Q&A with Tom Ferguson

Munster Junior Cup winning Bandon RFC captain Tom Ferguson has some sound advice to get over those January blues: push the calving back to February!

Q. If you could relive one sporting moment from the past year, what would it be and why? 

It would be impossible to look past winning the Munster Junior Cup in April. There was the build-up, the noise from the supporters when we ran out onto the pitch and the celebrations after. It was great for the club and for the town and hopefully it won’t take us too long to get back there again.  

Q. Picture this: Donald Trump has relocated to West Cork – fake tan, quiff and all – and he is interested in the local sports scene, what sport do you think would best suit the American President?  

It has to be rugby. He has the build for the front row and the fake tan and quiff to go with the backs! There is no kneeling before games for him to be worried about and he’d be a great man for the match updates on Twitter.

Q. What will you miss most about 2017? 

Eamonn Dunphy talking about how Wes Hoolahan is Ireland’s greatest ever player at every opportunity he gets! He’s only a spoofer!

Q. Who do you think is West Cork’s biggest sports star? 

At the moment I’d give it to another rugby man, Darren Sweetnam who is after making his international debut against South Africa and a first start against Fiji. He is at the top level of the sport now.

Q. Outside of your sport, what sporting moment from 2017 captured your imagination?  

The Cork hurlers winning the Munster championship. Wrote off by everyone before they started, then to go on to beat Tipperary and then show it wasn’t a once off by winning Munster, while having a number of new young players; that was a great achievement. 

Q. How do you usually spend New Year’s Eve? 

Usually a big group of us head off for Killarney or Dingle for a couple of days. It’s generally a quiet enough affair that doesn’t need a week of recovery after!

Q. If you could go for New Year’s Eve drinks with three sports people – local, national or international – who would you pick? 

I’d take our own Timmy Crowley to get the singing going with his rendition of Honda 50, though we’ve had to bolt the chairs to the ground after he’s had a few pints lately! I’d imagine Ruby Walsh and Ronan O’Gara could be good entertainment so I’ll give the two of them the nod as well.

Q. What local sports star should we keep an eye on next year?  

Rather than one person I’m going to say our own Bandon RFC U18 team. They’ve had some great results so far this year and they trained with us at times as well and have been very impressive. Expect to see them have a great season and I’m looking forward to seeing them push into the adult teams next season as well.

Q. Any advice to get over the January blues? 

Keep a good stash of chocolate and sweets built up from Christmas, a stack of firewood and Netflix. Pushing the calving back to February would keep the pressure off as well!