“I had to make a couple of apologies the next day… “
We’ve another packed show on The Hard Yards rugby podcast this week as Munster forwards coach Jerry Flannery and former Leinster and Ireland flanker Kevin McLaughlin join host Andy McGeady.
McLaughlin made his Ireland debut alongside Flannery in a 2010 Six Nations game against Italy, at Croke Park. The former Munster hooker recalled how McLaughlin’s initiation was delayed until the squad travelled to Paris and played France a week later.
“We had a week off after [the game] so that was generally when we hit the first caps. The French hooker William Servat then came over with a bottle of Pernod and started pouring it into Kev and… it didn’t end well for him.”
“I’d never been an abusive drunk until that night,” McLaughlin recalled.
The full chat is from 7:00 [below] and is well worth a listen.
The lads preview the upcoming Champions Cup action and give fascinating insights to the mentality around, and preparations for, back-to-back European fixtures. Flannery [from 58:00] also fires back at some recent criticisms Alan Quinlan made about Munster.
“I don’t think that just having played for Munster gives you any sort of insight,” he said. “You have to prepare for the games.”
Andy and the lads are also joined by Alan Dymock of Rugby World magazine for a fascinating chat on player migration.
HIGHLIGHTS
2:00 – Jerry reminds us he was a Hard Yards founding member
3:30 – Jerry and Kev recall their experiences together for Ireland
7:00 – Kev’s bleary night in Paris and William Servat’s Pernod measures
9:00 – The pros and cons of being a versatile player
16:00 – Forwards that started out as backs
20:30 – Champions Cup preview
25:30 – The perils of playing back-to-back games
28:30 – Rugby World’s Alan Dymock on player migration
46:00 – Our Champions Cup predictions
51:30 – The lads answer your Twitter questions
55:00 – Jerry responds to some of Alan Quinlan’s recent comments
