Omar Hassanein: ‘You’ve got to build a rapport and get players’ respect.’

I think a relationship between the player and employer of mutual respect will not only benefit our players but benefit the game. The proof is in the pudding.

As a former Australian flanker, Omar Hassanein could always handle himself, but when he arrived in 2011 he discovered that getting to grips with natives in junior rugby would arm him for boardroom battles that lay ahead.

But heading up the Irish Rugby Union Players Association requires more than a diplomatic touch and the businessman in Hassanein blends well with the hardy ex-Waratah with a background in rugby league who also had stints in France and Italy with Tarbes and Padova.