The Power Of Positive Thinking
Ask Jamie Heaslip how we are going to do in the World Cup in the Autumn and he responds: “We’ll win it.” But he says a lot more too, in what is his most personal and in-depth interview ever...
Anne Sexton, 02 Jun 2011
What kind of music do you like?
I like a bit of everything. I just got onto The National – I’m a latecomer. Loving that. The last gig I went to was Adele in the Olympia a couple of weeks back. I’m big into Oxegen. I’m mustard-keen to see Swedish House Mafia and Deadmau5. I’ve Pavarotti on my iPod – it’s a bit of an eclectic mix. I’m a rainbow of colours when it comes to music.
Since rugby has gone professional the perception of players…
What are we called? Dumb what was that?
Faintly dim former rugby players.
(Laughs) That’s a nice one. Go on.
There was an idea that rugby was posh boys and getting langered. Do you think that was unfair?
My parents had to put two kids through college when you had to pay fees. We weren’t a wealthy family at all. I managed to start playing rugby because my dad played it and enjoyed it. I dunno, I find it hard to swallow because myself and my friends that played it, we were from normal backgrounds, living in Naas, playing teams all over north Kildare and south Kildare. We played against all sorts, so I find that a hard one to take. There’s always a stereotype that someone’s going to be slotted into and I suppose rugby was slotted into that for a while. Now the game’s just getting bigger and bigger. A good game of rugby is a nice sport to watch. It appeals to a wide audience. I think a lot of that in Ireland is to do with teams like Leinster, and the national team, and the success they’ve been enjoying.
How do you fancy Ireland’s chances in the World Cup?
We’re gonna win! As a South African, you’re going to find that hard to take.
We’ve won it twice. We don’t really need to win it as much as Ireland!
(Laughs) I always say we’re going to win. If I get on that squad – I’ve never been to a World Cup – I’m going with the intention of getting on a team and I don’t want anyone else on it that doesn’t want to win. Whatever players get picked, you can be sure they are not going there to make up numbers, they’re going to win. That’s the mind-frame you have to have. Our goal is to win it. We just have to break it down into little parts and little steps and how we go about that.
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