The Irish cricket team's World Cup captain talks to Mark Roddenabout playing rugby league in his native Australia, being the only Newcastle fan to have Sunderland as his second team, and his admiration for Gaelic games.

I WAS NEVER forced to play any sport, which was good, but if there was one thing I was going to do in the winter it would have been play rugby league.

That would be the predominant sport outside of cricket for me, but I've got a lot of others - I'd watch two flies fighting up a wall.

Where I grew up it was rugby league in the winter and cricket in the summer. My cousins played it and my uncle and father as well. You did have soccer and a bit of Aussie Rules but around my area there wasn't a lot of rugby union. Rugby league kept you fit for the cricket season and that was probably the main attraction.

I played rugby league from the age of seven to 19, when I started to get too skinny and tall and when the hits were hurting a little bit too much.

I was growing taller, the guys were getting wider and the tackles were getting harder so I probably gave in for that reason.

It's difficult to stay in contact with rugby league in Australia but my cousin moved to the team that I support this year and is now playing first grade with them so that gives me an added interest.

Golf is another sport I enjoy playing.

I don't get out anywhere near as much as I should but I'm not playing one-day cricket now for Ireland so hopefully I can get out a bit more. After Pádraig Harrington won the British Open last year I was out playing three days a week but I suppose everyone in Ireland was doing that.

I support Newcastle in the English Premier League so I like watching soccer as well.

I played professional cricket in London in 1993 and previous to that I was a Tottenham fan. When I was growing up in Australia we'd only get one game a year and in the early 1980s Tottenham featured in the FA Cup final quite a few times. My father was a Tottenham fan and we'd sit up until two o'clock in the morning and watch the game.

Then I went over to England and the guy who I lived with was a Geordie.

Newcastle got promoted in 1993 and I've followed them ever since. They played entertaining football under Kevin Keegan. It was never 1-0 - it was always 5-4 or 4-3. I liked that and obviously living with a guy for six months whose house is black and white, you sort of had to change colours!

Despite being a die-hard Newcastle supporter, I'd probably be the only person in the world that would have Sunderland as my second team.

I had the opportunity to meet Niall Quinn this year and he said if I ever wanted to go over he'd look after me. So myself and my wife went over when they played Wigan and that was some occasion.

They won 2-0 and the only disappointing thing about the day was I had them winning 2-1!

I don't get to many Gaelic football or hurling games. I've had the opportunity a couple of times but unfortunately cricket takes over during the summer.

But being Ireland's number one sport it's hard to miss it. Obviously not knowing the rules and not having grown up with it you sit back and wonder what's happened sometimes but you have to admire the speed and the skill, especially in the hurling.

They've obviously got a huge amount of skill and ability and the hand-eye co-ordination is amazing. It's a wonder a lot of them haven't gone across to cricket because I can tell you they would definitely do a good job.

I've been to Croke Park but that was to watch Ireland play Germany in soccer. I remember in 1995 when the Dubs won the All-Ireland; that was my first year over here. I had tickets to go and watch them but we had a cup final and I didn't get there.

With me coming back a little bit from the international cricket side of things hopefully I might get the opportunity to go now. A lot of people said they'd take me so it's about time I called in those favours.

There wasn't good press for us the last couple of times the international rules has been played, with the violence thrown around and reported on.

That's a disappointment considering they are the only two countries that play it - guys should be looking to excel in the game instead of going out for an end-of-season touch-up.

Ireland and Australia have got such close links and it's great for both sports. Hopefully there'll be no cricket games on when that's on and I can go to it and put on half an Irish jersey and half an Australian one.