With the Super 15 in full swing and the World Cup on the horizon, pull up a pew and listen to rugby’s answer to Dennis Cometti.

Greg Martin Fox Sports Greg Martin Fox Sports
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If Greg Martin was a shy, retiring type, he’d be all but forgotten these days. Only the more astute rugby boffins would recall the proud Queensland fullback who played nine Tests in the late ‘80s, the most notorious of which was the third Test of the ’89 Lions series where Martin grassed that pass from David Campese, gifting the Brits a 19-18 victory. Fortunately for Marto, he’s a warm and gregarious bloke with a sharp wit, a canny rugby brain and a true gift of the gab. For all these reasons, he’s best known these days for his work behind the Fox Sports microphone rather than his toil in the number 15 jersey. With the Super 15 in full swing and the World Cup on the horizon, pull up a pew and listen to rugby’s answer to Dennis Cometti.

Firstly, congrats on organising that Christchurch Earthquake Appeal at Ballymore. A full house, some grand old names and $400,000 raised for the good folk of Christchurch. Looked like a cracking night …

It was a lot of hard work but it was great fun. There was a real good spirit and brotherhood in rugby shown for the Kiwis.

Any chance of getting some Tests back at Ballymore?

Mate, a lot of the old-timers who grew up on a diet of rugby at Ballymore were so happy to see the game back there. You know, rugby was snatched away from Ballymore     without any consultation. Obviously it was to do with money, but no one was ever asked if they still wanted rugby at Ballymore. To sell the place out on a Thursday night is proof that people want rugby back at Ballymore.

 Any stories from the night? 

I’ll tell you this one thing. Before the game everyone got a bit excited and couldn’t remember what they were supposed to be doing, so we were all in the sheds and ready to go two and a half hours before kick-off. We were all that twitchy to get on. So we were sitting around, waiting forever in our gear, laughing and carrying on in the sheds. Then about five minutes before we were due to head down the tunnel, Sam Scott-Young (who’s always been known for his seriousness) suddenly starts firing up. “Right, listen! Fuck, we’re about to play the All Blacks!” And we were all shouting him down, saying, “No we’re not! We’re just playing a bunch of old blokes like us ... ” But

Sam kept going, “No, fuck it! They’ll be wearing All Blacks jerseys, everyone needs to switch on and belt these pricks!” Timmy Horan was sitting there shaking his head and Dan Crowley kept telling him to sit down. Eventually he got howled down ...The best thing was that after 20 minutes of running around and tackling blokes, Sam could hardly breathe. And at half-time everyone started firing up on him. “Come on, Sam! Time to aim up, mate!” Typical Sam Scott-Young – too serious for the night.

What are your thoughts on the new Super 15 format?

Well, it caught me by surprise, to be honest. Because of the “conference” name I was worried the whole thing was going to be a bit Americanised. You know, when you get a bit older you develop a fear of change, and I thought everything was running along pretty hunky dory with the old comp.But I can see now that those local derby games in particular are working their arses off. If there’s one thing people in Australia have had trouble with it’s who the fuck are the Cheetahs? Who are these Lions? The casual observer of rugby – normally a rugby league bloke who just likes watching blokes belt one another – needs tribalism. If you don’t know where someone’s from, and you’re not really clear on who they are, then it’s tough to hate them enough to get passionate about the game.