He has a tough act to follow…
One of the greatest things about hurling is the reaction that you get when you show someone the sport for the first time.
Most of us have grown up with the sport so we are completely accustomed to it but when you really think about it, seeing 30 men run around a field tearing lumps out of each other with sticks in their hands may seem quite odd to the unacquainted.
Regardless of how it is perceived outside of these shores, Irish people are incredibly proud of this brilliant game and a lot of us would love to see the sport gain more popularity outside of Ireland.
So we do get a little excited when we see superstars from other sports wax lyrical about one of the fastest field sports on earth.
The latest example of this comes from rugby union’s Fijian winger, Nemani Nadolo, the 29-year-old is currently plying his trade with Montpellier in the Top 14 alongside Cork’s very own Tomás O’Leary.
It seems to be the case that O’Leary introduced him to the sport over the weekend, most likely Cork’s Allianz Hurling League defeat to Dublin at Pairc Uí Rinn.
Just fell in ❤️ wit a sport called Hurling.It's like watching hockey n rugby in 1.seen a bloke get hit in da head wit a stick n carried on😳
— nemzy (@nemani_nadolo) February 19, 2017
Nadolo, of course, is aware of two Cork hurlers with Fijian ancestry, the Ó’hAilpín brothers, Sean Óg, Setanta (and Aisake).
It seems that he wants to follow in their footsteps and become Cork’s next hurling superstar.
He even has a club in mind, Erin’s Own GAA.
Thinking of moving to @OfficialCorkGAA @ErinsOwn_GAA with @Tomas_OLeary and becoming the third Fijian Cork superstar #SeánÓg #Setanta #Fiji
— nemzy (@nemani_nadolo) February 19, 2017
Unfortunately for O’Leary, he couldn’t escape some ribbing from both Simon Zebo and Nadolo himself.
Now, just think for a moment what this man could do with a hurl in his hands.
