Paul’s wife put Deise on radar

WATERFORD football boss Paul Shankey went for the job after encouragement from his wife.

The vacancy was the last senior inter-county football position filled ahead of the season, with the former Meath star’s side facing Tipp in the Munster SFC this weekend.

Shankey’s wife hails from Waterford and he’s lived there for 20 years.

“It probably wasn’t on my radar,” he says of the manager’s job. “I’m involved with the Portlaw club, every club in Waterford is a dual — hurling is obviously the number one but they will always produce football teams which is great for all the kids, boys and girls.

Apply

“It was actually my wife who said late last year that they had nobody, ‘Why don’t you apply for that job?’Think she was trying to get rid of me!

“So I reached out to the county board, had a couple of meetings with them so it really was a last-minute decision, it wasn’t something I had looked into for years.”

LEINSTER’S Byrne family drama ramps up this week as the Blues await the visit of Leicester to the Aviva Stadium.

After getting the nod to start in the meeting of first versus second in the URC last Friday night, Harry Byrne will hope to do so again ahead of his older brother Ross at No 10 for the Champions Cup last 16 tie.

Ross (28), missed the entire Six Nations due to a torn bicep he suffered against Munster and, with Jack Crowley in the hot seat, Harry got championship game time off the bench against Italy and Scotland.

Ross has played four times since that Munster game — including three URC starts — but it was noteworthy that he came off the bench on Friday, while Harry started just eight days before the big knock-out game in Europe.

Rivalry

“It’s the first time I’ve had it,” said Leinster’s attack coach Andrew Goodman of the sibling rivalry for the same jersey.

“Someone at a barbeque on Sunday was