Room 101: Conor O’Shea – Harlequins director of rugby
My wife told me to put this one in so I’d better do as I’m told! Whenever the Sales start she tries to convince me that we’re saving money because the items are cheaper, ignoring the fact that money has still been paid out! Then if we’re out clothes shopping for the kids quite often I’ll get the line, ‘if it doesn’t fit the girls we can always take it back’. Needless to say it’s very rarely returned! Shoes seem to be a particular weakness. On a recent girls’ weekend away she took four different pairs of shoes. How is that so?
TRP verdict: Give your wife a yellow card, not a credit card. You’re out.
2. Time-keeping
Lack of punctuality in any aspect of life really gets to me. When I arrange a meeting or agree to do something I love things to run on time; my former team-mate at London Irish, Kieron Dawson, will tell you that I was always the first onto the plane when we were travelling abroad. My strict time-keeping is a running joke amongst friends. At any social gathering they know that the O’Sheas will be the first to arrive. If the invite says 8 o’clock we’ll be there at 8, bang on the dot.
TRP verdict: Clock in to Room 101.
3. Refereeing inconsistency
Referees are brought up in different ways and have different ideas on how the game should be refereed and that’s one thing you have to adjust to when you travel from one place to another to play rugby. I also appreciate that refereeing is the hardest job in the world, but without wishing for some form of utopia I think there could be more consistency in the decisions that are made from one game to the next. That lack of consistency is the one thing that, without doubt, irks me the most.
The ruling of the breakdown is a particular bug-bear of mine because getting the upper hand in the tackle area allows you the freedom to play, which is what we always aim to do at Harlequins.
TRP verdict: As a famous philosopher once said, ‘consistency is the foundation of virtue’. You’re in again.
