Rory Beggan: 'I didn’t want people to know I was away. If I failed no one knew it ever happened'

Next week Beggan will fly to America with Down’s Charlie Smyth, Wicklow’s Mark Jackson and former rugby player Darragh Leader to eventually take part in the Indianapolis combine.

NEW CHALLENGE: Rory Beggan lines up to kick an American football. Pic Credit: James Crombie, Inpho.

A decade ago, Stephen Cluxton was looking to add length to his kickout when the Dublin goalkeeping coach Gary Matthews had a brainwave. Matthews, a former League of Ireland player, took inspiration from Juventus and their weighted footballs.

The story goes that Juventus used weighted footballs specifically designed by a Danish manufacturer to improve their goalkeeper’s range and accuracy when throwing it out. Matthews heard that yarn and ordered a similar batch for a Gaelic football. That source strengthened Cluxton’s immense placed-ball power.