The ACE with the PACE

Modesty becomes the man. In the face of widespread adulation from fanatical kids, desirous women and sports people alike, Simon Patrick Geoghegan prefers to see it as an acknowledgement of sheer hard work and discipline.

“I’ve just set myself very high standards,” he declares. “When I first came on the scene, it was all so easy as I was studying and, then, after the last Rugby World Cup, the side rapidly disintegrated with retirements and so on, and we went through the doldrums for a year. I, particularly, had a very bad time. It also coincided with my first year at work as a trainee solicitor. I worked very hard on my fitness and I had a lot of confidence in my own ability. I knew things would come good again.”

Swings and roundabouts, but you can only gain limited sympathy freezing on the wing as part of a side seemingly unwilling or unable to pass the ball in your direction.

“Well, I was making mistakes as well,” he concedes. “From a psychological point of view I wasn’t as tuned-in as I should have been. It was our friendly game with Romania that really turned last season. And last summer, I got myself, very, very fit. Not making the Lions tour to New Zealand was disappointing because I really wanted to go on that. So I got fitter. I’ve gone through a good patch recently, but I’ve set myself those high standards and I can’t afford to let them slip.”

With his club, London-Irish, relegated at the end of last season, Geoghegan grabbed the challenge of a move to English league champions, Bath.

“You’ve got a squad full of internationals at Bath,” he explains. “The sessions (training), content-wise, wouldn’t be vastly different from what you do with Ireland or London-Irish. It’s just everyone’s more focused from a club point of view and the sessions can be sharper and crisper because of the international players. There’s also a family spirit there and a lot of enthusiasm, and in every position there’s cover, international cover. We actually have four wingers and to fit us all in maybe we might rotate to keep it fresh.”

What, then, does he think about the current debate surrounding a possible European Super League for rugby union?

“I think it will come in, I think it’s got to. The public in England are a bit bored with the league, eighteen league matches where everyone knows the other, and the rugby can get sterile as well. A European Cup could come in with, say, a couple of Irish provinces and Scottish districts, and clubs from Wales, England, France and maybe Italy. I think it would benefit an Irish provincial side because you’re lifting the level at which everyone’s playing, and club rugby in Ireland is not really a high enough standard for players to jump to international level.”

For amateur players, however, such a league may impose even more professional demands without the commensurate rewards. “Even a couple of years ago it was relatively easy to balance your rugby career and your professional career, but now the demands are even more because the Irish squad have sessions on Monday nights as well,” Geoghegan admits. “You’re talking about taking a half-day on a Monday, and you really need to have benevolent employers, so it’s difficult to balance. My firm, Rosling King, have been brilliant. They have a (corporate) box at Bath and have been totally behind me, giving me as much time off as possible. I’m quite fortunate, but there are employers who aren’t necessarily interested in rugby and so there are players in a less fortunate position.”

And players who do a considerable amount of graft in dark, wet and windy training fields away from the glare of publicity. “I do two nights training at Bath if I’m playing on the following Saturday,” he explains, “and I do two weights sessions during the day near work, and I do a track session as well. I have also been known to play the odd game of football, too!”

A West Ham supporter, he also saw Ireland in last summer’s soccer World Cup. “Yeah, it was good. It was a bit disappointing from our point of view, especially after the first game, but I didn’t see as much of the whole tournament as I’d have liked. When I was a student I saw nearly all the last World Cup, but with work and the timing of the matches this time it wasn’t really possible.”

Rugby has its own World Cup this summer in South Africa. Who does he reckon will be there in the final rounds? “Australia, South Africa, France, New Zealand, England,” he replies, the immediacy of his answer perhaps a testimony to the gulf between those nations and the rest. “I think Ireland should qualify out of our group,” he continues. “We’ll be able to size-up Wales in the forthcoming Five Nations match, but they rely very much on Neil Jenkins (out-half and place kicker). I think if we can start to play a more expansive game, which we are trying to do and have the players to do it, we could beat Wales twice this year.”

More immediately, however, is the Five Nations Championship with its usual blend of phony wars, petty rivalries, old school ties, crested blazers and national pride. And sportsmen – dedicated individuals – lest the middle-aged boozers and anti-rugby cynics alike forget.

In the build-up to such games, would The Blonde Bullet fire the passions with a little music? “Yeah, I’ll listen to anything. I like House music, Club classics and disco anthems! (laughs). I also like REM, stuff like that, maybe Bon Jovi. Loads of stuff. I usually listen to music before I play, might even walk out of the pitch with a Walkman on, sometimes!!”

No New Age dolphin or bird tapes for our man Geoghegan, then? “No! Rock ’n’ roll!”

That’s the spirit.

• Paul O'Mahoney