WE’RE ALL GOING to be in the same boat Monday morning, struggling out of bed to get into work.
For some however, the day job is more physically taxing than clunking down at the desk and keeping the coffee orders coming to maintain the illusion of alertness.
Jamie Heaslip will be watching Super Bowl XLIX and then he’ll have to rise and shine for Monday morning training at Carton House.
Does Joe Schmidt mind? Surely he has all the lads tucked up in bed while the tailgate party is still in full swing over in Glendale.
“I haven’t missed it in the last couple of years, so I don’t think that’s going to be a problem,” says the number eight who may well get a decent chunk of his eight hours in before kick-off.
“If you do the crime, you do the time. If you’re willing to stay up and watch it, you better be ready to train. I don’t think Joe really minds what you do outside of rugby as long as you are always able to train and perform at your best.”
The extravaganza of a Super Bowl is something the Ireland international has never experienced due to the annoying scheduling that annually clashes it with Six Nations preparations. However, with his friends outside of rugby making him jealous by jetting off to the southern state this weekend, The Greatest Show On Turf is etched into his to do list (though hopefully not for at least a few more years yet).
“Hopefully it’s something that’s reserved for when I finish playing rugby,” he tells The42 before shifting attention back to the immediate showdown between New England and Seattle.
“I can’t wait to see it. The Patriots look on fire; there was all sorts of what-ifs going on around the Championship finals, but if they can shut down Marshawn Lynch then the Seahawks are going to have some trouble.
“Then again, I don’t know if the Patriots are going to be able to throw it around as much as they would like to.”
As a Pats fan though, he’s only going to predict one winner:
“I’m going to say Patriots – I’m gonna stick with Brady.”
He’s not as disappointed as some on relation to how far off they are? They are miles off. No offence to Munster but they are an average,though very gutsy and committed side,and they have hammers Leinster twice in a row now. I do agree that they haven’t had any continuity with combinations,especially from 9-13,and hopefully when the likes of OBrien, Healy, Moore, Teo, McFadden etc come back then there will be a big improvement.
I must take the opportunity to praise Matt O’Connor for the huge improvement in Guinness Pro12 teams. Ever since he arrived at Leinster, every other team has greatly improved. Teams, that two years ago were almost brushed aside by Leinster, have now reached the heights that Leinster once inhabited alone.
Treviso have improved, Munster have improved, Edinburgh have improved, Scarlets have improved, Dragons have improved, Zebra have improved, Connacht (brilliant tonight, by the way) have improved..
In fact, they have all improved so much that Leinster has great difficulty taking on any of them.
By extension, Wasps and Harlequins have shown just how brilliant they are too due to you Matt.
I can hardly wait to see how much Castres get better when they arrive at the RDS soon. They will build statues in your image all over the town.
Matt, you have done European rugby a great service. They have all reached and surpassed Leinster this season thanks to your input at Leinster and everywhere else.
Thank you Matt and Happy New year!.
(and also to Mr Caputo, the news paper seller. Your influence on all other teams has been exceptional)