PROPTALK: LESLIE GEORGE ~ COLERAINE RUGBY CLUB

Name: Leslie George.
Height: 1.8m.
Weight: 115kg.
Tight or loose: Loose but played both over the years.
Clubs: Coleraine Inst & Coleraine Rugby Club for 8 years.
Honours: Towns Cup champions, league championship in Q1, Ulster Rugby Schools XV & Ulster Rugby U21 XV.

When did rugby begin for you?

I started playing at Coleraine Inst at 11 years old. I was a prop right from the start! I did try my hand in the back row for a year due to a neck injury but unfortunately the prop gene is too difficult to remove i.e. I was too slow.

Who were the best props/teams you played against?

Difficult to say who the best prop is I have played against there have been many and I wouldn’t want to admit someone got better of me as a front rower. The hardest games I ever played was on tour in South Africa; we played a Collegians select 15 and it was the most difficult I’ve ever experienced, we also played some pretty tough games against City of Derry 2 years ago when they were promoted back to AIL rugby.

A memorable moment?

Our towns cup win, it was a last minute charge down and one of your players dived on the ball to win The Towns Cup, I will never forget that although I can’t remember the next 3 days lol.

What does it feel like to prop?

Its painful! I think its one of the most painful positions, and being a physiotherapist makes me understand that more. For me it means everything, even though I crawl out of bed on a Sunday morning in immense pain, and not just the hangover. I would not swop it for anything else, because the understanding between people who play in the front is a unique connection. Also, its not a position that anyone could try their hand at, the intricacies, the mystery that surrounds it from the point of view of everyone else, the responsibility and pride in a good job, the set piece ball is everything if your not getting it you have no attacking platform so their is a responsibillty on the props shoulders.

Who is the biggest bandit in Coleraine Club?

Steven Dickey, lets just say he is fond of a pint or two and he tends to go MIA returning on monday mornings for work most weeks sometimes it’s a Tuesday!

Shaved or unshaved?

Shaved.

Beers, wines or spirits?

All of the above.