On today's edition of our daily sports podcast The Racket, we discussed the remarkable hatred directed towards Johnny Sexton in the French media. Listen below:
We also discussed the flak that Ian Madigan received in Midi Olympique this week and the targeting of Ronan O'Gara by the French press in 2007. Then we began thinking, have any Irish sportspeople had the opposite experience? Who, among the Irish sporting elite, has been welcomed by the French? Here are some who have performed a kind of reverse Norman conquest. Albeit with fewer castles being built.
Trevor Brennan
Brennan joined Toulouse from Leinster in 2002, and played in three consecutive Heineken Cup finals, winning two either side of a 2004 defeat to Wasps. Brennan's move to France cost him at international level as he was capped just 12 times for Ireland. Brennan grew extremely close to Guy Noves, his coach at Toulouse. Brennan credits Noves with saving his life. In a game against Castres, Brennan was knocked unconscious. Noves raced on to the field,
In a game against Castres, Brennan was knocked unconscious. Noves raced on to the field, prised Brennan's teeth apart and grabbed Brennan's tongue to prevent him from suffocating. Brennan reacted by unconsciously biting down on Noves' thumb. Noves' hands still bear the scar.
Brennan has left an imprint on more than just the French manager. He has run a successful pub in Toulouse, and his son looks set to play for France having been named in their under-17 squad last year.
Bernard Jackman of Bernard Jackman's Grenoble
Jackman's rise at Grenoble has been meteoric since being forced to retire from rugby through injury in 2010. Having spent three years as Director of Rugby with Clontarf RFC, Jackman was appointed as skills and forwards coach with Grenoble following their promotion to the Top 14
Jackman has risen through the ranks and is now head coach at Grenoble, and has since had his contract extended until 2017. Grenoble's style of play under Jackman has earned praise from the French media, and fullback Gio Aplon has claimed Jackman has the talent to become Irish coach one day.
Such is his standing in France, any Irish reporting of Grenoble must be prefaced with his name.
James Coughlan of James Coughlan's Pau
Former Munster No. 8 James Coughlan is a mainstay of the Pau back row in the Top 14. The side are currently one place outside of the drop zone following last season's promotion. Coughlan was one of the main reasons behind Pau's promotion: he was voted the 2014/15 Pro D2 player of the year at the LNR awards.
#NuitduRugby James Coughlan de @SectionPaloise meilleur joueur de PRO D2 avec @Daphne_Burki01pic.twitter.com/SDULkTUVdT
— LNR.FR (@lnr_fr) January 18, 2016
Such is his standing in France, any Irish reporting of Pau must be prefaced with his name.
Stephen Roche
Roche made history in 1987, enshrining himself as one of the two men to have won cycling's triple crown: Tour de France, Giro D'Italia and the World Road Race championship.
Since retiring, Roche and his family have settled on the Cote d'Azur. His children were born in France. Roche also owns a hotel in France, the Roche Marina hotel.
Roche is dogged by allegations of doping, so it is arguable that he enjoys a better reputation in France than he does at home.
Samuel Beckett
Beckett was a keen sportsman. He was an extremely talented rugby player and played with Dublin University, otherwise known as Trinity College. Whilst academics point out that Beckett's influences included Proust, Sartre, Balzac (stop sniggering down the back) and Shakespeare, many neglect to mention Ollie Campbell, whom he proclaimed as a "genius". The denizens of Trinity College maintain he was the most talented Nobel Prize winner to play rugby with the college. Beckett was also an extremely talented cricketer.
He left it all behind when he moved to France. Beckett fit in very well in France. Waiting for Godot was originally written in French, but most notably Beckett formed a strong friendship with his neighbour, better known as wrestler André the Giant. Stories abound that Beckett once drove André the Giant to school
Perhaps as proof of his being more comfortable in France, Beckett re-evaluated his time at Trinity College. While across the channel, Beckett proclaimed that "the students of Trinity College are the cream of Irish society as they are rich and thick".
Sadly, we have no video proof of Beckett driving André the Giant to school. Instead, here is a video of him being portrayed as a 1970s television detective.
