Ireland Team Talk XII: Farrell's First Fifteen

Cookiemunster

Mod: Unsubstantiated allegations about what individual players may or may not have gotten up to are not on. The offending post has been deleted and the poster warned.

ulsteru20s

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120797023#Comment_120797023

Ok, my suspicions are misguided. I’m pretty convinced by this.

sydthebeat

It's the "I SUSPECT that it is as common as the general public but i’m not saying that is a fact." That people are taking issue with ....

As, personally, I absolutely DO NOT SUSPECT that the frequency of coke use at test level rugby players is "as common as the general public" and I really can't see how anyone can come to that conclusion with everything that is at stake for these professional sports people

ulsteru20s

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120797137#Comment_120797137

It was based on there being a lot at stake for other very well paid people who are willing to throw it away. And also I read a translated version of a report in l’equipe a few years ago that painted it as pretty rampant in france. I didn’t think we would be any different.

sydthebeat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120797152#Comment_120797152

But you said "general public"??

Now your trying to reduce it down again to a small group

Which is it!?

ulsteru20s

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120797200#Comment_120797200

Well, you said that the general public have less to lose but i was saying a lot of people have a-lot to lose. Like for example that guy who tested the surfaces in the house of commons and found coke everywhere. A lot of people are willing to take chances to do coke.

However, if testing is as stringent and unpredictable as mentioned above … fair enough I’m wrong.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120797045#Comment_120797045

I can't tell you about other countries but I know Sport Ireland are very thorough, very serious and extremely strict. You are quite restrictively monitored, you are tested randomly but consistently, every medication you take for anything has to be registered and you can't go away for a night without declaring it.

I'm of the opinion that anyone attempting to cheat whilst under their out of competition supervision is extremely foolish or extremely desperate.

The IRFU have their own testing that runs in parallel with Sport Ireland but Sport Ireland are the major body and I'd have a high degree of confidence in them. Testing governance varies from country to country but in many sports there is an agreement between unions / associations that certain testing standards have to be met. Where things break down is how robust and independent each countries primary testing body is or if the testing is done within each individual sports own governance.

ulsteru20s

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120797271#Comment_120797271

Ok yea, I’m wrong. My bad.

Buddy Bubs

Can't believe a dope on tiktok got a serious debate going here. Offered her sister Coke at a hozier concert, come off it to fck.

I know most of them drink, especially at end of season but if you think the likes of Peter o mahony would tolerate his team mates openly doing Coke you are deluded. That's before we talk about Paul o connell and Andy farrell.

I think we are far too professional for that.

Dubinusa

Ahhhh! Nose candy!

Downlinz

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120797522#Comment_120797522

I think we've seen multiple occasions with rugby internationals in the past 10 years where all that professionalism goes out the window once heavy drinking is involved.

Podge_irl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120796086#Comment_120796086

Matt Stevens would be the most famous example.

I'd be far less convinced then some that none of them would do it, but I'm completely convinced they wouldn't do it in the manner suggested. I can also believe they were somewhat obnoxious pricks, but there is some gilding the lily at the very least in that story. Doubt much more will come of it anyway.

swiwi_

I saw one of the players in town consuming Pepsi. Was a bit shocked TBH. I suppose some people are addicted to a sugar rush.

ersatz

It’s a bad look if the team gets called out from the stage and are acting like a bunch of dicks. They may not like it but in that moment they are representing something more than just a bunch of lads on the lash.

sydthebeat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120800573#Comment_120800573

There seems to have been a great cheer for them then when hozier gave them the call out..... I've seen two different videos from two different areas and can't hear anyone booing, as is alleged on Twitter.

Former Former Former

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120800573#Comment_120800573

Well, at the time of Hozier giving them a shout out, they're just standing there doing nothing.

For all the accusations, is there any actual footage of the outrageous behaviour?

Yeah_Right

It's an open secret that coke is very popular amongst the players in Aus. AFL, NRL and Super Rugby. Heard from people who work in hospitality, sponsorship, in the organisations and from mates of some of the players. Has been for the past 20 years. And not just in the off-season. A night out post game would usually vodka & soda or gin & tonic (low calories) and a few lines.

The story is that one of the league to union to league players got busted by a PI doing coke and that's why he went back to league. His form was rubbish so he wasn't making the test team but he was on massive money from the ARU and they said if he didn't leave they'd drug test him.

Was it James O'connor and Ali William's who got arrested in France buying coke when they were playing for Toulon?

ersatz

@Former Former Former No idea and I’m not that interested. It wouldn’t be the first time a rugby team on the piss behaved like a rugby team on the piss. But I did read that original thread and it seemed credible enough, without getting into the coke stuff which is hopefully exaggerated. Smaller sized people are going to be bummed by a herd of cattle pushing their way into their area at a show and if they bring an unfriendly attitude along with it people are going to assume they’re dicks.

theVersatile

Moving the topic on to something less likely to have the forum up in arms ...

I see Jean Kleyn is starting for the Springboks this weekend

AbusesToilets

times are tough in SA obviously

leakyboots

Well deserved, the form player for the league winners

sydthebeat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120803456#Comment_120803456

fair dues to him. deserved.

hopefully he can make a marker and cement a place in the RWC team now

Jump_In_Jack

Delighted for him, extremely likeable guy. He spoke very well in interviews lately, showing his maturity. And his consistency this season was phenomenal. Best of luck and hope he performs to his best and may an opportunity arise for him for their RWC squad.

phog

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120803456#Comment_120803456

Hardly a surprise, shame we couldn't keep him IQ

Dubinusa

Just looking at the wallabies squad and it's apparent that EJ is bring in a glut of young lads. I can't believe how big some of these boys are. This team could surprise.

sprucemoose

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120802650#Comment_120802650

yes to the two boys at toulon

wendell sailor got an actual drug ban and went back to league (he also broke someones arm in a TV arm wrestling match around that time just as an aside). if youre talking about Captain America's son then yeah that wouldnt surprise me, hes had his problems

the story was that andrew johns was going to go to union in the early 2000s too but his drug use was pretty well known so the ARU backed out

ulsteru20s

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120803522#Comment_120803522

Times are tough in south africa at lock … is unlikely.

Neil3030

South Africa have more locks than the Ponte Vecchio.

ionadnapokot

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120803655#Comment_120803655

I must say i thought the line yest about POC lacked a bit of maturity!

Jump_In_Jack

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120812456#Comment_120812456

It wasn't an insult, it was a statement of fact, he only moved to Ireland as an adult. As always, people are trying to make something out of it for clicks online. Did you read the whole interview about how he didn't go chasing the call-up but when he was contacted he felt he couldn't turn it down. He clearly wasn't in the plans at Ireland, so best of luck to him.

The comment was that as a child growing up he idolised Bakkies Botha, not Paul O'Connell, he wanted to wear the Bok's jersey, not the Irish jersey, which makes sense, when he was growing up he wouldn't have been aware of the possibility of being capped for another country. Children don't think like that when they watch their favourite players growing up.

He was being asked why didn't he turn down the offer to represent South Africa, and just say no thanks I'm happy being tied to Ireland. He was saying why shouldn't he have taken the offer, it was his team growing up naturally enough.