Some top-class stories from both men and some interesting predictions for a crucial Six Nations match.
Ireland versus Wales have had a deep-seated rivalry over the past decade and enjoy taking each others’ scalps.
Ahead of Saturday’s Six Nations clash, in Dublin, The Hard Yards was joined by Ireland tighthead Tadhg Furlong and Wales legend Shane Williams to look ahead to the action.
Williams also shared a funny story [from 27:30 below] about how former Wales teammate Mike Phillips gave him a wedding present he would never forget.
Looking back to his unforgettable clash with Phillips, who was playing scrumhalf for Cardiff against his Ospreys side, Williams commented:
“I got married in 2005 and we had a local derby. Mike Phillips, who’d be one of my closest friends, was on the field and decided that in a ruck, at the Liberty Stadium, that he would give me a fantastic wedding present.
“I remember standing over him in a ruck and he turned around and said, ‘Have this for your effing wedding picture!’ and he punched me in the eye; gave me a black eye.
“Safe to say, the wife wasn’t very happy, on the Sunday, at the wedding. The funny thing is, Mike was a guest at the wedding as well. She didn’t speak to him all day!”
SportsJOE’s Pat McCarry headed along to meet Furlong ahead of the unfortunate news that he had been ruled out of this weekend’s game.
We sent @patmccarry along to chat with Tadhg Furlong for #TheHardYards podcast
Full interview coming up in Monday's show pic.twitter.com/gNieIMCGZX— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) February 18, 2018
Furlong spoke extremely well about his Wexford roots, GAA background, experiences on the Lions Tour and Ireland’s rivalry with the Welsh.
Host Andy McGeady also goes through listener questions and breaks it to Williams that Ireland are heavy favourites for the Wales game.
EPISODE 51 RUNNING ORDER
4.00 – Injuries to Ireland and possible changes
8.30 – PRO14 roundup
16.00 – Shane Williams interview
31.00 – Looking at Ireland v Wales
31.50 – Why the pressure is all on Ireland
35.30 – Rob Kearney and unfair criticism
37.00 – How Wales will target Ireland
39.00 – Tadhg Furlong interview
58.00 – Twitter questions
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