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Snapchat, Tinder and Whatsapp: Donncha O'Callaghan's review of modern life

At the age of 38, Munster and Ireland legend Donncha O'Callaghan is certainly the senior citizen ...



Snapchat, Tinder and Whatsapp:...
Rugby

Snapchat, Tinder and Whatsapp: Donncha O'Callaghan's review of modern life

At the age of 38, Munster and Ireland legend Donncha O'Callaghan is certainly the senior citizen at Worcester Warriors. 

He won the Player of the Year award at the club but his brothers haven't been giving unqualified congratulations as O'Callaghan jokingly shared at Off The Ball's Mansion House show: "If you're player of the Year at 38, then maybe there's a reason you're second from bottom."

But between his time at Munster and now in the English Premiership, he has seen technology and society develop within rugby and beyond.

Take phone apps for instance: "My forms of communication in the dressing room are different now. I'm cool now. I'm on Snapchat and Instagram..."

Revealing that in his former career at Ireland, the squad had a rule of putting all their phones in the middle and away from their grip in order to have proper group conversations, things are different now at the modern rugby club.

"Drico, remember we used to throw the phones in the middle. That was one of the rules round camp and we'd all sit around and chat," he reminisced with Brian O'Driscoll who was also on stage.

"Now we've got a real cool players' room. But when you get a 15 minute break, everyone grabs their phones. They're all chatting to each other like we always did but now they're chatting on Whatsapp or they're sending Snapchat and for me it was really frustrating at the start."   

While Tinder is of no interest for the happily married O'Callaghan, he did reveal his younger team-mate and house-mate did attempt to make him a wing man for a date. 

"It's been eye-opening to say the least about how the dating scene has changed and moved on to Tinder," says O'Callaghan.

"[My team-mate] had matched with an Irish girl from Dublin and she was over in Cheltenham and wanted to meet up. He was there 'listen, will you come with me. You're both from Ireland and ye can chat about home and then hopefully I'll swoop in and we're away'.

"I was there, 'look, I've no interest in that' and then he said 'don't worry, she's bringing a friend'. So I had to get to the point with him: 'I'm a married man with four kids'. And he was there: 'No man, you're a brutal wing man'".

And like most teams and organisations, a Whatsapp group is essential.

"The dressing room is different now. It's funny. I'm in two Whatsapp groups: the old lads I played with and the Worcester boys," he says, adding that in one group they're "chatting about how they can get 40% off botox down in Cheltenham".


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