'A free bar - and chip butties for everyone!'
Ex-footballer Roddy Collins has hilariously recounted how he became friends for life with Shaun Edwards after he mistook the current France rugby assistant coach for a boxer back in 1997. The Irishman, who went on to manage Bohemians to a League of Ireland/FAI Cup double three years later, spoke about his strong rapport with the Wigan rugby league legend in The Rodfather, the auto-biography written in conjunction with Paul Howard, the creator of the fictional Ross O’Carroll-Kelly Dublin private schools rugby character.
An older brother of Steve, the former world champion boxer who defeated the likes of Chris Eubank and Nigel Benn during his famed ring career, Roddy recalled in his newly published book how he used to run promotional events in and around his sibling’s title defences.
It was at one such after-fight party that Collins erroneously thought Edwards was a boxer, but his quick apology marked the beginning of a friendship that continues to this day 25 years later. Explaining what took place in Glasgow following his brother’s victory over Craig Cummings, Collins regaled: “I was checking passes at the door along with my bouncer, Decky Weldon.
“I let Jason McAteer and Phil Babb in, Bonehead from Oasis and his crew, then Martin Offiah, who was with a man I thought was the welterweight boxer Steve ‘The Viking’ Foster. ‘In you go Martin’, I said. ‘Have a good night, Steve’. The man looked at me strangely. Decky laughed. ‘Who did you think that was?’ he asked. ‘Was it not Steve ‘The Viking’ Foster,’ I said. ‘No, it was Shaun Edwards – the rugby league player’.
“I felt like a right dope. I used to watch matches on TV on a Sunday afternoon when he was a star for Wigan and I thought he was brilliant. I went over to apologise. ‘OK, pal,’ he said. We got talking. It’s happened to me only a handful of times that I’ve met someone and within five minutes felt like I’ve known them all my life, and this was one of them.”
The Rodfather by Roddy Collins is in bookshops… TODAY! pic.twitter.com/RpgZOpF5qI
— Paul Howard (@AkaPaulHoward) October 6, 2022
Collins went on to describe how the friendship quickly developed back in Ireland, initially providing an insight into Edwards’ staunch religious faith. “A few weeks later Shaun rang me to say he was coming to Dublin with a few mates. I had a great night out with them. Shaun loved a pint and a sing-song. But there was real substance to him as well.
“He wanted to become a coach when he finished playing and he was interested in learning anything he could from other sports. I also admired him for his faith. He was a practising Catholic and he took it very seriously. It was five o’clock in the morning when our night out ended and he was at Mass in the Liberties at nine o’clock.
“We became great mates. Caroline [Collins’ wife] and I started going to England a few times a year to watch him play for the London Broncos and we had some great nights out with him and his partner, Heather Small from M People.”
The reference to Edwards in The Rodfather didn’t end with that night out in Dublin as Collins soon described another visit from his new pal the following year which gave clues into the beginnings of a now-famed coaching career where the league-playing legend became a union defence coach colossus with Wasps, Wales, the Lions and France.
“Shaun Edwards came over to Dublin to stay with us. He was coming to the end of his rugby career and he was planning to move into coaching. He arrived with a stack of books about football, boxing, rugby, and all sorts of other sports, which he studied for hours in our spare room while drinking endless amounts of tea from a soup mug.
“He used to demonstrate tactical ideas sitting at the table using the salt and pepper shakers and whatever else was to hand. ‘Doesn’t matter what sport you’re on about,’ he said to me one day. ‘Defence is the bedrock of every great team. Defence is what wins you leagues’.”
There were two other mentions of Edwards – the 2022 France Grand Slam-winning assistant – in the book, the first recalling how he flew in to help Bohemian FC ahead of their 2000 FAI Cup final win over Longford. The second mention came in the acknowledgements section at the end of the book.
“Thanks to Shaun Edwards and Mags,” penned Collins. “It’s been a privilege to have you as a friend, Shaun, through good times and bad. You’ve thrown some of the best parties I’ve ever been to: ‘A free bar – and chip butties for everyone!’”
Comments on RugbyPass
Big difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
30 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
1 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
30 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
30 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
30 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
30 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to comments