Leinster vs Munster

“You grow up with the common belief
in Munster, albeit wrongly, that Leinster
players are all posh and what have you.
You just find out that they are normal
people. They are the very same as you.
“I wasn’t long up in Leinster when I did a
press conference. I was asked a simple
question: ‘Did you notice any differences
between Munster and Leinster?’”
“I said: ‘The only thing I can’t get my
head around is that there are so many
takeaway coffees up in Leinster.’”
There was a headline in the newspaper
the next day: “I’m not here for the
coffee.” To this day, the boys in the
WhatsApp group will hit him with “I’m not
here for the coffee”.
“Looking back now, I am as long out of it
as when I was playing it. They were great
times, just great craic.”
The dream of making a difference for
Leinster in the Heineken Cup never truly
materialised, Rocky Elsom arriving in
2008 to be the missing piece in that
jigsaw.
“They obviously felt they needed quality
in the position I was in and that leads to
you asking questions about yourself.
“I was a good Magners League player.
I had two seasons of starting regularly
in the Heineken Cup and then dropping
down to be a squad player.”
When Rocky left, Kevin McLaughlin
and Seán O’Brien came on the scene.
In Ireland, there are always back row
players coming on the scene.
“Only the world-class players reach the
top of the game. I wasn’t world-class.
Therefore, I didn’t reach the top. And
that is okay. I have no hassle with
that.”
It wasn’t too long before Stephen
had had enough of the professional
environment.
“People think professional rugby is
great. And it is. It is also very frustrating.
Whether you are a good player, or not,
or fully-committed, or not, holding a
tackling bag is not easy.
“Everyone knows if you are doing a
good or bad job as a professional rugby
player because all they have to do is
read the teamsheet.
“You are constantly explaining yourself.
People are asking you, are you injured?
No. Why aren’t you playing? The coach
didn’t pick me.
“I just got sick of it. I could have gone to
Italy or France. For me, there are other
things in life outside of rugby.”
That meant the beginning of a second
career in 2011.
A degree in Economics from UCC led
to a future in finance with New Ireland
Assurance, working his way up that
particular ladder to become Head of
Retail and Sales in April.
“It is important to join the right company.
That happened to me. They never treated
me as an ex-rugby player. I never had to
do any rugby-related stuff for them.
“I came in on merit and they helped me
to build a career. That is really important.
I fell on my feet that way.”
Stephen cited determination, clear goals,
clear plans, clear strategies as some of
the building blocks that translate from
rugby into the workplace.
“You don’t learn management when you
are a professional sportsman because
you are mostly worrying about yourself,
doing your part.
“You don’t have to motivate people
because they are already motivated. You
learn how to be part of a team.”
In red and blue.
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