Carney chosen as vice captain of GB&I squad

**Dodge** · 06/09/2005, 11:45 PM

Wigan Warriors Site

Carney Chosen as GB Vice Captain

“The choice of Brian is perhaps a little bit surprising but not to those who know him. People will have seen Brian’s image in respect to the humour he creates in and around rugby league but he, too, has leadership credentials.

“He is a very articulate, intelligent man and in most of the team meetings that I’ve participated in over the last six years, Brian has played a part.

“We discussed several players within the squad and we think we have come up with the correct choice. We are very excited by the combination that these two gentlemen offer Great Britain and Ireland.”

The 29-year-old Carney, who will leave Wigan at the end of the season to join Australian club Newcastle Knights, admitted he was taken aback by his appointment.

“It was a surprise but nonetheless a great honour,” he said. “I’ll take great pride in the responsibility I’ve been given and undoubtedly give my all, just as I would if I hadn’t been given this responsibility.”
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Another Corkie doing well, fair play to him. He has 2 games left for Wigan before departing for the NRL in Australia

**Aberdonian Stu** · 07/09/2005, 8:50 AM

I'm pretty certain the Corkie thing is inaccurate. I think he was living in Cork before making the move to England but is in fact Wicklovian, as the accent would suggest.

**Macy** · 07/09/2005, 8:59 AM

Noticed that they're plugging it as Great Britain and Ireland these days - mainly since they launched the Irish Wolfhounds and had to fill it with GB players....

btw Thought Carney was Wickla

**Macy** · 07/09/2005, 9:00 AM

Work getting in the way of posting - Think he played underage bogball for Wicklow anyway...

**Dodge** · 07/09/2005, 9:57 AM

Cork born accoding to BBC website (and loads of others...) Always thought he was from Wicklow myself

He's a football fan too

BBC

Originally Posted by BBC Website

If you could have been a spectator at one of the great moments in sporting history, what would it have been?
I would have loved to have been in Stuttgart when Ireland beat England 1-0 in the European Championships

**Macy** · 07/09/2005, 10:04 AM

Google reveals he's Valleymount, West Wicklow (booooo) and he did indeed play minor bogball for Wicklow... Also interesting piece about a possible switch of codes back a few years ago.

Just to confirm for myself really, as I thought I'd imagined he was one of the Wicklow Peoples sportsmen of the year last year.....

**pete** · 07/09/2005, 10:16 AM

Where did they get this GB & Ireland thing? Is it better than having irishman in GB team?

Don't we already have an Ireland team? Do Wales also have their own team but also part of GB team?

Apparently Great Britian was originally just referred to England & Scotland.

**Dodge** · 07/09/2005, 10:25 AM

Nah it was pretty much always just Englishmen (and Northern Englishmen) in the GB squad. A few years ago the British RL associations (don't know actual name) decided it wanted to develop the Irish market so appointed an officer for Ireland and helped set up clubs etc. part of this "development" was the introduction of an Irish national team. They renamed the team GB&I (changed the crest to include shamrock too...) but most over there would still only call it the GB team (GB team = test status, the Irish team doesn't have test status)

When the first World Cup was played there was no GB team but Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales. Irish team made up of plastics with one Aussie born in Belfast and 3 "token" domestic players. Carney spotted playing for Irish Uni team and given pro contract. He ALWAYS uses the term GB&I and makes sure nobody calls him British

**Macy** · 07/09/2005, 10:55 AM

Yeah, it's only recently they've started developing the national teams. Basically Great Britain and Ireland is like the Lions in union now.

Came across a few articles where they say the aim is to develop a true Irish team, but at the moment they're kinda caught in catch 22 - need a successful team to develop the sport here, but it won't be taken seriously if full of plastics, but then niether will a team who get's hammered every match. Although I think now there's a couple of more players with more genuine irish qualifications.

I think League missed the boat tbh - during the 80's when they were snatching players from Union would've been the time. They could've brought the players to give it a genuine chance of success.

**WeAreRovers** · 07/09/2005, 11:42 AM

I was always under the impression that Carney was from Wicklow too. Doing great things in a "foreign" game like his fellow county-man Ed Joyce.

Incidentally, I saw a group of lads on Grafton St this morning with Rugby League Ireland t-shirts on. Bet your glad I passed on that little gem of information.

KOH

**Macy** · 07/09/2005, 11:45 AM

I've been watching a bit of it recently with the Challenge Cup being on BBC. Still don't think it's as good a game as union, but better than GAA.

**Dodge** · 07/09/2005, 12:09 PM

I like RL. The state of origin games are among the best sporting events there are. The speed is about 3 times as quick as Super League in Britain

**Macy** · 07/09/2005, 12:17 PM

I'd agree with that, but being a former prop forward I don't like the way that all the forward play is taken out of RL.

**Dodge** · 07/09/2005, 12:51 PM

"taken out" or redefined

It'll be interesting to see where Andy Farrell plays in Union.

**Jerry The Saint** · 07/09/2005, 12:59 PM

Originally Posted by Dodge

"taken out" or redefined

It'll be interesting to see where Andy Farrell plays in Union.

Inside-centre to begin with I heard, possibly moving to the back-row when he figures out what the hell the lads in the pack are supposed to do. I can see him doing a serious amount of damage wherever he ends up.