FORMER Ireland and Munster rugby star Donncha O’ Callaghan has revealed he’s not having a very good time in England.
The hugely popular RTE programme The Tommy Tiernan Show returned with its third episode of the season last night, and one of the guests was Donncha O’ Callaghan, who is currently togging out for Premiership side Worcester Warriors.
The premise of the show is for Tiernan to interview three guests per episode. The catch is that the host has no idea who he will be interviewing.
Sporting a swollen left eye, the Corkman was greeted by a bewildered Tommy Tiernan, who had assumed O’ Callaghan had long been retired.
O’ Callaghan showed his brilliant sense of humour by replying; “Most people have. I’m over in England so it’s as good as gone, you know that way.”
The 38-year-old has been playing for two years in the UK, having spent 17 years at Munster in the second-row position.
“I was playing in Munster, played 17 years in Munster. I loved the place so much that I was starting to get to that point where I wasn’t getting picked, there were younger guys coming up that needed to come through and I loved to too much to out and start hating it, he said.
“I knew that’s the way it finishes if you stay around and hang around, you end up finishing really bitter and resentful. I’ve had too many good days to do that.”
'The fear is failure', @docallaghan4 talks about the highs and the lows of rugby (and gets pretty cozy with @tommedian!) on The #TommyTiernan Show.. pic.twitter.com/CUeEnEEiHc
— RTÉ One (@RTEOne) January 17, 2018
O’ Callaghan took the opportunity to confide in Tiernan when he added; “I miss it, I miss home. They’re no craic, the English. Tommy, I’m serious. They’re sound, they’re really nice people, they’re nice. There’s no craic.
“Would you come in for a week and do craic lessons?” he asked Tiernan. “Can I put it to you, just sit at the bottom of the dressing room and have a look, like there’s nothing going on!”
Tiernan had his own opinion: “I kind of stopped gigging in England for that very reason. I wouldn’t say English people are no craic. There are some fantastically brilliant English people. My stupid theory o it would be they don’t see the wisdom in undermining what they see around them as much as we do. Poor English people do.”
O' Callaghan went down as well with those watching as he did with Tiernan and the in-studio audience.
Donncha O'Callaghan was an excellent guest on The Tommy Tiernan Show, very funny and honest.
— Dylan Prendergast 😑 (@MrXathon) January 17, 2018
Some craic between @docallaghan4 & Tommy Tiernan #tommytiernan
— Aidan O Mahony (@GmailMahony) January 17, 2018
@docallaghan4 Brilliant interview last night...absolute quality. No need for you to have been nervous.
— Dave Morrissey (@davejmorrissey) January 18, 2018