Jamie Heaslip joined Jarlath Regan on the latest episode of An Irishman Abroad for a really interesting chat and among many other interesting nuggets, Heaslip revealed that Eddie O'Sullivan told him in 2007 that he was too small to be an international rugby player.
When speaking about what makes a great player, Heaslip said that 'talent is nothing without discipline,' before listing off some of the setbacks he has suffered during his own career:
At 15 I was told I wasn't good enough by this academy guy. At 19 I was told I wasn't [fit] to play for the under 20s, the following year I was nominated for world player of the year at underage.
Then in 2007 Eddie O'Sullivan said I was too small to play international rugby.
And you can talk about the setbacks from the different games that we lost or being dropped for the last game of the Lions tour. I've had all these different types of setbacks throught my career but I've just stuck to it and I've worked on things I had to work on.
In another interview, with The42.ie, Heaslip expands on the O'Sullivan story, telling them that it was one of the reasons he gave him when he came to tell Heaslip he hadn't made the 2007 World Cup squad. You can read the full tale here.
For what it's worth Heaslip is 6ft 4in and 17st 4lb. Although he probably wasn't that weight back in 2007.
Meanwhile, the Ireland no.8 also gave Regan his views on drugs in rugby and in particular, issued a strong response to Paul Kimmage:
Paul has an agenda but when it comes to drugs in rugby we are tested. We're held to the same board as every other sport with WADA, as part of the same programme. I actually got tested on Tuesday morning.
I've never seen any of it ever. Whatever allegations that are being thrown or talked about, I've never seen any of it in the sport.
You can listen to the full interview here. It's well worth the time.
