TOMMY BOWE AND Paul O’Connell joined Ray D’Arcy for a long and wide-ranging chat on Today FM this morning. You can hear the interview in full over here, but here’s what we learned when the chins got wagging.
1. Paul O’Connell would like to lead Ireland at England 2015, a fourth World Cup for him
“I felt great on the [Lions] tour. There were times in the last few years I had to think about retiring. The tour was so good and they managed training so well. We trained for short periods of time and it was just made for old fellas even though it was a very young group.
“I’d love to play until the next World Cup and see what happens after that.”
2. Tommy Bowe doesn’t fancy his chances of touring New Zealand in 2017
“I’m 29 now, so I’d be pushing it to try and make it again in four years, but you never know.”
3. But he’s a happy to mix with the stars of the Legends Football League
“I don’t even know, I’m not going to comment – that was a recovery session gone wrong.” Bowe says of one of the most enduring images from the tour when he was papped chatting to members of the Victoria Maidens squad (coincidentally* also doing a recovery session at St Kilda Beach).
You could almost hear his cheeks turning red across the radio waves when he added: “I wasn’t doing anything! I was being very friendly like the rest of the boys and saying hello, but unfortunately I got snapped.”
O’Connell added in a hushed tone: “Apparently, they’re the Victoria Maidens. They’re a lingerie American football team. They play in their lingerie – Google it after, it’s worth it.”
4. Paulie will be married in a fortnight and his fiancé had work waiting on him in the arrivals hall
“[Emily] had me hard at work now, yesterday.” He said with a groan.
“She’s kind of like how I’d describe myself now with three days to go before a Heineken Cup final – you just wouldn’t wanna mess with her.”
Also, look out for pics of him in glossy magazine barefoot and skipping through a meadow hand-in-hand with his new wife.
“I’ve sold my soul for a few things on this wedding…”
5. Bowe needed round-the-clock attention to heal his hand
The speedy recovery, the Monaghan man says, was “down to a combination of things: a surgeon who had taken a risk like that before, but the physios and doctors with the lions are world class. I had physio six, seven times a day and ice over ten times a day and just really pushing it.”
6. Dropping BO’D was the wrong decision
Earlier today, we brought you O’Connell’s strong feelings on Warren Gatland’s decision to drop Brian O’Driscoll. It’s safe to say that O’Connell reckons it was the wrong decision (you can read the rest of what he had to say here).
Bowe, meanwhile, credited O’Driscoll for the manner in which he took the news on the chin.
“For the player he is, legendary status in world rugby, to be dealt such a tough blow, dropped from that match would be tough for anyone, but he was there to the very end.
“He helped us out in training. He gave his words of wisdom and showed his true character not getting too deflated. He really wanted the team to win and did his best to help us out.”
7. Training didn’t go well before the final Test
According to Tommy Bowe: “The whole week training hadn’t been going very well. Boys were quite intense. It was quite a stressful week with so many changes being made, maybe not as many senior players to pull the lads together and boys were losing the head a bit.”
Fortunately, Bowe’s early break set the platform for Alex Corbisiero to get the Lions 7-0 up.
“For us to get off to such a good start it calmed the nerves… I was going to say we never looked back, but we nearly lost it at one stage.”
8. Tommy bought himself a welcome home present… a new lawnmower
“It was a bit of a reality check to come home and the first thing I did was go an buy a lawnmower, the grass is up over my head.”
9. First ROG, next coach Paulie?
“Coaching is something that definitely interests me, but for now I’m keeping my options open and that’s what [his ad campaign with] Pinergy is about.”
YouTube credit: PIN ERGY
10. Camera trickery
Both Bowe and O’Connell were superimposed onto their Lions pen-pics.
O’Connell explained that every international squad member during the Six Nations was invited to don a red jersey and pose. So both he and Bowe were left to the photo-shoppers.
“I think my head was put on somebody like Mike Ross”, said the Ulster wing.
Check out TodayFM.com to hear the interview back in full
Simon Zebo asked Rob Penney to make him Munster captain
*It wasn’t a coincidence, Bowe planned the whole thing!
