Daniel Brennan: Far from lost in translation

Daniel Brennan, all 6ft3in and 20 stone of him, sits in a small chair in the courtyard of the vineyard where the French U20 team are staying outside Narbonne, and tries to rattle off his phone number before realising he can’t do it in English.

“Trois, trois, sept, huit ….,” he then goes, with the softness and cultured tone of a French accent which suggests he has never been out of the Haut-Garonne in his life.

Seconds later, after finishing calling out his number, he bursts out laughing and reverts to the strong Dublin accent in which he has delivered a few post-match interviews during the World Rugby U20 Championship in France over the past couple of weeks.