Jordon Conroy has said his background in competitive sports helps him cope with the pressure of taking part in Dancing with the Stars after the rugby player ended up in the dreaded dance-off in Sunday night's show.
The 27-year-old sportsman, who plays for Ireland's national rugby sevens team, scored a flawless 30 points from the judging panel for his awe-inspiring Contemporary Ballroom dance with partner Salome Chachua during Sunday's instalment of the competition.
However, when the votes from the public were tallied, he ended up in the dance-off against TV presenter Gráinne Seoige, who was sent home from the competition.
Speaking to press after making it through to next week's show, the Tullamore man said he wasn't too phased about being in the dance-off.
"After last week seeing Erica [Cody] and Missy [Keating] in the dance-off, I got the impression that it's a very unpredictable show so you’ve got to expect the unexpected," he said.
"I was pretty calm going in there - focus again, dance again. It's not a nice place because I hate going up against people you get to know week in and week out. Gráinne was honestly one of my favourites, so having to go up against her, it wasn't a nice feeling at all. That’s the sad bit about the show.
"But obviously I’m happy to go through to another week, so I can’t complain."
Conroy said his sports background helped him keep a calm head.
"Definitely the sports background helped immensely because there are often situations where it's do or die - you have to win a match, you have to win that final, and you have to keep a calm mind. It’s a feeling that I’ve been used to a lot of times," he said.
"Salome was a huge help as well, she told me to keep calm and just pull it out of the bag.
"Having a sports background does help psychologically in these situations, and to be honest I didn't feel as nervous as I thought I would."
However, the gruelling combination of extensive dance practices along with training with the ruby team is taking its toll physically.
"It is a crazy process. Week by week you are coming off such a high from a Sunday, then I'm in Monday starting a new dance and doing the sprint and skills session," he said.
"The body is starting to wither away a little bit and it's just about trying to find the motivation to keep going.
"I’m really enjoying the dancing process and being on this show. I’ve gotten back to training with the lads back in rugby. Being able to do both kind of outweighs the tired body, the fatigued muscles.
"I’m trying to monitor it as much as I can because I don’t want to overwork my body, which has been the case for the last two weeks, but we’ll get there.
"It is only a couple of weeks left so I'll just grind it out."
The rugby star, who is among the top-scorers on the show, singled out who he sees as his biggest competition.
He said: "You have your strong dancers but you have your entertainers, so you can't really tell who your competition is. Some people might find me as their big competition but I was in the bottom two so it’s really hard to gauge.
"From a dancer’s perspective, I love Nina [Carberry]. Nina has been so good, improving every week. I love Erica and Ellen [Keane] as well.
"I feel like those have been performing consistently well throughout the weeks. I would love to be in the final with them, if it happens."
Dancing with the Stars, Sundays, RTÉ One and RTÉ Player, 6:30pm.
