Gareth Thomas wasn't exactly made up to see Mary McAleese and the President of the IRFU back when he played.
In his Paddy Power blog today, Thomas said he hated the business of meeting what he described as 'random dignitaries' before the game and said it knocked off his side's momentum.
Any momentum you build up before you go out is halted as you have to meet all these random dignitaries. You’re stood there thinking, ‘Can we not get on with the f***ing game already?’ It takes a long time to get to kick-off.
That’s all positive energy for the Irish, but for anyone in the opposition it’s like, ‘For f***s sake, who else have we got to meet? Are you going to bring your mother and father down next? This is f***ing crazy.’
So, it transpires that McAleese and Higgins and the rest are a key part of the Irish attempt to win the psychological battle. Who knew? Thomas never thought to use it to his advantage the way Martin Johnson.
All the meeting and greeting in Dublin may be excessive but then the build-ups in Cardiff and Edinburgh aren't exactly low-key affairs either.
Thomas described Lansdowne Road as an intimidating place to play and predicted Ireland would win the match and the championship.
You can read his blog here.
See also: Balls Remembers The Most Harrowing Night In Irish Rugby History
