeared a bit where when you win your first cap, whoever buys you a drink, you have to drink it and match them. So, like you know, so if if I bought him a glass of white wine, I had to drink a glass of white wine, he had to drink a glass of white wine, he was absolutely obliterated, couldn't even speak, couldn't even see, or nothing. But it was the best night out ever. Like, honestly, it was the best night ever. I couldn't believe it.

SPEAKER_01 29:48

What a night out to go to Yeah, like one of those especially when you go into Lake Summer, you think it's like it's a shit shithole, and then it finishes off rather you're like, you know what? It's something that'll always stick their memory forever. It's ridiculous.

SPEAKER_03 30:01

A post-match function, like with 30 birds wearing boob tubes and hot pants and a bunch of rugby lads ready to go. Like it's good crap.

SPEAKER_00 30:10

It's a rest super disaster.

SPEAKER_01 30:12

Oh fuck, we like I was saying it before we like just I think the M trips were like when you're in a big team environment, it's like they're they're just chaos all the time. Like they always end, and there's just so many different personalities and different shit going on. People are like some people are like trying to like hold back, some people are just on a different regular scale.

SPEAKER_03 30:33

Ah, but and this is like people can't handle alcohol either, yeah, as well, which was a big thing. And the drinking culture, like, is slowly the more professional rugbies become. Yeah, like drinking culture is a big part of me coming through the ranks. Like, um I'm gonna say like you weren't drinking every day, but you know, after a match, if you won, you'd usually go out and have a few pints. Uh but thankfully that sort of went away a bit. But then a lot of people would say that especially in local rugby clubs and all, that's what brings people together, is you know, after after a match, you know, you go out and have a few pints with the opposition, and um and that's why they play the game. Yeah. Um at an amateur level, where now at a professional level, they're all fucking robots. Yeah. Like robots, and and have to be because you do you cannot afford to go out and get blitzed one night, wake up the next day, more susceptible to injury, yeah. You know, inflammation in the body. Like uh, if I could rewind the clock back, like I'd definitely had a few lessons I took. Yeah, no, no, no, fuck. Tell me about it.

SPEAKER_01 31:37

And then dumb would drink. I've had my first sure, but um hold on a second.

SPEAKER_03 31:41

The last time I caught up with you, we were at the target. I was putting that. You were like, I'm only having one. And then I was I seen you, you're like, Do you want one, Sean? Do you want one? You were like, Ah, come on ahead. Ten minutes later, somebody else you said, Johnny you want more paint?

SPEAKER_02 31:57

Ah, one more, one more.

SPEAKER_00 32:00

On the stage. Okay, give me already.

SPEAKER_01 32:06

And then the second game, one that man, big man stood up in the final, they were throwing them darts like fucking him. He's a dark boy.

SPEAKER_03 32:14

There's a good story about the darts, actually. So believe it or not, have you heard of Michael Van Gerw? Yeah. I beat Michael Van Garwen in the Davinis complex in Belfast. No way.

SPEAKER_01 32:26

You're undefeated in the Davnish. I swear Undefeated.

SPEAKER_03 32:30

I swear in your life, um, Big Jim and a few other boys, and they set up a Dortch. There was a guy called Daryl Gurney. Daryl Gurney, he's another Irish fella, he throws darts, Michael Van Guerwin, and a guy called Vincent van der Voort. And I played Raymond Van Barneveld about oh geez, about three years before that, down in like the sports stores in the middle of Belfast. Yeah. And he was literally like, I went as like an Australian represent representative. Like, I was like, all right, and he goes, Hello, you know, just got up, went boom, boom, boom. All right, thanks very much. See you later. Next person. But the Davenists was actually great. We went upstairs and we're chatting away to uh the few lads, and they've like the Dodge players love a few drinks, like a bit of crack. But uh of course, I get Van Irwin, and I go right, here we go, bikes, here we go. And again, it was throwing alright, but it was 5-0-1, um, best of three. So we get up there, and all the McGarbury lads that I run about with. See, I used to play for the Dodge team years ago, the pub team, it was a pub called the McGarby Arms, and I had to play it in the Lisburn League, but I had only played again in the B team. Like when I say I played, maybe we played ten times like no, and it was one leg, 501. So I get up on stage and maybe through like 60 ton, 41, 50, right? So we get down to like he was on say 95, and I was on say 195 or 205, and he goes, Oh, flip the scores round, flip the scores round, right? Uh flip the scores. And I was like, fuck happy days, here we go. So he gets up, he's in 220, whatever, and he hits fucking 140, leaves himself 60, or whatever. I get up and take out 95 or whatever. And all the McGaffey laughed up. So it gets to the second leg then, and of course he gets a bit more serious and he boom, boom. Um, we get down a few, and he he um it was a bit of slag and it all he was having a bit of crack, and he took me out, and as on like 200 or something, he took me out, and then the third game we kick again it was like 240, say 80, something like that. And I like and I threw well, I had a couple of tons and all, like I actually threw really well. And he goes, uh, you take my darts, right? And I take your darts, and we flip the scores round, right? And his darts are like we pins, yeah, they're small, but so light, right? And my darts are they're not heavy, like the standard size, and again he hit like I say 90 or something with my darts. And I get up and I threw again like 14 or 15 or something, like couldn't even throw these things. So I was left and I was it seven to eight or something, uh something like that, and again he left himself a double, and I get up and I took out a hit 1820 double top.

SPEAKER_02 35:23

I just beat the current word jumping. I I tell people that story.

SPEAKER_01 35:30

Albeit he flipped the score down to what I'll take it.

SPEAKER_03 35:34

That was a good name.

SPEAKER_01 35:35

I went to uh the torch a couple of years ago, they invited me down, MGM, to take a to sponsor the baton sponsor Fortnite and the Odyssey first time down, unbelievable. Van Garwin player uh who playing and it was the league torch league, wasn't it? Wasn't Gary Anderson? No, it wasn't Gary Anderson. Oh I know it was Luke Littler. Luke Litter wasn't him, was it? Luke Litter beat him a um what a night, but I was I remember walking around, people dressed up. I wasn't expecting it to be what it was. He's b I was right up the show.

SPEAKER_03 36:04

Yeah, no in your fucking D or shoes like in your chair fucking giant for you.

SPEAKER_01 36:08

Like I was up with Lake Mark Allen always took my visit now. I brought my wife because he loves the touch, so I was like, Mama go and he was like, You sure me? Alright, that's cool. And we went and had a laugh. But the whole setup, the big long tables, we were right up the very front. Van Garham was there, the people were dancing about it. I was like, This is what unbelievable. This is a proper night out. I was like, see, every year I'm gonna try and get this. And then the guy who was the same me, he invited me, he's like, I'll get you over next time. Don't worry about it, I'll get you over it. It's like fucking keep me in mind.

SPEAKER_03 36:36

Apparently, it's the most paints sold in the Odyssey, is on the darts.

SPEAKER_01 36:40

I believe so. Like that's the most alcohol sold. Goggled. Eight pants, big boom, boom, why's the Mindy? Fuck me, what a sport.

SPEAKER_00 36:49

I'm gonna get see that dartboard, I just want to give it away.

SPEAKER_03 36:55

Oh no, don't throw it away. It's it's it's always good. I hanging up the donny goal here for a mate of mine, it's 40th. And like my mates would play darts, but again, it's just casually. But we've just said in the group chat, here pack a dartboard, you know, because one of the lads has got a stand, you can just tip it on, like uh with the Airbnb. But when you're having a few paints, but you can turn around the board or something, just better crack. Throw a few quid in and have a pay and pool, isn't it?

SPEAKER_01 37:19

It's not almost coming, like grab a dartboard, short of a pool table, play pool with a dartboard, play. It's enjoyable. Yeah, it's enjoyable. Um, whereas a sports we reproduce very much.

SPEAKER_00 37:29

You're fucking you're well.

Growing Up Sport Mad And Finding Rugby

SPEAKER_03 37:30

I worked in a pub, you see, and my brother worked in the pub. So, like back bit of back history of me, like went to friends' school in Lisbon, good education, grammar school, followed my brother, wasn't a straight A student by any stretch, probably struggled more in school than than most, just because everybody else was so fucking smart. Yeah. Um and then left school 16, went to tech. Fucking what do you do at tech? He just bluff. I bluff around, bluff around. Then went and started playing club rugby, poured it down just for the crack, good side. Got noticed a bit more. I got offered to go to Ulster youth system, which was just all club players, came together. Um played in an Enterprise series, we won that. I played really well. Then it's fucking two years later I'm playing for Ireland.

SPEAKER_01 38:20

Like mad, isn't it? Like we say, like what time what day like when did you start playing away? Did you always play away from like you've got a bigger one?

SPEAKER_03 38:31

No, no, I picked up rugby, like I played football. Like I from as soon as I could walk, played football. Um again, like at school, like I remember when I went to France, picked up a rugby ball in first year. Guy called Barney McGonagall gave me a rugby ball. We were shy, like we weren't a good rugby school. Like if we had a play at Wallace or Enst or Campbell or anything, like we'd'd have got beaten 100, like but we sort of got a bit of a side going and got a run in the medallion shield, which is third years. Aye, third years, got a good run in it, and we got to the quarterfinals in in in that um and had a good run. So I thought played football and then um played rugby in school. I can I can remember in like fifth year, playing for the first, I was playing for the first in fifth year, so 17, 18 year olds, and I was fifteen. Yeah. I was playing against them just because it was bigger, like bigger, I was because I go home after a fucking rugby match, absolutely nagged. Like, roll in mum would always pick me up, she'd always do a shop and go to Tesco's when I'm playing rugby, yeah, pick me up again, grab a salt cellar, not more, get a fishing job from, and then go home. I'd be putting my head down. The next thing is my mate Dave.

SPEAKER_02 39:45

He said, Steve, fucking come on with it. We're down a player here. Need you to play for my Garby football team.

SPEAKER_03 39:52

He's all men, yeah, right. So time to play for the pub team, then. So go and play Donna Clooney, Moir Albion, fucking Demurie, Rec or whatever. Like, it's me, 15, like playing up front against all these mad men, like so but but uh it was enjoyable, like that's the way that's the way it was, and probably it's still I think that's gone of it now.

SPEAKER_01 40:13

Like, we're like now I would have went to school and done it across country and come out and went to Parking train that night and then went up and play galaxy for Courtney. All one day, and like come straight home, went to bed, up the next day, and I bought a had like uh football and then bought went and played a foot match for school. But what would you been doing, Sean, if you had them in fucking on the streets for raging or she just but now like kids don't really hang around the streets no more. No. So that's like that's gone, but like we hadn't no gadget from me, but obviously we didn't have no like technology, no phones around there. My first phone it was 17 or something. I mean, it was fucking 3310 or something.

SPEAKER_03 40:57

I heard you had one of those cheat codes you had got three free tap.

SPEAKER_00 41:04

Where'd you get that from?

SPEAKER_01 41:06

Fucking some crack, like when you look back and you go, fuck the stuff you done, the entertain yourself. But as as you say, like you could like call us what you wouldn't run up to otherwise, but um it was just you were never tired, you're just sport after sport. Like I don't know, I played all sports. People always go to me, you're one of them caught the skate of ring, and I go, I play the ring. We played everything, hurling, you like handball, football, boxing. It just turned out that it was good at boxing. But it's mad away, like because you're so big like were you increased like no, like some some people are encouraged you go into a sport because you like you're I think in China at a really young age. They like to scout you for a sport based on your body shape.

SPEAKER_03 41:49

Well like if you're really good at sport in America and you're massive, you get pushed towards American football or you're you're into like college wrestling and that type of thing. Yeah. But like I was the bigger person out of my year. Yeah, so I was always the bigger one and and I like I I didn't like school at all. Like I said, I I didn't I didn't like and and it's so funny, like the school that I went to, there's a lot of people that I liked in it, but there's a lot of people I didn't like, and there's a lot of people that tried to fuck me over when I was in school as well. Um and for for being a teenager, you know, but because we had to set this unbelievable example because of the school that we went to. Um but anyway, that's that's a different story. But yeah, I was I was a bigger person in school, so then I played number eight, which when you're playing number eight in rugby, you get a lot of touches in the ball because there's a lot of scrums at that level because there's so many fucking knock-ons. So the ball just used to come to me at the back of scrum and I used to pick it up and just then run through people or bounce people and get go forward. Um so that's why I played number eight right up until I was twenty-one. But there's a guy called Jimmy Heaslip played for Ireland, who was a number eight, he was playing for Leinster, ended up going playing two British and Irish Lands tours, best number eight in the world, like for number so I couldn't get in ahead of him at number eight, so then I squeezed in at six and I played six. Now, very similar roles, but I probably wouldn't have had as many touches in the game. Yeah, so that's the same when I sort of flipped my game a little bit to being more defensively around banging boys, and uh being like a a bit of an enforcer, like without the ball. Yeah, like so um I so that that that's how I get into rugby. Like I've I worked a fucking day job nine to five.

SPEAKER_01 43:51

Like I found out in me. Like it like I was never set out to be I wasn't setting out to be a boxer. I wasn't like, oh that's anyway.

SPEAKER_03 43:57

Like you What would you do, Sean, if you want?

SPEAKER_01 44:00

Oh I worked in a bar too, like and I I went to tackle I would have done something to do with sport. Obviously I've got a gym and on there and it was always something I wanted to do with like going down the road of sport 'cause it I was I loved it. That kept me out of trouble my whole life and yeah. It was a big part of my life. Every sport I've done that I'd like it was alright at it. Like see mate, I have five brothers. There's five of us, right? I've we're sister and four brothers or four sons, right? One's a a plaster, he has a plaster in business. One's a brick name. I need the moment. And then I was like a holiday man, so I'm they always wanted me to have like a trade. My dad was always like, get a trade, get a trade, because he always worked in villain sites, and they was just like, you know, get a trade. And I said, I'm gonna attack, do a sport diploma or something. But I didn't even know what it was gonna get me. I didn't even know what I would have qualified. Like, what does that qualify me to do? You know what I mean? It was like a sports coaching diploma done, but then I was like I remember being like 17 in tack, same as you bluffing my way. I was like, I don't even know what this is gonna do for me. Where am I going after this?

SPEAKER_04 45:36

I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 45:36

I said I'm done at 21, where did I go to uni? Yeah, like I didn't know, I genuinely did not know. So I just went on the big and started going to Dublin on the B team up and down, like Tuesday to Friday, and then I was going to Austria one day to box, and my dad was like, it was like approaching summer, it was like this time of year, man. I was like, what the crack with Tack was driving his van, so I've finally bring me down to uh down to Glengall Street to get the bus into the airport. Um because we were going to Austria with like an all-served in the box, and I was like, Oh yeah, I I haven't been to that in about three months, so he went fucking aircraft and he went nuts. I was like, I've been down to Dublin training fucking on the ice and he was like, What the fuck's I gotta do running? I was like, Oh, you're gonna fucking back. He's like, see when you get home from Austria, we're gonna fucking have a conversation. I was like, Oh Jesus Christ, what have I done? Yeah, and he was like, Fucking all this time, you've been waiting what what have you been doing? Yeah, come and get his head on it. Yeah, and then the next year obviously I won the Irish elites. Yeah, I was on the ice team, I was getting funding, and then he was still nagging at me, like, what are you doing about you fucking the right? What about FNS tomorrow? What are you gonna do? What are you gonna do? I said, I'm alright. And at this stage, I was like on fucking 20 grand a year, tax-free money. I was like, I'm alright. Just cabin nagging at me. Yeah, in my head, I was like, fuck, I just I'm not doing any. I don't know what I want to do. I just want to box now because I've got this day, and this is where I want to be, and this is where I've all um well here.

Taking Opportunities And Turning Pro

SPEAKER_03 47:07

It's funny you say out there, like my first contract, right? By the way, you can get all this information, my autobiography, Steve Stephen Verse Man and Ball. It's actually fucking sold out, so you know I can't get it. You get it in an audio book. It's not thankfully it's not me, I don't think. But I I was paving driveways, my Miranda, he actually owns his own um uh paving company now, champ Champion Driveways. Um and he uh me and him were like working for his guy, Davey Mitchell. And like I remember working evenings and all like up Brooklyn Road and all like we were doing like I mean like all I was doing was wheelbar and like labouring or just like scavying like and I you know carrying fucking 20 block paving Tobermore Breakers like at a time. And I remember going home and I was still playing rugby like so was the weekends. I train on Tuesday night, training Thursday night, uh poured it down, and um Ulster Academy said, Okay, we're gonna offer you a contract, right? So I got the train from Moyer Train Station, walked to Moyer Train Station from McGarbright down the fucking hill, then got on the train, get Jordanstown, right? Four way to fucking Jordanstown every day. And then do like some days you can only be in there to do an hour-long gym session. Yeah. Right? And then you jump in the train and go back, somewhere get there back, and so got travel expenses paid, which is maybe 300 quid a month for a train ticket or 100 quid, I can't even remember what it was. But the first contract I was offered was eight grand, right? 8,000 pound for a development contract while still up here, right? And I'd opened it up and I went to my mind, I was like, I earn three or four hundred quid a week here, you know, if if I put my head down at the time, freaking cash in hand, don't be telling HMRC. But uh, like at 17 years of age, she was like, Stephen, if you're ever given an opportunity, take it. Yeah, and if you don't, it doesn't work out. That's all right, you know, you know, you always go back. So I signed it there and then. She gave me a fucking pen, I remember in her kitchen. I signed it there and then, hand it in, and 12 months later it was on 125. There you go.

SPEAKER_01 49:23

Just leg pump. It was still a Glenn Road. You know what I mean? Basically, Karen and Ireland.

SPEAKER_03 49:31

Everybody always said, No, what give us a piece of advice, you know. What would you give to all young asparring rugby players and all and everything? You know, all this fucking bullshit of oh, go out and enjoy it and have a smile on your face and all this. It's nonsense. What do you do is if you're given an opportunity, you fucking go after it. Like it's like you go after it, and you never know what can come off the back of it.

SPEAKER_01 49:53

That's it. I think you'll develop when you do take the opportunities. That's when you it's like another development in your your career is is like as a robe. It's like you're developing as a person and the mind enough to be like, I ain't getting paid now, I need a fucking that's the way I looked at it. I always remember being like I'm getting paid now. I guess it's my fault. It's my fault. I need to treat it like one. And yeah, it was for me, it was a development towards being even better as a as an athlete than it was.

SPEAKER_03 50:22

What's the future hope for Sean McComb then over the next uh couple of months?

SPEAKER_01 50:25

I don't know. Um I was you know what, I was meant to have a a massive fight at the end of this month and it was a seatboxing it's so political. Like um But Barney McGuigan was meant to fight one of his fighters, Adam Zim, for a world title eliminator.

SPEAKER_03 50:38

I know Adam Azim, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 50:40

His promoter, Ben Shalom, was pushing it, pushing it because they need a big fight for channel five. Okay. Um they're sorry, BBC there with BBC really putting pressure on him. My manager's negotiating the purse all that's why I was like, it's happening. So I flew to Amsterdam training away like fucking Amsterdam. And then the wagons pulled it, they were like, nah, we're not fighting him. Because they're they're smart dick, you know what I mean? And that was extra.

SPEAKER_03 51:02

Because you're fucking dangerous to beat us, that's what it is.

SPEAKER_01 51:04

I'll beat him, they can all beat him. And uh they know about him. They pump so much money in this kid, so it's like if he beats him then or our bread and butter is. I'll do about eight ten weeks for that. A big fight. If it's a big f they're trying to get me a big fight, big opponent. Again, I'm on the fringe.

SPEAKER_03 51:40

Who's a big opponent at the moment?

SPEAKER_01 51:45

In the rankings, you'll have like like domestically, you'll have the like Sadamazim and stuff who again could be a world title eliminated. Yeah. And then the world the world champion vacated and moved up with. So the world title is vac vacant now. Okay. Next in lane, the next person in the end, like the number two ranked fighters, a guy called Delgado, he's from Mexico. I fought him as an amateur in the world championships and beat him. So it's a wee bit of history here. So I'm like trying to sell, like if I fight for a world title eliminator, then he's next in lane. Me and him will fight for the world title, and we'll have history from the past as amateurs, so it'll be good that way. But I'm hoping to get a good like a good scalp here in the in the Kitty Killerball, uh in the 5th September, and then I'll be like again, hopefully be a world title eliminator.

SPEAKER_03 52:31

Okay, free up again. That's okay. You're I need someone to get to get to help me out. Get me in the ring as time guy.

Life After Playing: Media Work And Ulster

SPEAKER_01 52:42

100% and MFU, you're you today, you're away, you're back down commentating this.

SPEAKER_03 52:46

Ah, you literally uh it's full full steam ahead, like um at the minute with rugby. Like I work on insurance as well. Um, when I say I work on insurance with uh uh an insurance company called All Sport Iron Insurance, so we would look after more sports-specific um players for personal accent, but also like the golf clubs for commercial combined policies or um you know, look after a range of different stuff. So if there's anybody out there that we've worked with the uh Northern Ireland Football Association as well, like the Harlem Wood Welders and other teams as well. So I I help with that. My boss Alan Hunter and uh his son Steven and myself um and a couple other people involved. So that that's that does it does it. I'm not doing that nine to five, but it's something else that I like to get after. Um and then I work in commentary, so I work for Premier Sports covering the URC coverage, which is tonight, and then I work for RTE for the international games, so all the Ireland games. Um we split the broadcasting rights with Virgin Media down there, so we share share the games, which is which is good. I've worked for Sky Sports over over the years, uh 2017 British and Irish Lands tour was in New Zealand for that, worked out amazing. Worked for TNT, uh was BT Sport. Like I've worked from working for the stuff. Do you enjoy that side of it now?

SPEAKER_01 54:09

Uh it's good knowledge up to date because you're always like invested, like in what's happening, you need to be aware of like Sean, if you do see if you do it from time to time, yeah, it's really difficult.

SPEAKER_03 54:18

But see when you're working on a weekend week out, like it's it's not too bad. I was working last week on Lencer versus Toulon in the semi-final of the Champions Cup, yeah, where Ulster played Exeter at home in the semi-final of the Challenge Cup, which is like the the one below. Um so I'm covering Ulster tonight against the Stormers, which is a South African team. So I had to do so much more work this week. Yeah. Because I wasn't on that Ulster game last week.

SPEAKER_01 54:46

Yeah, so you need to do reverse and see.

SPEAKER_03 54:47

I like watching game again. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Because I didn't see the game live. Yeah. So I didn't I actually listened to the game on the radio on the way up the road from Dublin. Because it was on after the Leinster game. Yeah. Um, and then got home and then watched the game again, and then walked out of the house today. My wife was like, What time you'll be back later? I was like, Oh, probably like half eleven or something. So, why are you going so early? I was like, I need to watch a game again.

SPEAKER_00 55:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 55:12

She's like, Oh, right, right. Where are you going to watch that? I was like, to find a corner in a coffee shop and nobody can annoy me. There's no kids.

SPEAKER_01 55:18

Yeah, you just don't like performances.

SPEAKER_03 55:21

We'll get like a run-in order, right? So there's a guy, Tom, who's um the main producer tonight. He'll send through the run-in order. I've sent him some stuff during the week on individual players that I wanted to uh pull up from last week's game.

SPEAKER_04 55:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 55:35

Um, and then I'll be able to talk through that. Some days, Sean, you could get a 10-minute build-up, the game, right? Some days you have an hour and 10-minute buildup, just depends on what games or fixtures are coming first. So, like last week's Financial game, we had an hour build-up. That's in that hour build-up, I think I spoke for five and a half minutes. So it's not long, like you know, that you're sp and your answers are short, punchy, and sharp, and getting getting to the point. Um, where tonight we'll have I think it's half an hour buildup tonight, but it's only me and Andrew Timball. So we'll have a bit of time bouncing forth to get the coaches' interviews and everything else. But uh, it's good, it's good fun. Uh, Premier Sports are a brilliant company to work for. Um, I've taken over rugby, um, considering it's been a bit of a crazy landscape, like you're like as you know, in boxing, like with broadcasting rates, like change feels like it changes all the time. But Premier Sports have been really solid the last uh few years, which has been good, and I've been very fortunate to work for them. So tonight Ulster against the Stormers, and then two weeks' time over to Bilbao for the Challenge Cup final where they play Montpellier, uh one of the big French teams. Um, and then the following day I'll be on the Leinster versus Bordeaux game, as we were talking about earlier. So um good and then next week Ulster played Glasgow in the URC last game. So Ulster need to win tonight, need to win next week to get into the top eight. And then when you get into the top eight, then you're into first versus eighth, second, seventh, first, first versus seven, sixth. You go into a quarter final, semi-final, and then the finals played at uh whoever's top season or whatever. So, yeah, like I would expect Ulster to get top eight, like but if you're seventh or eighth, you're away from home in a quarter final, and you're playing save number one. So I think they need to need to fully focus in this challenge cup final against Montpellier. Um, because that'll be the first trophy since 2006. We won the we won the Celtic League trophy in 2006. Like, yeah, it's a long time. 20 years, bro.

SPEAKER_01 57:32

20 years. 20 years. Oh, well, good luck to the All-Star. Uh good luck to them.

SPEAKER_03 57:36

I know that they're a good bunch of lads, like, and it's I don't know anybody, you know. I'm not friends with anybody in the in the squad now.

SPEAKER_01 57:42

Where's it like it was even like 2014 then I had still nearly that's over 10 years. Yeah, yeah. I mean, that's a whole new cycle of players coming through that you didn't share, you know.

SPEAKER_03 57:54

And it was tough like Sean, like when I first came out and I was getting into doing a bit of pondery for BBC Nolan Iron and all that guys, and I also were shade at the time, or you know, going through a bad run, or CEOs getting sacked, and I'm having to be critical.

Mates, Teammates And Closing Thanks

SPEAKER_01 58:06

Yeah. Because you've just seen people and you might, you know, seeing these people and you're friendly with these people, and they're like walk.

SPEAKER_03 58:13

A lot of a lot of the rugby lads a lot of the rugby lads are acquaintances, right? And they're work colleagues. Yeah. Right? But when you retire, you find out who your friends are. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. Your true friends. And I can honestly say there's maybe one or two that I've stayed friendly, really friendly with. Um, but here, that doesn't bother me. Like, I have plenty mates. I grew up with. But people sort of think because you share a change room and you you literally go to fucking war every week and you put your body in the line for the man stand beside you. Like that you know, you're you're gonna be friends for life. No, that's not the case. No, that's not the case, and here's there's nothing wrong with it.

SPEAKER_01 58:53

No, 100%. Well, look, listen, it's been a fucking pleasure chatting and I appreciate you coming in.

SPEAKER_03 58:58

Oh no, here, thanks for having me in, Sean. I appreciate it. And um good luck in the next fight, whenever it comes around. Happy days, lad. See your son.