Single and on the look-out for a new fella? Connacht Rugby’s Mike McCarthy chats to his team mates for tips on how bag your man.

“My view is that the old school method of waiting for the male to approach the female is a thing of the past and my panel of three lads are in full agreement. After witnessing how Brett Wilkinson, Frank Murphy and Michael Swift operated during their single days, I chose these guys to divulge a little on their experience of speaking the language of love.

“In this modern day and age, everything is about equality and our first bit of advice to you is if a guy catches your eye, don’t just sit back and let this beautiful moment pass you by. Get pro active by getting up, walking over and introducing yourself. Brett really admires this technique and walked right into this trap when his girlfriend saw him from across a bar. She confidently walked straight up to him and commented on his muscles. Brett was taken aback by this and fell in love instantly. “I am a big fan of the lady initiating the first move and the compliment about my big muscles really made me feel at ease,” says Brett.

“Our second piece of advice? Always ensure you’ve moisturised when approaching a gentleman. Now, I know this may seem a strange one to all you ladies out there, but nice soft skin is a real turn on to us men. Franky says, “When I met my wife, I was blown away by her complexion and warm, glowing skin”. So after speaking with the panel, we concluded that attention to detail is vital – it’s not just about hair and make-up.

“Enter Michael Swift who recently turned 35 years of age. Now, here’s a guy with an abundance of experience, who not only delivers on the field, but also in the clubs! Big Swifty says, “I hate it when girls are false and try to impress you; they should just be themselves”. Swifty said when he was 19, he will never forget the time a beautiful girl was chatting him up. At first, his first impressions were all very positive, but as time went on, she wouldn’t stop telling jokes and doing impressions of farm yard animals. Swifty decided enough was enough and made up an excuse to leave because  – he could take no more as he knew she was not being herself. So we say – don’t try too hard – just be yourself. Have confidence that the man you have on your radar will like you for the person you are.

“I also spoke to a few of the younger, single members of the squad, with Tiernan O’Halloran leading the charge with this one. Tiernan said there is nothing you can do to impress him. He feels he can make a decision in a split second as to whether he would like to pursue anything with you and that he strongly dislikes all the polite chit chat. He calls himself ‘Split’, as he makes his decision on you in a split second. So, we the panel were unsure what advice he was actually offering here, but I felt it necessary to share the perspective of the youth of today compared to the panel, all of whom are in our older years and have, shall we say, a more romantic view on these things.

“Anyway, I hope this advice will take you forward into a new world. Remember, this is a progression so don’t try all these tips at once and good luck…YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL!”

If you have any questions for me or this month’s panel, please contact us on Twitter:

Mike McCarthy @mikemccarthy6

Brett Wilkinson @brettwilko

Frank Murphy @frankymurph

Michael Swift @galwayshopping

@connachtrugby

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