The Rugby Pod - Interview with Bernard Jackman

By Michael O’Connor

You’re head coach at Grenoble, just how exactly did that materialise after you retired?

“Originally I went over there as defensive-consultant coach during the club’s first year in the Top 14 and following a good first season I was then made defensive and breakdown coach for the following season before being approached to be the head coach heading into my third season.”

You have played in Ireland for Leinster & Connacht as well as in England for Sale Sharks, did you notice any differences between the Irish and English game?

“When I left Connacht in 1999, it was largely due to the fact that the game in Ireland was not as developed as it is now, I moved to Sale because the Premiership was a lot more organised, a lot more professional, in Ireland I had to play half the season for my Province and half the season for my club while in Sale the setup was a lot more professional.

When I returned from Sale , however, there was a full Celtic League in place so there was less of a difference if any.”

There are a number of Irish players in the Grenoble squad at the moment, is that down to your influence?

“Honestly yes, when recruiting players it makes sense to focus on players you know a lot about, I coached James Hart at Clontarf at club level and Dennis Coulson at school while Chris Farrell is a player that I had previously seen at youth level in Ulster and we were lucky enough to bring them over here and they have all become an integral part of the Grenoble squad.”

I presume moving to France was a difficult decision, was the language barrier a problem when it came to coaching?

“Originally it was difficult, as I didn’t have any prior experience with the French language, the club was very understanding and supplied me with a language coach and a six month period of relative leniency, after which time I was expected to be up to speed!”

As a rugby coach, you must be aware of new up and coming talent, is there anyone that has grabbed your attention recently?

“As a coach here it’s important to help develop young French players, at Grenoble we are lucky enough to have numerous young prospects, one such player is Clement Gelin, who is capable of playing both fly-half and centre, and is someone who I firmly believe can become an important player for the club and maybe one day a French international.”

As a former Irish International what do you think of Ireland’s prospects of winning a third successive Six Nations title?

“I know that prior to the championship there was a lot of ‘doom and gloom’, following the loss to Argentina, the lengthy injury list and of course the poor form shown by the Irish Provinces in Europe. I think the match against Wales was a good opening, although we didn’t win, we didn’t lose, which is important. It will be very interesting to see how we fair against France, and facing England at Twickenham will be very difficult, that being said, I feel that all the teams are very level and that the championship is very open.”

Do you have a favourite try from your time as a professional?

“I remember a try a couple of years ago for Leinster against Castres, I threw in a sidestep and went in under the posts. I actually had a bandage on my head trailing in the wind, looking like a Bobby Charlton combover! That was probably my best try.”

Who is the best player that you have played with or against?

“It’s hard to look past Drico (Brian O’Driscoll) and Jason Robinson. Jason had a better ability to beat people, better acceleration but Drico had a better all round game, he was a good tackler, a poacher and could find space when there wasn’t any. Both those guys were just a class apart, they were match winners and it was incredible to play with them.”

What do you feel was the highlight of your career?

“It has to be winning the Heineken Cup with Leinster in 2009, being from Carlow I had always wanted to play for Leinster. Having started with Connacht then Sale before going back to Connacht to get game time, I felt like I was a bit of an underachiever so getting over that hurdle, playing with Leinster and winning the Heineken was probably my highlight.”

Do you think it’s harder for Irish players playing abroad to get selected for the national team?

“There’s no rule saying that Irish players abroad can’t be selected, we’ve seen it in the past with Johnny Sexton and we’ll see how it goes with Ian Madigan and Marty Moore but if Joe (Schmidt) has two players playing as well as each other, he going to pick the guy that’s playing for a home province, that being said, if there is a guy playing abroad that is capable of potentially winning games for Ireland there is no reason that he shouldn’t be selected.”

By Michael O’Connor - www.TheRugbyPod.com