I reckon Aoife could go down the Ewan/GOD route before long and be gone from the mainstream
Nah she’s a golden journalist. Will have a press Secretary role with a certain party if she wants it.
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Her bias knows no bounds.
Its taking her ages to write that Sinn Fein book. Think we all know what it’ll be like
Cracking opening section by Ed Leahy on RTÉ in advance of tomorrow’s Euro 2024 draw.
He’s gone for the epic beginning and continued the military theme through to the third paragraph. But the second paragraph is the standout for me. A single sentence that jumps all over the place and featuring some oddly placed commas.
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Intentional I hope…
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Anyone post the Sam Arnold article from today’s Indo for me it would be greatly appreciated
I was like, ‘If that’s how you feel, then you can basically f*** off’ – Sammy Arnold still frustrated by Munster exit
Arnold’s face lights up when he speaks about his excitement at the prospect of himself and his partner Eva welcoming their first child, a son, into the world in January.
Life is good, and even if he may not have fully appreciated it when former Ulster, Ireland and Lions lock Jeremy Davidson initially sounded out his interest in joining Brive, his first few months in France have left him in no doubt that he needed a fresh start outside Ireland.
The English-born, Irish-qualified centre spent seven years in the country, starting in Ulster, before moving to Munster and ending in Connacht.
However, for all that Arnold achieved, including winning one cap in 2018, he has very mixed feelings when he looks back on his time in Ireland, particularly the manner in which his four-year stint in Munster came to what was in his eyes an unexpected shuddering halt.
“I hadn’t had any contact from the Irish coaches in over a year,” Arnold tells independent.ie, as he reflects on how his summer move to Brive came about.
“I was turning 26 the following April, which people say is young, but it’s only really young in Ireland because there are four teams. Everywhere else you’re in your best years.
“Myself and Jeremy had a chat and he said they would take me for three years. To be honest, I just jumped at it. It’s something I’ve always wanted to experience.
“I’d be pretty open-minded with my rugby in terms of where I play, which is probably a bit different from a lot of Irish lads, which I understand because they grow up somewhere and they always want to play for the team where they are from.
“For me, it was probably a bit different because I grew up in England, so when the opportunity came (to move to France), I just jumped at it. Me and my missus were just so excited to get over here. Honestly mate, it has been unbelievable.”
Arnold is realistic when he takes stock of his place in the Ireland pecking order.
He recognises the quality centres that were ahead of him, citing the fact that someone like Stuart McCloskey has only played six Tests, while he knows his form was not good enough at different stages over the years.
Of course he would have loved to have won more than one cap for the country of his Wexford-born mother Jackie, but he understands that top-level rugby is a cut-throat business.
That said, he believes there is a line, which, in his eyes, was crossed by Munster before he left in 2020.
“It was bizarre,” Arnold explains.
“So, there was the news of (Damian) de Allende coming in. I was 23 at the time, I played for Ireland the year before under Joe (Schmidt) and I was involved with the Grand Slam-winning Six Nations team. I didn’t play but I was in the squads.
“I was turning 24 that April and a player of that quality coming in, and he was a class player, was obviously going to affect my minutes to some extent. Whichever way you want to butter it up, it was going to affect it.
“I was transparent with Munster, I said, ‘Look, I need to wait and see if this guy signs because if he signs then it’s going to affect my minutes.’
“Munster were adamant that it wouldn’t. He could play 12, 13 and on the wing is what I was told. I swear to God, that’s what I was told. And for a second, I almost bought it.
“So, I just said, ‘Okay, well I just need to wait and see and do what’s best for me.’
“Munster offered me a really good three-year contract and I just said, ‘Look, I need a bit more time, I need to do what’s best for me.’
“It got to January and they were really putting loads of pressure on me. ‘We need an answer now or we are going to withdraw your contract.’
“Obviously I was 23 and I was going, ‘I’ve just been capped by Ireland. If this is the way you are going to treat me then I don’t really know if I want to play here.’
“Anyway, they put the foot down again and said, ‘We need to know if you’re going to stay.’ I said, ‘Look, I can’t sign this contract, I need to wait and see what happens.’
“But they actually ended up withdrawing my offer. That was bizarre. It left a real sour taste.
“Then the pandemic hit in March, so I was just finished. I was in the house for a few months and before I knew it I was playing for Connacht.
“That’s a part of my career that I never really got my head around. I still haven’t. I don’t think I need the closure.
“That’s me just being honest. I’m not in the country now so I can just say what happened.”
How everything played out hit Arnold like a ton of bricks. He felt so isolated that he mostly kept what happened to himself.
“I couldn’t get my head around what had happened,” he continues.
“I kept the whole thing to myself because I was kinda embarrassed about the way it went. I told a few of the lads, but I was just embarrassed.
“It was weird and bizarre. I don’t know how they could go from wanting to keep me for three years to then just pulling the rug from under my feet when I hadn’t done anything. I just needed a bit more time.
“I gave four years of my career there. If you have a 12-year career, that’s a third of it. I had given ligaments in my knees, fractured jaw, injections in my ankles, concussions and things like that.
“To just be treated the way I felt like I was treated was wrong. You look at the way Leinster and Ulster do it, they bring lads through and they keep them for their whole careers.
“I don’t think that would have happened in any other province. Honestly, I don’t think it would have.
“I don’t want it to come out like I am s**ting all over them but like, that’s the facts of what happened, and it’s happened to a few of the lads now.
“When they said to me, ‘Here’s your offer, if you don’t want it we’re going to withdraw it,’ I was like, ‘F***ing hell, I’m 23 like. It’s not like I’m old. I could be here for the next 10 years.’
“Then I was like, ‘You know what, if that’s how you feel, then you can basically f*** off.’”
Arnold played 44 times in his four years at Munster, and while he did enjoy his time in Limerick, the experience has been tainted by how he believes he was treated by the province.
Things may have worked out differently had Arnold decided to stick it out in Ulster, but after turning down an Academy contract offer from Harlequins, who saw him as a scrum-half rather than a midfielder, he spent just one season in Belfast before moving to Munster.
“Obviously hindsight is great, I was 19 or 20 and I’d played like 14 games for Ulster,” Arnold recalls.
“I’d played in the Champions Cup, interpro games but there was just an element of impatience.
“I was young, probably a bit petulant. You expect to be giving things but in hindsight, if I had stayed a year or two longer, Jared (Payne) left, Lukey (Marshall) was injured, (Darren) Cavey retired, it probably would have opened up there a bit more than what it had when I had the five international lads above me. But that’s the way it goes. You can’t tell what’s going to happen.
“I look back on my time in Ulster with real fondness.
“My two years in Connacht was the same as Ulster, it was awesome. I absolutely loved it. Quality group of people, great group of lads.
“I think I needed that in terms of getting my confidence back and playing a good brand of rugby. It made me fall in love with rugby again.
“I will always have a place in my heart for Connacht and the same with Ulster, I absolutely loved it.”
Arnold accepts that he may never get to pull on the green jersey again having signed a three-year contract with 11th-place Brive, who take on Top 14 leaders Toulouse at home this afternoon.
Even if he doesn’t get another chance to play for Ireland, he will always be proud to have done so, that one time against the USA in front of a home crowd four years ago.
“Ever since I was a young fella I wanted to play for Ireland,” Arnold insists.
“Whether I only got to play one time or five or ten, 20 or 50 times, I can always say I have done it. I have been capped. I have my cap number.
“If I had my way, would I have liked to have played more? One hundred per cent. But it’s just the way it’s worked out.
“When I was young, it was always my mum who made all the effort with my rugby, so I always wanted to repay her and my grandparents (O’Sullivans) from Bere Island because I spent a lot of time with them.”
As for what comes next, Arnold is happy to see how things play out. His abrupt ending in Munster has taught him that you never know what’s around the corner in this game.
Excitement is building in Brive on the back of major investment from English billionaire Ian Osborne (now the club’s largest shareholder), and with his first child on the way in the new year, Arnold is in a good place.
“I think I’m actually English-qualified again, so you never know at the end of this three years, I might try finish my career over there,” he adds.
“I’ll just see where the wind blows. I would never close the door on Ireland. The time I spent in camp with Faz (Andy Farrell), I have a lot of time and respect for him.
“It’s the same with (Andy) Friendy, Pete Wilkins, Mossy Lawler, Cullie Tucker, all those Connacht guys were unbelievable.
“In Ulster, Bryn (Cunningham), Neil Doak at the time, (Les) Kissy, these people did loads for me.
“It’s just a shame that blip in Munster has left a sour taste.”
Ehhhhhhhhhhhh
Ehhhhhhh
Cheers pal
Timing of this is immaculate. A hammering at home today and Davidson got the road (harshly) from brive
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None of it makes sense, here’s a 3 year contract offer on improved 
and he’s what about D’Allende 
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He’s as Irish as Jacob Rees Mogg in any case.
Anyone read the article?
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Yeah discussed on the Blackrock thread. Pretty sad column from her tbh. Pathetic
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Yeah it was a staggering piece. “You sneered at us when we were school kids but at least we weren’t being abused…ha ha!” I haven’t seen any follow up from her in the paper or on Twitter saying she got it terribly wrong.
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If I recall correctly Roisin was part of the pile on regarding the male teachers in a Carlow school 2 years ago
The blackrock article referenced above was awful
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The Journal fact check lady does be hopping like a sausage in a pan when she’s reminded of her stance on that story.
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What she wrote was utterly bizarre. Like something a mad cat lady would come up with.
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