Brian O'Driscoll opens up on kids being on same rugby team as Johnny Sexton's children
The two retired legend now watch from the sidelines as their kids play underage rugby.
Brian O'Driscoll opened up about what it's like being on the sidelines of this children's rugby matches.
The former Ireland rugby player shared that he and Johnny Sexton have kids that are on the same team, so they are often at matches together.
While they both might be legendary rugby players, they take a much more relaxed approach to the sport when it comes to their offspring.
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Brian appeared on the podcast Roasted with Mark Moriarty, where he opened up about not feeling confident as a teenager, doing Pilates and golfing with Tiger Woods.
The sports star shared that he bakes his own bread, stating: “I will mix it the night before and because I’m up early, I usually rise about 6, I was up doing Pilates this morning so I got it in the oven. That’s my life… what’s happened?"
“I used to be coming in from Zaytoon at 6! We used to know how to give it a good go back in the day. If there was an after party to be had, I was never that far away from it!”
He revealed that he was "not confident" as a teenager and was more of an introvert than his peers, but that sport gave him a crew to be a part of. He admits being named national captain was a "major shock" to him.
“I was the quiet one - happy to be - never a ringleader. And that’s why the captaincy was such a weird part to be thrust upon me because I never saw myself in that role. I never captained any underage teams and all of a sudden it was kind of from obscurity that I was chosen to be national captain having no experience previously. It might have been a shock to everybody else but it was a major shock to me – I definitely didn’t feel I had the qualities or attributes needed to be a good captain,” he told Mark.
“I didn’t make school teams at 15, I was on the bench at 17 in Blackrock. Different things happen for people at different times,” he shared.
In contrast, he revealed that his middle son is braver than him on the rugby field.
“He must have his mother’s toughness because I was nervous about making tackles!” Brian said.
He admitted that he keeps quiet on the sidelines of his son’s matches – and is often joined by another former Ireland captain Johnny Sexton, as their children play on the same team!
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“My dad was so vocal, I used to be like, ‘please be the second loudest dad’. I am very conscious I don’t say anything. What makes it even more challenging is that myself and Sexto’s boys are on the same team so the two of us are on the sideline together. Neither of us say a whole lot! We just watch and see what’s going on, let them enjoy it… there’s so much, ‘would you like your son to be a professional rugby player?’ – let them enjoy it, see where it goes.”
Brian also spoke about playing a hole of golf with Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy in Japan in 2019 – and despite being one of the most successful professional rugby players of his generation, he was still quite impressed with meeting these golfing greats.
“[Tiger] comes over and gives me a high five and I’m thinking to myself as I am holding his high five, ‘I wonder how long is weird for me to hold this up in the air so people can actually get a photo?’,” Brian admitted.
Listen to Roasted with Mark Moriarty every Wednesday on Spotify, Apple, YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts. Follow Mark on Instagram: @markmoriarty1
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