Eoin Reddan ready for ‘real world’

Eoin Reddan did not get the finale his glittering career deserved but the veteran scrum-half at least bowed out on his own terms, eager to make his new life in business every bit as successful as the one he enjoyed in rugby.

Ireland lost the final Test with South Africa in Port Elizabeth but coming off the replacements bench for an 11-minute final hurrah at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, the 35-year-old showed he still has what it takes to compete at the sport’s highest levels.

With all his usual industry, Reddan injected just the right urgency into Ireland’s play as the tourists chased the try that would close the gap on the Springboks to a point and give Paddy Jackson a shot at glory with the conversion. A sharp pass from the back of a ruck and a snipe down the blindside have been his stock-in-trade for years but there was always more and it showed with a lovely offload out the back door for Jack McGrath as Ireland laid siege to the Boks’ tryline.