Heaslip should have been more in the Ireland mix from 2006, but OâSullivan was set in his ways. Eddie ignored lots of excellent players as he believed in focusing in on his core grouping. It took David Wallace ages to get back into Eddieâs plans after an injury struck him down. Keith Gleason and Johnny OâConnor both got in, they both got injured and suffered a similar fate. Wallace got back in.
Isnât there a load of, dare I say it, anecdotal evidence like this about Heaslip? Itâs akin to the old saying Iâm about to mangle âtreat all people how you want to be treated - those who serve you & those you serve.â
Heaslip always struck me as being very personal brand orientated. #TeamOfUs, #HomeAdvantage, tweeting Aer Lingus, tagging their staff and stuff and putting on a fake endearing personality for the benefit of those up the chain, while not giving a fuck about harmless simpleton fans like @Mac.
Christ, the amount of social media accounts Iâve had to block down through the years to avoid seeing his fake gurning head (Heaslipâs not Macâs).
A PERSON I KNOW told me that whoever runs his social media accounts apparently follows lots of randomers on an ongoing basis, get the follow back from star struck rubby fans, then a day or so later unfollow them, and repeat. Nice for JH to be able to say his account has reach of âXâ hundred thousand or whatever when heâs lining up his next branding partnership.
I already said his social media stuff can be cringey.
He is very brand orientated and wants to be seen a certain way.
It doesnât make you an asshole or overrated rugby player though.
On the follower thing, wouldnât it be a lot easier just to buy fake ones? I would have also thought âstar struckâ rugby fans would already be following him.
Youâre as badly informed on rugby as you are on most other matters. In the 2015 World Cup, there were 96 competitors from the start of the qualifying process.
I havenât commented on his rubby - Iâd say I havenât seen a rubby game in around 6 years - but I was referring to his social media persona COMBINED with the way heâs meant to act when cutting about the place. My understanding is that heâs an awful arsehole, which makes sense given the rubby background.