AIB has revealed the first details of this year’s ‘Toughest Trade’ series following stars of international sport trying their hand with GAA Clubs and vice versa.
Former Welsh Rugby winger Shane Williams has arrived in Donegal ready to swap the oval ball for the round ball lining out with Donegal senior club football champions Glenswilly.
All Ireland winner Michael Murphy will be heading in the opposite direction in sporting terms travelling to France in the coming weeks to team up with top 14 side Clermont Auvergne.
“I’ve been to Donegal before, and it’s a lovely part of Ireland, with lovely people, so coming back is great,” said Williams.
“I’ve never watched a full game of Gaelic football as such so I’m really coming into this completely new to the sport and I’m looking forward to it.”
“The chance to try something completely different now that I have the time to do it is exciting, and I want to take the challenge on and see how I do.”
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Williams will face long, hard days in the northwest where this week temperatures are forecast to turn bitterly cold with the possibility of hail, sleet and snow. He will be fully immersed into the life of an amateur GAA club player; both physically and mentally. Among his responsibilities will be enduring early morning gym sessions, holding down a job as well as punishing late night training sessions.
Everything Williams learns in Glenswilly will prepare him for the final test; a challenge game against a neighbouring club. With all eyes on him and a deep-rooted local rivalry to contend with, Williams will line out in the ultimate game of pride. There he must put his knowledge and skills of the game to the test, proving to both himself and his Glenswilly club mates that he’s up to the challenge.
“I’m not coming in with any expectation that it will be easy, that’s for sure,” he added.
“I know that it’s a physical sport and a highly skilled one, so I expect that I’m in for a hard time, and that’s exciting too. I want the boys to make it as hard as possible for me, so I can know what I’m capable of.”
The Toughest Trade series is the creation of long-time GAA and camogie club championship sponsors AIB, having produced the first episode of The Toughest Trade in 2015. Last year the show, broadcast over two nights of primetime television switched from TV3 to RTÉ though no broadcast partner has been confirmed yet for the 2017 edition.
The series has also provided great online content with all the previous programmes available on the AIB GAA You Tube Channel.
“We’ve long believed that the GAA Club players are among the toughest athletes in the world, rivaling any professional athlete,” said Mark Doyle, AIB Brand Marketing Director.
“The Toughest Trade gives us platform to test out our theory. This is the third year of the documentary and will probably be the most physically challenging. We’re really excited to see how the men get on both here and abroad.”
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