Sky Sports get carried away an awful lot but last Saturday was understandable.
Professional rugby was brought in not long after Sky’s launch and the pair have been tight for two decades now. One hype machine feeds into the next until we get to the stage where beating New Zealand brings men to within a step of immortality.
That’s how it went down at The Cake Tin, in Wellington, as Sky Sports’ Graeme Simmons caught up with Lions flanker Sean O’Brien. Looking ahead to the third and final Test, on July 8, Simmons proclaimed:
Simmons: “Immortality beckons. That’s what it is. Immortality is beckoning.
O’Brien: “Sure that’s what we’re here for.”
Carlow’s finest handled the question well, refused to get carried away and focused on the task at hand. There was a quizzical look fired Simmons’ way but O’Brien let the hype-man worry about the hype.
"That's what we're here for"
Sean O'Brien doesn't flinch. pic.twitter.com/lva3XjfS5A— Pat McCarry (@patmccarry) July 1, 2017
O’Brien ploughed off to join his victorious teammates and soak up the applause.
Ronan O’Gara feels ‘The Tullow Tank’ will be disappointed with letting that bombastic question slide quite so easily. The former Ireland and Lions outhalf told The Hard Yards rugby podcast what O’Brien should have responded with. O’Gara commented:
“It was such a missed opportunity by Seanie. I’d say it was because he was so fatigued but normally he’d bury him!
“It was such a chance for him to go viral there. Seanie, he’s an unbelievably good craic character. Very witty.
“It would ave been his style there to come up with an absolute cracker of a comment like, ‘I’m already a superstar in Carlow, I’m not too bothered anyway lads!’“
O’Gara added:
“That’s Seanie though. He’s an unbelievable character and that’s why lads play for him.
“Je’s got a thing about him now where you just need him in your team.”
Immortality may be a tad over the top but imagine the comments if the Lions get the job done in Auckland. And imagine O’Brien’s comments in return.
*Check out the full O’Gara chat on O’Brien from 36:00 below:
