A Conversation with Eddie Quirk

Since Reds Rugby Rules started, I’ve had an opportunity to interview a number of past Reds, particularly during 2020 while many players had some extra time on their hands! One of those “quarantine” interviews was Eddie Quirk, someone who represented Queensland between 2010-2015 and also happens to be a good friend of my family! I also caught up with him in 2018 in Tokyo, during his stint playing there. (You can read about my Tokyo trip here...)

So I was surprised and very happy to bump into him a few weeks back at Ballymore and was excited to be able to arrange another interview for this blog, this time in person! Fresh off some new coaching experience at his old stomping ground, I was glad to hear he believes he still has some great rugby left in him on the field, in the years to come.

Eddie is great to chat with and always good for a laugh and because we were so busy chatting, I forgot to get some pictures taken with him! I hope you enjoy some of the older pictures I found online though. (Sorry Ed, not all of them were my idea!!! My family loves you, as you well know.)

Hey Ed, thanks for coming and chatting today! It’s good to see your face back in amongst the Reds boys! 

Mate, no worries. It is good to be back! It’s a bit weird. I’ll give you the quick story of how it happened. I’ve been doing my coaching certificate in Japan and I was looking to do some experience when I got back home, whether it was a school or a club… and I got on to the Reds manager who was here when I was, he’s head of Australian rugby now and he says there’s an opportunity to come down and help at the academy. I said let's do it and I came down and all the Reds boys were here and I said “can I train”, so I’ve been here for five months of my break.

It’s weird to drive back to Ballymore to train again, after all those years. The times I’ve played the Reds, I’ve probably got in a bit of trouble, a lot of red cards and that, as you remember, it’s weird coming back and seeing all the guys that I’ve played, or punched or whatever, but that’s rugby.

Mugshot from the early Reds Days

How long does it take to do the coaching certificate?

So there’s level one and two that you do, that’s just online. I had the time in Japan, so I just smashed it out in four or five weeks. And then I’ve got to do a level three, which you’ve got to do in person, but it starts in mid-October and I’m gone. We’re just trying to tailor something and see if I can do it online, because I’ll be doing some coaching over in Japan too. But that takes a couple of months. Then, if you want to do level four, which is your more top-end international, Super Rugby coaching, but you’ve got to do your time first, so I don’t have to be doing that.

The last time we spoke, we were caught up for an official interview was through FaceTime while you were in quarantine. Now that things are easing up, how is rugby looking in Japan?

They don't call Eddie the Ginger Ninja for nothing

Last time we did get speak, I think I was on my seventh quarantine which was a bit sad. It seems like a life-time ago. That was a good interview and your Mum and Dads. As you know, you’ve traveled to Japan, they are very much about sticking with the rules.

They are still very tight with, you know, you’ve got to wear your masks, your dos and don’ts, they’re not letting in travellers at the moment either, my family can't come at the moment, you’ve got to go through a big visa process which takes 6-10 months and I’m already back by then.

Apparently they’re loosing up now, but I don’t know how rugby is looking over there, because they’re still so regimented with the way they are, with testing before games and training and all that type of stuff. So you’ll have to call me again around Christmas time, if you send me a present. You didn’t send me one last time.

What are some rugby lessons you’ve learnt from your time training and playing in Japan?

I think when I left, I was more of a “hard” player, you know, defence, breakdown and carry… I think one of the things I learnt going across to Japan was you’ve got to be a bit quicker, a bit more more skilful and I sort of had to tailor my game to both. But it was probably for the best for me, I played my best rugby when I was in Japan. I’ve actually been able to bring that back to the Reds, with drills. With Thorny, the way he used to play was very direct and hard, but I’ve been able to come in and teach the academy guys that there’s a couple of new ways to do things. And I’ve got to do it as well. I’ve still got to keep training and getting better. That’s probably the lesson that I learnt over in Japan.

Are there any differences from training in Australia compared to Japan.

The language! I actually know what they’re saying here! Nah - my Japanese is actually pretty good. The difference is, here in Australia, there’s a lot more freedom, to ask questions… not to “have words” but to have good discussions. In Japan, is very hierarchy-based, you know, you don’t speak up to the coach, he knows best. Some guys, you can see they want to express themselves, but they keep in their shell. That’s how business is run over there, that’s the world in Japan.

So probably the freedom of changing things on the go, where in Japan, if somethings organised and done, you’ve just got to go through with it, even if it’s not really worth it.

What are some current goals for yourself inside and outside of rugby? 

Give him the cheese sir!

One of my goals is just to keep playing good rugby, I do enjoy it. Coming back here to train sort of reinvigorated my passion to play Super Rugby again, I don’t think I’m done - I’m thirty. And I’ve had some good chats to Thorny - so I’d love to come back at the back end of my season to the Reds and be a part of their squad. That would be a fairy tail, but obviously there’s a lot of details to go into that. But that would be one of my goals, to come back here to play.

And outside of rugby… my wife’s running a business here and I’m slowly learning that. I’m going to do some more study as well… and just come home and be a good dad. That’s my main goal! Because I leave for so long, I just try to interject myself and make a good mark on my kids when I’m home. That’s one of my goals and my focus when I’m home, just to slot back into society at home.

That’s a good segue-way to my next question… You’ve got a beautiful family here. What are some of your favourite ways to prioritise them and spend time with them when your in Aus?

That is a great question mate. So my wife, obviously running the business, she has a lot more freedom now to go to work, into the office. Where when I’m gone, she has to juggle both, which is really hard on her.

How I juggle the time is - when I’m home for the 5 months, not that it’s “bad”, I do see people, but only every now and them, because I’m fully entrenched at home… in the backyard wrestling with the kids, or anything I can do. Whether it’s taking them out for a coffee, or the movies… I’m always at the park with them… I just try to make my time with them really valuable. I’m happy to do everything… I’m doing dinners and baths and bedtimes and books and that’s how I spend my time. I do go out and see family and mates and have beers, but my priority when I’m home is - as long as the kids are happy, I’m happy.

What’s your favourite post-training meal?

Couple of beers, Tom. Um… I don’t know… I cook a lot at home, I do this steak with mushroom sauce, on rice or pasta, or I cook myself a big carbonara… I’m a big pizza man too, I love pizza. Honestly, it is the best thing ever. I could happily just get a big pepperoni pizza everywhere and I’d be like “this is unreal.”

Thank you for taking the time to chat Ed. Great to see you back at the Reds!

Love you mate. I’ve always got time. Let’s do another catch up when I’m back in Hiroshima and I’ll show you around my apartment. Hopefully we can get there for a gig. That’s what you do… You’ve travelled more than anyone. I know!

2012 CLEO bachelor of the year

A Conversation with Queensland Lock, Brother Ryan Smith

Right before training this week, I was glad to finally interview Queensland Reds lock Ryan Smith. After cementing his spot in the Reds starting line up this year, he was selected to play for “Australia A” against Samoa and Fiji, before returning to close out a big club rugby season for Brothers. Along with a number of his Reds team-mates, Ryan is in the midst of a tough finals series, with a knock-out clash with Uni (University of Queensland) this Sunday!

As well as chatting about club rugby, we talked about everything Reds/rugby related, I’m sure you’ll enjoy reading our conversation!

Hey Ryan, thanks for chatting today! I’m very excited that you’ve signed with the Reds for next year.

Cheers Tommy, pretty excited for another 2 years, as Wilson walks past giving me a bit of crap*… Always keen to get another few in!

This is Reds Rugby Rules, but of course it’s club finals time at the moment! Congratulations to you and the Brothers on the win last weekend!

Cheers mate, it was obviously a pretty tough one. We had a pretty long game, not as long as the Wests/UQ one, that game went for about 120 minutes! But our one was pretty good, getting it all the way down to 80 minutes there. Lucky to get that one, but we’ve sort of done it the hard way by finishing in third [on the table], so we’ve got to win two games in a row to make it through to the grand final.

How are you and the team feeling, heading into the game against UQ this Sunday? 

Yeah really good, we had a good training session earlier this week. We usually play on a Saturday, then into this finals stuff, the way it sort of works is that we’ve been playing on Sundays. So it’s been bit of a disjointed week and our game was a bit closer to our Tuesday session than it would usually be. So we are training here at Norths at the moment, as the field at brothers is out of action for a little while. The training was a little bit lighter on the Tuesday so it’s given us a good opportunity to get through a bit more knowledge and a few different plays, so that’s been good. The boys are gelling well and looking to put through a complete performance on the weekend.

I’ve enjoyed watching you play for the Reds this year. What’s been a highlight of the 2022 Super Rugby season?

Cheers! Yeah, I’ve enjoyed playing it as well. I think, even though we didn’t win any of those games against the kiwi guys, I really enjoyed those games. Especially those two very last ones against the Crusaders, obviously playing against Sam Whitelock and Scott Barrett. They’re some pretty experienced locks there, it was was good to sort of test myself against those guys.

I also enjoyed all the home games at Suncorp. That Fiji Drua game was pretty awesome with the was the crowd was. I’m enjoying most games, if not all of them, at the moment!

Congrats on making the Australia A squad, earlier this year! What was your highlight of that experience, over in Fiji?

Um yeah! That was an awesome tour. I think, besides the rugby stuff, that was great, even the Fiji game

They’ve put in some good strong performances against even the Wallabies in recent years, so for us to put in a strong performance, even as an “A” squad was pretty good.

Away from the rugby specific stuff, I think that kind format, where you come together as a group shortly before the competition, was pretty interesting. That’s something I haven’t done since I was fifteen, playing in those “rep” sort of squads. To have sort of a “misfit” group, as such, come together was pretty exciting, and test ourselves, so that was a pretty cool experience.

Looking to 2023, what are some things you are looking to implement in the coming season of super rugby?

I think this year I noticed my playing weight was down a bit and my fitness was where it should be and where I was playing my best footy. So even over these next couple of weeks, we’ve got a good opportunity to “a” get back in the gym, but also “b” work on that fitness stuff. I’m pretty keen to be at a nice pretty nice light weight, about that 114, 115 sort of weight is what I’m happy with at the minute. I’m keen to keep chipping away and then, bring on the kiwis when we get to play them. Hopefully we’ll put some good scores in against them!

Have you got any tips for young aspiring locks looking to improve their game?

That set-piece sort of stuff, working around the scrum, the line-out, even the break-down can be seen as a set-piece for locks, being able to secure the ball for your team and even disrupt the opposition ball is pretty crucial. I think the defence stuff is massive, being really accurate around your tackle, being accurate with your carry, you might not make too many big breaks (laughs), I don’t make many big breaks, you might only get three carries a game, but you don’t want to be turning over one of those, that’s not a good conversion rate there. 

What are some of your current goals, both inside and outside of rugby?

Outside of rugby, I’ve just got a bit of work to do on my house, I’ve been putting up a shed, so I’ve got to finish off that… and with the rugby stuff, I’m pretty keen to try and get a Super championship under our belt with the Reds… and as a person I’m keen to keep pushing for higher honours and be selected for a Wallabies camp of some sort in the future.

 

Who have been some of your rugby heroes?

Growing up as a kid, like most guys my age I loved watching Quade Cooper come through, it’s not a position specific one, so much… and then after that great try for the Wallabies, I was always a Radike Samo fan. He’s pretty abrasive around the park. I’ve met him since and he’s a really lovely bloke. He’s a pretty good bloke to model yourself off of, just in being a nice bloke on and off the field.

Have you enjoyed being an indigenous ambassador for the Queensland Reds this year?

That’s a great question! Being non-indigenous, it’s been a bit of a different role, it’s really opened my eyes to the indigenous culture. I’ve been trying to get into it as much as possible. I just did a presentation out at Clontarf about two weeks ago and went out to Cherbourg and had a bit of a chat with some of those young kids out at the State school there.

I’m really enjoying my time and trying to get to know more about indigenous culture and it’s been a great experience so far.

Finally, what’s your favourite post-training food?

My instagram is full of my “Macros 4 U” posts. I’m pretty happy with those meals, it’s pretty easy to just slap ‘em in the microwave, but I’ve been on the salmon and rice recently, as I was saying, trying to keep that weight down.

So not too many trips through KFC lately unfortunately at the moment, but during off-season there’s a couple of weeks that I might tempt myself. We’ll see what happens (laughs).

Thanks for chatting Ryan. All the best for this Sunday, may the best club win!

Thanks mate! Appreciate your time and go Brothers!

*Harry Wilson walks past and throws some banter in Ryans direction.

Brothers will front up against UQ this Sunday at 3:10pm at Bond University!