Ireland’s call for Rabbitohs

Ireland’s call for Rabbitohs

27 June 2018

TWO local rugby league players will be part of an Ireland team that makes history in Hungary at the weekend.

Ballynahinch Rabbitohs players Gareth Gill and Connor Phillips travel to Budapest on Friday for a one-off test as Ireland continue their preparations for this year’s European Championships.

Hopes are high in the Irish camp for the qualifying games in November as the top two teams in this year’s tournament will automatically qualify for the 2021 Rugby League World Cup, which will be hosted in England. 

Gill (23) and Phillips (24) are both seasoned internationals and play their club rugby for Ballynahinch in the Irish Elite League. 

Gill plays as a number 8 in rugby union, but is a barnstorming prop in league, while Phillips operates as a flanker in union and hooker in league.

Both have taken to rugby league with ease since first playing the game only five years ago and both have made huge impacts. The friends thrive on the excitement and action of league and relish the amount of tackles and carries they make.

Gill, who made his Irish debut in 2017 in a whirlwind introduction to rugby league, is taking his rise to fame all in his stride and is looking forward to Saturday’s clash.

“I can’t wait to get going and I am raring to go,” he admitted. “I have found rugby league easy to adjust to because my role in rugby league is similar to that in union.

“I like to tackle hard and run hard, something that I found that I could do well and enjoy from my school days at Ballynahinch High School and then at Ballynahinch RFC.

”I work for Greentown Traffic Management, and of course if the opportunity was to arise I would certainly love to give the professional side of the game across the water a go because it is an aspiration of mine.

I’ve played at the level of professionals before and can see my self there again. I love both codes of rugby, but league definitely suits my style of play a lot more and playing for Ireland in the World Cup would be a dream come true.”   

Phillips is also a cross-code player and he too would never rule out a possible move across the water to play the game professionally.

“Making the switch to rugby league was a easy transition for me,” he said. “I was always aware of rugby league and watched a lot of it before playing.

“I am a dental technician and if the price and time was right, would certainly move across the water. I definitely prefer league as it is a much quicker game and the ball is on the pitch for longer,” he added.