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Irish Times
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
No animals were harmed in the making of this interview with Stuart McCloskey
Stu McCloskey's patter ensures that the interview is punctuated with laughter. A player investing a little personality and humour into this particular set-piece environment is all too rare and therefore to be celebrated. At 32-years-old the Bangor native doesn't need to be fearful of saying the wrong thing. That's a door he closed long ago when negotiating a rite of passage from a wide-eyed tyro to one of Ulster 's most enduring and consistently excellent performers, with 19 Ireland caps to his name. He's the senior figure in the 33-man Ireland squad for the upcoming Tests against Georgia and Portugal, a tag that would have belonged to Finlay Bealham before the Connacht prop's call-up to the Lions tour . McCloskey is mock resentful at being cast as Methuselah, but he can't escape the historical references. He once played in and won the Tbilisi Cup, 10 years ago in the Georgian capital, a tournament that included the host nation, Emerging Ireland, Emerging Italy and Uruguay. READ MORE His abiding memory? 'I remember the zoo. It was the time the animals escaped from the zoo.' Tbilisi was hit by a landslide and flooding that destroyed parts of the city. Half of the zoo's inhabitants were killed and several surviving inhabitants including a hippopotamus, big cats, bears, wolves and hyenas escaped their confinement and took to the streets. The police were forced to shoot some, others were recaptured, the hippo made its way to a flooded Heroes' Square, while an African penguin was found at the Red Bridge border crossing with Azerbaijan, 60km south of Tbilisi. Stuart McCloskey has tended to make his mark whenever he has played for Ireland. Photograph: Ben Brady/Inpho Saturday's game is in a much bigger stadium than the one in which McCloskey played in 2015, but he recalls 'a nice hotel and the architecture in the squares more so than the games themselves'. 'I was pretty naive to what professional rugby was 10 years ago, didn't really know what I was up to, but a few years under the belt, a few more grey hairs and I think I know what I'm about these days.' There's one other story that dates McCloskey. To the best of his knowledge, he is the only one in the squad who has played against the interim head coach Paul O'Connell . The centre sets the scene. 'Ulster sent down the biggest B team of all time, because it was dead rubber at the end of the season. Munster had their best team out. 'I remember it very well, actually. I think Michael Heaney scored a try. They were trying to get to second, I think. We were fourth, and couldn't go up or down. It was back in the Pro 12 days. We got the win. I think it was my fourth cap.' So, has he dropped that into the conversation with his coach? McCloskey smiled: 'No, but I'd like to think that he knows. No, as a player [O'Connell] was incredibly intimidating. We all were terrified of him. I think I was in one [Ireland] training camp with him. [As a coach] he has that intimidation factor, but I think he's very personable. 'He lets the young guys come out of their shells, not very different to what Faz [Andy Farrell] is like. I'm sure he's watched Faz over the last three or four years and learned a lot from that. [It's about] how does he put his own stamp on it, I suppose? There hasn't been a great deal of difference. 'He's probably seemed quite laid back to me, but I suppose being the oldest in the group, it's easy to feel a bit more laid back when you're 32 years of age, not 20.' McCloskey's most recent cap was against Fiji last November. Injuries fractured his playing time a little, but he did get back into Ireland training camp towards the end of the Six Nations. He's been largely very good when called upon in the course of his Test career, one that includes a strike-rate of a try every four matches. It's just that he's facing very stiff competition, two of whom, Garry Ringrose and Bundee Aki, are on the Lions tour, while Robbie Henshaw, currently injured, is, like Aki, is a two-time Lions tourist. McCloskey said: 'I don't think I'm doing a lot wrong. I think when I played, it went well.' He paused for a moment when asked what areas he'd like to enhance in his game. 'Probably a bit more physicality in defence. I think I've got most things in attack. Overall, I don't think there's a lot in it. I think [if] a few decisions go my way I'm standing here with a few more caps.' Joking aside, he's content to be the elder statesman, his nature calm and laid back. That shouldn't be mistaken for a lack of desire. He, more than most, understands that a good summer can be harvested in November when the full squad comes back together. He'll be keen to do what he does best – go forward.
Yahoo
02-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Ireland's uncapped 13
With 16 players on British and Irish Lions duty this summer, interim Ireland head coach Paul O'Connell's 33-man squad for this summer's Tests against Georgia and Portugal features 13 uncapped players. BBC Sport NI takes a closer look at those hoping to feature in green for the first time. Tom Ahern has been recognised by O'Connell after an impressive season with Munster, during which he made 19 appearances including five off the bench in the Champions Cup. The 25-year-old lock made his Munster debut in 2020, has earned 65 caps and was part of the 2022-23 United Rugby Championship title-winning squad. In 2023-24, he scored eight tries in 23 outings. Advertisement Ahern, from County Waterford, featured for the Ireland under-20s during the 2019 World Rugby Under-20 Championship and was part of the 2022 Emerging Ireland tour of South Africa. At under-20 level, he also helped Ireland win the Triple Crown during the Covid-hit 2020 Six Nations. While his progress has been hindered by injuries, he has long been on the radar of Ireland's senior coaching staff. Invited to train with the squad during the 2021 autumn Tests and the past couple of Six Nations campaigns, Ahern hopes to finally earn his first senior international cap. Capable of playing in the second and back rows, the 6ft 9in forward could learn a great deal under O'Connell, another totemic second row to have emerged from Munster. He was nursing a hamstring injury but was passed fit on Tuesday.
The Guardian
19-06-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Duhan van der Merwe hits back at ‘SpringJock' jibes: ‘I know how hard I've worked to get here'
Duhan van der Merwe does not want to shake hands. It is not that the hulking Scotland winger is being rude – he is polite to a fault – but after a gruelling gym session the British & Irish Lion has blisters as big as golf balls. A fist bump – a touch daunting given the size of his biceps – must suffice. Van der Merwe's war wounds are the first indication that public perception about him can be misleading and there are many to follow in the ensuing half-hour. From an impassioned response to accusations he is a 'SpringJock', to discussing why he runs roughshod over England once a year, Van der Merwe is illuminating company. He is 6ft 4in and looks carved from Rustenburg granite. There is something cartoonish about the way he thunders past – or through – defenders and with gleaming blond hair he can list Johnny Bravo and Action Man as doppelgangers. Yet 'show pony' and 'flat-track bully' are brushes he can be tarred with. 'I probably make my life a little bit more difficult by diving into the corners when I don't have to,' he says with a chuckle. 'Sometimes it's just getting that nice photo, that's why I dive.' He speaks with an unmistakable Afrikaans accent – arriving in Edinburgh in 2017 he struggled with his English to the extent he would get frustrated at his failure to grasp Scottish humour – so it makes sense to cut to the chase. He is often held up as a 'project player', a junior Springbok who sought his fortune with a country less blessed with 17st wingers. In short, his Scottishness has been questioned. No matter, it seems, that five years on from making his debut – qualifying after three years' residency – Van der Merwe is Scotland's record try-scorer. After being selected for his second Lions tour he was among the players born in the southern hemisphere whose place in the squad was questioned. Given the grief he was exposed to by opposition players and supporters four years ago in South Africa, there must be times when he feels he cannot win. For those that question his allegiance to Scotland, Van der Merwe points to how he failed a medical when about to sign for Edinburgh, aged 22, in 2017. He might have been cast aside, left in limbo, without a club and eight months of rehabilitation to manage alone, but Edinburgh, and Richard Cockerill, took a chance on him and he has repaid the faith in spades. 'When I speak about it, I get really emotional because it's a country that has given me so much when I had nothing,' says Van der Merwe, who arrived at Edinburgh after an ill-fated season with Montpellier. 'I had a failed medical and at that time it would have been easy for them to say: 'Look, you've failed your medical – off you go.' But they looked after me. 'I went over as a young boy and people don't understand how hard it is, leaving your family behind, leaving everything behind, going to a country where you don't know how things work. 'Initially, my English wasn't good at all. It was tough. People don't understand how hard that transition is. It's not easy, no one has guaranteed me: 'Oh, Duhan, if you move over at the age of 22 you'll be Scotland's top try-scorer, you'll have played 49 games for Scotland, you'll go on a second Lions tour.' People don't see the amount of hard work and sacrifice you put in because I wouldn't be sitting here without it.' Van der Merwe, now 30, had a mixed experience on tour four years ago. He was, understandably enough, appointed tour guide before being sacked within a week by his teammates because there was only so much of his native South Africa he could showcase when cooped in a Covid bubble. While stadiums were empty, it did not stop South African supporters having their say on social media. 'I always knew they were going to get stuck into me,' he says. 'There were a lot of personal messages on social media towards me. I just dust it off because I know how hard I've worked to get to where I am. You always have people on social media who are going to bring you down and slate you, but I've got to a point in my career where it doesn't faze me at all.' Whereas Van der Merwe had appeared 10 times for Scotland when selected for the Lions four years ago, he is now a mainstay of Gregor Townsend's side, arguably their most potent weapon. An ankle injury in March has restricted him to 11 minutes of action since the Six Nations, however. He makes his comeback in the Lions' warm-up match against Argentina in Dublin on Friday, but it was an anxious wait to discover if he would make the squad, not least because it was announced alphabetically – forwards, then backs – and Van der Merwe's was the 37th of the 38 names read out. Sign up to The Breakdown The latest rugby union news and analysis, plus all the week's action reviewed after newsletter promotion 'It was a very stressful period for me. I guess you take yourself back: 'Have I done enough over the four-year cycle? Have I done enough over the Six Nations?' And then you start doubting yourself a wee bit. It was really tough because I felt like I couldn't do anything about it. 'I was in shock for a full 24 hours because I just couldn't believe it because of the ankle. It really gives me a lot of confidence.' Van der Merwe started all three Tests against the Springboks in 2021 and against the Pumas has the chance to lay down an early marker with his closest rival, James Lowe, arriving later to the squad. 'I believe if I can get as many touches as possible, somehow I can get a line break or get some gainline for the team or score some tries,' he says. 'I've worked hard at other parts of my game – if you look at the Six Nations I probably didn't score as much but I probably assisted a bit more. Somehow I always have my best game of the season against England. The boys at the club have told me: 'Duey, just imagine you're seeing white jerseys in front of you.'' After a brief stint with Worcester – hastily returning to Edinburgh when the Warriors went bust – Van der Merwe feels Scotland is his long-term home. He has even gone into business with his Edinburgh, Scotland and Lions teammate Pierre Schoeman – also born in South Africa – setting up a whisky company. They sell a 12-year-old single malt from Speyside called Hirundine, aptly named after the bird that migrates between Africa and the UK. 'Coming back to my story of giving back to Scotland and what better way for us to say thank you and give back than starting our own whisky company? I don't agree with some of the things people say because it's not easy – the biggest thing for me is buying into the culture and that's something I've done really well. 'I see Scottish people as some of my best mates, Pierre and I have started our own business, my wife has got her own company in Scotland as well. I'm still in Edinburgh and I'm loving life.'
RNZ News
11-06-2025
- Sport
- RNZ News
All Blacks winger Caleb Clarke re-signs to right wrongs on and off field
Caleb Clarke. Photo: Photosport All Blacks and Blues winger Caleb Clarke says the decision to stay in New Zealand gives him the chance to "right a few wrongs". The 26-year-old has re-signed with New Zealand Rugby for two more years taking him through to the 2027 World Cup. In February Clarke pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and failing to stop for police while riding his motorbike in Auckland late last year. At the time he said "I made an error of judgement while riding my motorbike in Auckland. I've taken full responsibility for my actions and have entered a guilty plea...I'm extremely apologetic and embarrassed." In re-signing Clarke said he was "very grateful to New Zealand Rugby and the Blues". Clarke has played 74 Super Rugby games for the franchise and said "Auckland's my home.. and (I) want to get close that hundred figure.. it was a no brainer." "Especially this year things haven't gone right," and he appreciated the "the opportunity to right some wrongs." Clarke said he felt he could be better on the field too. "Even on the field I don't feel like I have been delivering the best performances for myself and the team so the opportunity to stick around and right those wrongs I am excited about. "I compare my game to last year and last year I was touching the ball 15 or 16 times (a game) and this year its five or six so just trying to get around the ball more and be more of an option." Clarke had limited game time at the 2023 World Cup where the All Blacks fell at the last hurdle losing the final to South Africa. Clarke didn't play in that match but still remembers the words of then captain Sam Whitelock post the game, "'It's one thing to be part of an All Black team but to be part of a World Cup winning side is special'...so that's the dream and that's the goal." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
BBC News
30-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Bristol appoint long-serving Reed as coach
Bristol's former England centre Amber Reed has been appointed as assistant coach at the Premiership Women's Rugby side. The 34-year-old retired at the end of this season after 16 years with the Bears after almost 200 matches including 47 England will also manage the partnership between the club and the University of Bristol's women's will work alongside a yet-to-be appointed head coach after long-serving boss Dave Ward left last month. "Amber is a legend of Bristol Bears Women and her knowledge and experience will be invaluable as she continues her coaching career, and the programme begins a new chapter," Bristol director of rugby Pat Lam told the club website. "She is hugely respected both by the players and staff and we're excited to see her flourish as a coach in the same way she did as a player during an illustrious career at the top." The Bristol-born centre has spent her entire senior career with her hometown club and her final game was the Bears' Premiership Women's Rugby semi-final defeat by eventual champions Gloucester-Hartpury."This club means the world to me," Reed said."It's been my home for 16 seasons as a player and I've seen it grow in to one of the best clubs on and off the field."It has provided me with so many opportunities over the years and I'm excited to take the next one into coaching."Being able to work alongside world-class players and coaches is an amazing step for me to be a better coach and there's nowhere else I'd want to be right now."
