Last Saturday’s Q & A In London

The London branch of the MRSC kicked off a big Heineken Cup weekend with a lively Question & Answer session on Saturday night last. Munster’s Media Manager Pat Geraghty, acted as M.C. and guests for the night were Munster legend Alan Quinlan, Munster backs coach Simon Mannix, young fly half JJ Hanrahan. The crowd were treated to an insight into the full gambit of a rugby career from recent debuts, through to coaching, and on to punditry. While discussing his career to date Simon Mannix spoke of how impressed he has been by the Munster fan base and paid tribute to how the shirt means more to the players than a contract. He also discussed how he can empathise with the pressure young players today face, having "only" earned one All Black cap. JJ took us through his career progression to date, and emphasised that all the young players are fully aware of Munsters tradition and working as hard as possible to emulate those who wore the jersey before. Alan Quinlan gave a fascinating insight into his transition from player to media analyst. He stated how the hardest part of the tradition was being critical of those who had helped him in his playing career, but that he had received some good advice on handling this – "just be honest" – and that was the mantra he hopes to keep following. He also stated how much he misses playing, of being involved in big Heineken Cup weekends, and would "love to be back where JJ is now, at the beginning of his Munster journey". Each of the panel were asked for their career highlights. For Simon, it was a case of developing and coaching players, rather than anything in his playing career, whilst JJ