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23rd July 2025
03:52pm BST
There's a strong argument that the man who has had the best year in Irish rugby is Leinster tighthead prop Tom Clarkson.
The former Blackrock College man began last season with no Ireland caps to his name, and was seen as, at best, fifth choice in his position.
Fast forward 12 months and he has had the unique honour of playing for the Lions, coming off the bench in Wednesday's win over First Nations & Pasifika XV.
However, in another world, things could have looked very differently for the 25-year-old.
His real name is not, in fact, Thomas, but Tomasso, with his mother's family hailing from Italy.
His mother's name is Nina Cafolla and her family emigrated from a village called Casalattico, thus making Clarkson eligible for the Azzurri.
Speaking with media in Australia, he revealed how Ireland's Six Nations rivals tried to get him to switch allegiances.
He said: “They came looking for me, but I’d just signed a new contract with Leinster.
“That was at the start of last season. It had gone quite well, so I kind of pushed it off. I didn’t end it. I thought it could be open at some point down the line.
“Obviously, this year has gone very well.”
Clarkson also explained how he received his Lions call up.
He added: "It was like: ‘ring me when you’re awake’, so I said ‘oh yeah, grand’. Then Paulie [Paul O’Connell] rang me and was like, ‘ring him right now!’
"So yeah, I had to just compose myself and go outside.
"I told Jack Boyle and then just legged it."
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