Night in with the meatball
How's it going my rugby buddies? As Six Nations time swings by for another year, it's a great chance for myself and the other foreigners that play in the Northern Hemisphere to get out there and explore Europe. As there are no games, some squads get a week off so what better time to get in some relaxation and down time. This time round I've returned to sunny Spain for a quick getaway. There's nothing better than chillaxing in a cafe in Puerto Banus to finish off the blog while sipping on a a fine Spanish coffee and dribbling over luxury super yacht's and Lamborghini's.
In my last blog I caught up with the baby-faced Scottish International Stuart Hogg with a nice romantic Mummy's home-cooked meal of Hawick Haggis Lasagne. Cheers for the cook books that were posted to him. He's now on the right path to a healthy diet.
Now on to my next 'Come Dine With Me' victim, another new call up to the Scotland Six Nations side. Anyone that his seen this kid play will not have been surprised, especially with his superb goal kicking abilities. This weeks dinner date is with the goal kicking machine Duncan Weir also known as 'Meatball'.
A born and bred Glaswegian, the little general was brought up in a local town called Cambuslang. Dunky grew up playing soccer and running round in his nappies kicking a soccer ball he dreamt of playing for Rangers. Through his school years it wasn't uncommon for him to lace up his boots on a Saturday morning for schoolboy rugby tournaments, then to jump in the car and shoot off to play club soccer that afternoon. After representing Celtic at under age level, Meatball finally made up his mind to pursue the sport he loved most. He declined further football offers and decided to concentrate on making the Scotland number ten jersey his own. Some people might think it was a crazy move financially but with his rugby skills and goal kicking ability he knew he could make a real statement in Scottish rugby.
After getting to know this guy over the last seven months I've realised what a down to earth guy he really is, not afraid to admit how he takes care of his money-makers. Dunky has been known for getting a weekly pedicure to make sure his feet are in top shape. Commitment is no issue for this guy, always being the first on the training field and the last to leave. He showed commitment pays off by achieving the RaboDirect Pro 12 record of eight from eight conversions which he set against Dragons last November.
We know what this guy can do on the pitch, but how is he at looking after himself when he gets home. With nutrition being a vital part of playing professional sports I was looking forward to seeing if Duncan's skills in the kitchen matched his skills on the pitch. Hoggy proved last week that he still needs a bit of help from mummy Hogg when it comes to fuelling his tank and the boys including Duncan weren't shy at giving him a few digs at training during the week about it. Surprisingly Duncan jumped at the chance to take part in the challenge!
Due for a 6 o'clock dinner I thought I'd sneak up a half hour early to the wee mans house to see if i'd catch a delivery man dropping off dinner. For some reason I was picturing Duncy playing ps3 while waiting for the delivery mans knock on the door. Surprisingly I found him hard at work in the kitchen whipping up some meatball magic. Dinner was served at six on the dot and as my full attention was on the lovely meal I found it hard to switch the topic of conversation to rugby but here's a few questions I squeezed in to help you get to know the man of the moment a little better.
So Duncy boy, cheers for the meal. Now lets chat rugby. You just got called up to represent Scotland for the Six Nations, that's a major achievement. Looking back on the start of the season did you ever think that was possible or where did you think you'd be at this stage of the season?
"At the start of the season I was excited to hopefully get some games under my belt and put in some good performances. My target was to be in the squad for the 6 nations and chuffed to be selected."
How many hours a week do you practice goal kicking?
"I try do half an hour after most session, you can easily get distracted so if you do some circuits and record your score."
I hear your pre goal kicking self-talk is...'I love you baby, be good to me and il be good to you!' Is this true and where did get it from?
"Haha, I have no idea where you have got that. But pre kick thoughts are more to keep me calm and think I don't need to murder the ball just stroke it over."
You've had a lot of press and media attention lately, do you enjoy it or does it get annoying?
"I don't mind doing media, I'm not a massive fan of always chatting about rugby and you need to always think of good answers but it's nice of having some attention when your playing well."
Who was your goal kicking idol that you inspired to be like and why?
"Jonny Wilkinson, his dedication to practise is the best. So I always enjoy doing kicking to drive to have success."
These meatballs are delicious, who taught you how to cook these?
"Papa Weir taught me the secret to cook meatballs. It's always a favourite for him to cook so it's a regular dish in the house."
When you decided to quit football and pursue your rugby career were the salary differences ever a factor in your decision?
"Not at all, I enjoyed both sports so the decision to play rugby was only because I had never given it my full attention. I'm pleased with my decision and loving my rugby."
The Rugby World Cup is in four years, what are your goals before and after?
"Play well for Glasgow and hopefully have a good run in the number ten jersey. Then hopefully win a space in the Scotland first."
Come Dine With Me ratings;
Food Quality and taste: 8/10
Presentation: 8/10
Entertainment/Evening overall 7/10
Can he cook? 8/10
With an overall rating of 31/40 I think we can all agree that Duncy has one up on Hoggy in the kitchen. After a great night at the Weir household I was really impressed with Duncan's cooking skills. Delicious meatballs with a fine Moroccan spice, you can tell that it was well mastered and been cooked a good few times, going by Duncys skin folds..haha jokes! Cheers to Duncy for the great feed. Duncan's another guy that loves a tweet and you guys can catch him on twitter @Duncan_weir to keep up with his latest adventures.
The last few weeks we've been battling out Heineken Cup quarter final places playing Leinster at home and then Bath away at the Rec. Two top European clubs where you dont need motivation to get up for these games. Getting close defeats in both games showed that Glasgow Warriors are ready for these big staged games.
We were unlucky against Leinster after conceding a try in the last ten minutes to narrowly lose the game. I think I might have lost a few friends that day by under estimating my strength and power, accidentally tossing Gorden Darcys boot into Row Z while aiming for the sideline. After the incident been shown perfectly on Sky Sports 1 I've had a few requests to enter the Irish Culchie Festival "All Ireland Wellie Throwing" competition, ha!
Last weekend the boys went down to Bath with an opportunity to qualify for the Amlin Challenge Cup. As the game was not televised it was a another week on the @Glasgowwarriors twitter feed. It seemed like a nail biting finish with a narrow defeat of 23-18 but unfortunately even after picking up a losing bonus point we took second place in our pool, a disappointing finish to our Heineken Cup campaign.
One of the highlights of the weekend was catching my old club Connacht taking on the unbreakable Harlequins. A packed out Sportground on a lovely winter night in Galway the Connacht lads showing unbelievable defence in the second half grinding out a 9-8 victory. Every week my rugby knowledge expands. Recently it has been explained to me that there are times when in a scrum there's a tactical move called a 'soft shoulder'. Apparently this is where the referee sometimes awards you with a free kick due to the opposition packing in to a scrum too quickly. My good looking South African mate and prop Dylan Rogers packed in a scrum in the seventy-eighth minute after coming on as a replacement for Connacht. The call was 'soft shoulder' which unfortunately ended up with him pulling his left hamstring (yes props can pull hamstrings), forcing him to miss out on a week in the sun in Spain with me. Instead he has a week of physio's and rehabilitation to handle. Unlucky bro, hope you have a speedy recovery!
Until next time, keep the comments coming. Some of you guys are really testing me to the limit which is great, keeps me on my toes!
Stay Cool,
Troy
@dizTroy_
