'A dog with a mallet up its arse could’ve written Johnny’s book' Donnacha O'Callaghan

Former Irish Rugby stars Donnacha O’Callaghan and Tommy Bowe have hit back at Sunday Times journalist Peter O’Reilly after his controversial weekend column likened O’Callaghan to the divisive former commentator George Hook. The column also took aim at Simon Zebo, who is carving out a career as a rugby pundit following his retirement at the end of last season.

O’Callaghan also went on to accuse former Irish international cricketer O’Reilly of pushing a well-worn reputation for leaning heavily into Leinster’s praise at the expense of Ireland’s other provinces.

Appearing on the latest episode of their ‘The Offloand Podcast”, O’Callaghan and Bowe didn’t hold back, ridiculing O’Reilly’s comments and, most notably, mocking what they suggested was a sycophantic relationship with former Ireland and Leinster captain Johnny Sexton, whose autobiography O’Reilly recently helped bring to life.

The fireworks began when Bowe raised O’Reilly’s comparison of O’Callaghan to George Hook. “Have you seen the paper at the weekend?” Bowe asked, smirking. “Oh, you’re the new George Hook, Donners!”

“You can’t be comparing me to George Hook!” O’Callaghan retorted with a laugh. “In the words of Stephen from Braveheart, I’m way prettier than that man. I’m funnier than George Hook, and I know a whole lot more about rugby than him!”

While the two laughed off the insult, the gloves truly came off when O’Callaghan addressed O’Reilly’s apparent Leinster bias. “We need to get a cabin jack to get Peter out of Johnny’s arse,” O’Callaghan joked. “Honestly, fair play to Johnny for the book sales, but Peter… disaster dad here could’ve written it. I mean, a dog with a mallet up its arse could’ve written Johnny’s book.”

Sarcastically imitating O’Reilly, O’Callaghan continued, “Oh, I’ll write your book, Johnny, and then I’ll bang the Leinster drum.”

Calming the situation, Bowe credited O’Reilly for getting Sexton to truly open up for the book, saying: “That guy deserves an award; imagine having to push Johnny to get him to open up to tell some of those questions. ”

The discussion then turned to O’Reilly’s jab at Simon Zebo, with the journalist accusing the new pundit of “twitching nervously” when questioned about Munster’s performance. “Unbelievable,” said O’Callaghan. “Here’s a young fella just out of the game, trying to find his feet, and here comes the scary blue journalist putting him in his place.”

Bowe agreed, adding, “I think for Zeebs, he’s not long out, and he is finding his feet.  You’re out a good few years, which means it’s easier for you to give an opinion, and it might be controversial sometimes, but that’s what you’re paid to do; that’s what you’re being asked to do is to give your opinion and not everybody would agree with it.”

Highlighting the perceived disparity in how players from different provinces are judged, O’Callaghan felt this extended to the commentary booth, “It’d be lovely if Peter kept going on the rest of them as well.” Pointing to Leinster’s recent struggles at the line-out in their Investec Champions Cup clash with Clermont, the former Munster lock said, “We watched the Leinster game, and we heard all the blue Leinster pundits saying the line-up was bad because of the weather. You know what I mean. Don’t just pick on Simon Zeebo; have a go at some of the other fellas, too.”

O’Callaghan also defended his own punditry style, highlighting what he sees as double standards. “Can I tidy that one up, though? First? I do think that’s a little bit harsh. I made a rule for myself that I would only say something on the telly and that I would have the balls to say it in the dressing room. So if we were in a review, that’s exactly what I’d say, and I’ve stuck to that, and I think I’ve been true to that with Connacht, with Munster, with Ulster, with any of the teams I’ve been around. .”

O’Callaghan made one thing clear: he won’t shy away from defending himself or his fellow Munster men, especially when they believe the “blue media” is playing favourites.