It is ironic that even though George Hook no longer appears on our TV screens during the Six Nations, the former RTÉ pundit is more prevalent than ever. Between live streams, Twitter and his regular Irish Independent columns, rugby fans can enjoy - or hate - his scorching hot takes just as often as if he were dispensing them next to Tom McGurk and Brent Pope in the TV studio.
Yesterday's result was made for Hook's brand of punditry - immediately after Ireland's 10-9 loss to France he said of Joe Schmidt's tactics:
It is the worst game plan I have ever seen. I have doubts about this coach and always have.
Another equally outlandish pundit who has gotten a lot of attention over the last few weeks is Neil Francis. The three-time World Cup quarter-finalist said the Irish team picked to face Wales was the 'worst Ireland side to be named for a competitive match in over 15 years'.
Given how Francis and Hook are such outspoken characters, it perhaps isn't too surprising that the duo have had run-ins in the past. When Neil Francis moved to the Sunday Independent in 2011 after the Sunday Tribune closed down, George Hook was also a columnist for the Sindo.
He didn't stay as Franno's colleague for long though. Almost immediately after the second row's arrival Hook announced his departure from the paper, saying “I think Neil Francis is an incompatible bed mate for me in a newspaper," and that he 'was not interested in having his column in the same newspaper as Neil Francis.'
As it turns out, Hook merely moved across the newsroom and his columns have been published in the Irish Independent ever since. The reason for Hook's enmity towards Francis dates back to 1996, where the former actually sued the latter for libel and won.
From the Irish Times:
"In in 1996, he [Hook] sued Neil Francis successfully for libel after the journalist and former player had suggested that the American Eagles knew Irish line-out calls during a match between the two for which Hook worked as liaison officer."
Is this a widely known story? It would be like if Kenny Cunningham sued Eamon Dunphy for libel. If the Francis/Hook dispute played out in the Twitter age it would have been massively enjoyable to see the online reaction.
Instead we get Eamon Dunphy slagging off Thierry Henry at an awards ceremony.
