It’s one of those things that will go down in viral sporting history- but not necessarily for the right reasons- and rugby legend Donncha O’Callaghan isn’t shying away from it!
Back in 2006 as the dad-of-four was lining out for Munster against the Cardiff Blues in the Heineken Cup, his team shorts were literally ripped off him as he went in for tackle after tackle, but that didn’t stop the Cork man.
Eager not to miss any of the action Donncha tried his best to play on in just a pair of tight, red y-fronts before the French ref put his foot down saying ‘Move away please. You can’t play like this’. But in super quick time Donners was back on the pitch and ready for the lineout.
While it was only a few moments, the world’s media picked up on the scantily clad rugby star and the image of him in his undies on the pitch will live on- especially now that his daughter has seen it.
On The Offload podcast, which he co-hosts with Tommy Bowe, Donncha revealed that his daughter Anna got the surprise of her life when her school got new whiteboards.
He explained ‘On the whiteboard, you can type in and it comes up. They put up Donncha O’Callaghan and there’s me in the jocks,’ Donncha explained, as Tommy laughed, remembering the sight.
Donncha said the sight left a lasting impact on young Anna. ‘I actually heard her in with Jenny [Donncha’s wife], she was there to Jen trying to work it out in her head. She was there: “Why would he do it, mom? Why would he try to play in his undies, mom?”‘
Revealing that Anna was far from alone, co-host laughed ‘We all ask that same question. She’s not the only one!’
Tommy is no stranger to going viral for all the wrong reasons, when he made a poorly timed comment about a guest on his show Ireland AM having ten siblings… While he’d probably forget that, Donncha is more at ease with his own moment.
He laughed as he revealed ‘I’ve the red jocks on again today! Hey hey! Honk honk!’
You’ve gotta admire his confidence!
