“John was always a phenomenal athlete, so he was. He had legs like tree trunks, so he had.”
Nobody is in any doubt about the rugby talents of Connacht’s PRO12 winning captain John Muldoon.
Brave as a lion, strong as an ox and as proud as, as… an animal that’s proud – the Galway native was rewarded for a career spent at the coalface of rugby in Ireland’s often neglected province when he led Connacht to their historic league triumph back in May.
But rugby was a second love for Muldoon, who played hurling for Portumna as a child. His former underage team-mate and GAA Hour Hurling show regular Damien Hayes reveals the secrets behind Muldoon’s success on Friday’s ‘Thank GAA It’s Friday’ on RTÉ2.
Both men were involved with the Galway team that won the 2000 All-Ireland minor hurling title and Hayes believes even after 12 years in professional rugby Muldoon could still do a job for the Portumna juniors, if they can locate an extra large helmet for the back-rower.
Big head and big legs, that’s the key. Seemingly.
Watch the interview with the childhood friends below.