Guinness November Series Blog

by Michael Corcoran

Last season I was in Clermont for Munster’s vital pool game against the French side, it was early December and the mood in the bars, cafes and restaurants was light and the majority of people were in good form ahead the big game.

It was, after all, pre-Nama, pre-budget cuts, and pre-general doom and gloom.

However, the humour of those travelling fans began to alter as the evening wore on when the rumour began to sweep through their number that a Munster player, later increased to two Munster players, was definitely out of the game the following day because of illness or injury.

Worried questions were asked; ‘How do you know?’ ‘Where did you hear that from?’ ‘Are you sure?’ ‘Are you serious?’

Some of the replies: ‘I have it from a very reliable source’, ‘he is never wrong with his information’, ‘his brother/sister hangs around with a friend of player X, and they told him’, and ‘he was seen back in Limerick at the hospital earlier this morning’.

The rumour mill in overdrive.......

The rumour mill had gone into overdrive, almost reaching boiling point. For the record, both of the players  ‘named’ took a full part in the match on the Sunday.

At times it’s hard to distinguish between fact and fiction, and fantasy all too often intrudes on the mix. It’s such a complex subject that a visit to your local bookshop will see whole sections devoted to each of them. 

Some are fans of fact, some of fiction and some of fantasy. The hard bit is trying to distinguish between each of them, but there are clear division lines.

It’s the same with rumours, some are fact, some are fiction and others are certainly fantasy. If I had a euro for every ‘fact’ I was told or texted or emailed, I would help fund a large portion of current Government borrowing.

Fact or fiction - know what you're dealing with!

Be careful the next time you go into a bookshop; check what section you go to. Also be careful the next time you hear someone tell you a certain ‘fact’. Be even more careful about sending on that information, it may come back to bite you and could end up costing you money if it turns out not to be true as the Courts of Ireland are overcrowded with people who got information from ‘a reliable source’ such as 'a friend of player X’ or from a local gossip.

Some people write books, some write for newspapers, others broadcast on Radio or TV, all have opinions, all are entitled to their opinions. But that’s exactly what they are, opinions. You can agree or disagree with them, that’s your choice. However, it is hard to take seriously or believe some of what is put out.

Personally, I attend as many games as I can, go to rugby training pretty often, visit on all media days and get to meet and chat with players on a regular basis.

Hand on heart I can say I see almost the same people most of the time, they are doing the same job as me but in a different way. They are informed, they have opinions, I might not agree with them, but I respect them.

However, there are some who I don’t see at many matches, don’t attend training, certainly not media days and are not seen chatting or talking to players and coaches.

They have opinions also. I might not agree with them but it’s really hard to take them seriously.