Hook and Pope Roadshow Visits Clanwilliam

The Hook and Pope Roadshow stopped off at Clanwilliam Rugby Club on December 13th. The programme proved to be a great success with the two hosts meeting their match in a very lively audience.

Guests on the night David Corkery and Jon Kenny weren’t short a few words either!  Corkery provided an insight into the structure and management of rugby development while Kenny articulated his passion for the Munster team and the grassroots of country club rugby. 

It didn’t take long to get the audience involved when George Hook contended that the Munster front row was the worst in International rugby.  Among those to challenge and disprove George’s view was Women’s international, Fiona Steed, (wife of John Hayes) with George eventually giving-in and accepting his misjudgement.  Brent Pope stimulated some debate about the possible lack of back-up for some key positions on the Irish team.  This lead onto a discussion around the efforts of schools and clubs in developing the players of the future.  Retaining these players beyond the school years is a real challenge for the IRFU according to David Corkery.  Jon Kenny provided a light hearted account of balancing the multiple sports demands on the ‘parish’ underage player.

Mixing all this discussion and banter with some Heineken Cup match clips made for a very entertaining hour of television.  Viewer’s reaction was all positive and RTE were extremely complimentary of the Clanwilliam facilities and hospitality of its members.