WHEN ADAM THOMSON received the call-up to the All Blacks squad last week, the 30-year-old flanker admitted he was getting old.
“I only received one text,” he admitted.
It was congratulatory and it was from his mum.
Thomson was not feeling the love until he signed into his Twitter account the next day – hundreds of ‘good luck’ tweets and ‘you’re awesome’ tweets.
Amy Huberman is well aware of how awesome Brian O’Driscoll is – the couple married in 2010 – but she enjoys a reminder every now and then.
Huberman responded to me after she read TheScore.ie and the article on how deftly O’Driscoll handled a pre-match press conference, ahead of Saturday morning’s Test match against New Zealand.
Brian O’Driscoll has a very proud wife. (Credit: @LauraDonnelly6)
I had to assure a friend of mine (who sent me the picture above) that back-and-forths with successful and talented actresses were not the norm – I’m still awaiting a response to my ‘I loved you as Angel in #homeandaway’ tweet to @TheMGeorge (Melissa George).
One can only hope that Ireland’s leading try-scorer can invoke similar feelings of pride across the country after the first Test.
An ‘Irish’ coffee
Ireland checked out of their hotel in Takapuna on Thursday and have now set up camp in downtown Auckland.
The staff at the Spencer Hotel will miss the hustle and bustle of catering for the needs of the Irish team.
A female member of the hotel’s bar staff explained to me that she was often speechless in the presence of the touring rugby squad, who were always happy to sign autographs and pose for photographs with staff, hotel guests and Irish fans that dropped by to meet their heroes.
Making it Irish: Fergus McFadden and Gordon D’Arcy laugh it up. (©INPHO/Billy Stickland)
One thing the staff will not miss is the player’s coffee quirks.
A ‘long black’ coffee here often comes in a tiny cup and ‘flat whites’ are 80% foam. They take some getting used to, especially for certain members of the squad.
Fergus McFadden, who will start Saturday’s match on the right wing, stepped up on Thursday afternoon and asked for ‘an Irish coffee’.
However, before the staff member could reach for the whiskey from the top shelf, McFadden explained that he wanted a ‘long black’ that was almost full to the brim and a ‘splash of milk’.
It may yet catch on down under.
Never say never again
Each time Ireland take on the All Blacks, and they have faced each other nine times in the past decade, the players and coaches must field questions on the unbeaten run of the Kiwi team.
So far the count stands at 24 matches; one draw and 23 defeats.
Declan Kidney’s bold team selection for the first Test, and the European form of Leinster and Ulster this year, has given reason to hope.
The New Zealand Herald brought Irish fans back down to earth with a bump on Friday morning.
Kiwis don’t fear the Irish.
The front page of the paper’s Super Sport section declared that the All Blacks’ unbeaten record stretches 107 years and the aggregate score over the 24 games stands at 664-259.
Nonetheless, as Amy Huberman’s talented husband says, “Our time is now.”
*You can follow all the latest news, comments and goings on from the Irish camp by following @patmccarry on Twitter and by regularly checking in with TheScore.ie.
