Andrew Porter has become the latest Irish rugby star to publish his autobiography, following in the footsteps of retired scrum-half Conor Murray and national team head coach Andy Farrell.<\/p>\n
Murray\u2019s Cloud Nine book was the first to hit the shelves<\/a>, a publication that has ruffled several feathers last month with his scathing criticisms of the Munster set-up, with Porter and Farrell now following suit with the release of their respective Heart On My Sleeve and The Only Way I Know tomes.<\/p>\n The abrasive Porter found himself in the eye of two media storms in recent years following his involvement in incidents that left All Blacks lock Brodie Retallick<\/a> with a broken cheekbone and French scrum-half Antoine Dupont with ruptured cruciate ligaments.<\/p>\n With Ireland winning that 2022 match in Wellington to clinch the Test series 2-1 against New Zealand, Porter<\/a> was singled out in the aftermath by Kiwi critics who felt he should have been red-carded for what had happened.<\/p>\n \u201cHe knew that it wasn\u2019t malicious\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n Three years after that collision, Porter has insisted it was an accident. \u201cThe other thing I can remember from that final Test was my clash of heads with Brodie Retallick, which earned me a yellow card,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n \u201cBrodie was carrying the ball when I went in for the tackle and because we were so close, I hadn\u2019t had time to get down to the ball, so we clashed heads instead. Off I went to the sin bin for 10 minutes.<\/p>\n \u201cThankfully, Cian Healy<\/a> came on for me, a guy who is so experienced: he made sure that they didn\u2019t put three tries past us while I was serving my sentence. There is nothing worse as a player than feeling you have let your teammates down, but Cian made sure that didn\u2019t happen.<\/p>\n \u201cI only learned that Brodie\u2019s cheekbone was broken after the match. I sent him a message to see if he was okay and he was very understanding. He knew that it wasn\u2019t malicious and that accidents can happen.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018I couldn\u2019t tell the full story\u2019 \u2013 Andy Farrell opens up on Owen\u2019s Lions selection<\/a><\/p>\n \u2018Bitter stuff\u2019 \u2013 Conor Murray slammed after \u2018incredibly unfair\u2019 tirade at Graham Rowntree<\/a><\/p>\n Thirty-two months after that situation with Retallick in New Zealand, Porter again found himself in the crosshairs after French star Dupont hobbled out of the March 2025 Six Nations match against Ireland in Dublin.<\/p>\n Porter and Irish lock Tadhg Beirne were involved in the incident, with Fabien Galthie describing their actions at the breakdown as \u201creprehensible\u201d.<\/p>\n There was no case for either Irish player to answer, but the comments by the France coach left Porter\u2019s wife, Elaine, on the receiving end of some horrible social media threats.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen Antoine Dupont was injured during our Six Nations clash with France, Tadhg Beirne and myself came in for some terrible abuse on social media,\u201d explained Porter.<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t speak for Tadhg, except to say he is a fantastic player and a complete gent, who would absolutely not injure someone intentionally. Neither would I. That\u2019s not the kind of player either of us is. There was no malicious intent from either of us and seeing a player go off injured is always tough.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen France\u2019s head coach complained about the Dupont incident, some French fans turned their attention to Elaine. Threatening messages poured in, full of abusive comments and general malice, and that made me so angry.<\/p>\n Conor Murray issues \u2018feck you, Rassie\u2019 response to \u2018dig at me\u2019 Munster video room incident involving \u2018proper club player\u2019 Billy Vunipola<\/a><\/p>\n \u2018Patient\u2019 Antoine Dupont confirms to football TV channel when he will be fit to play rugby again<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cSocial media can create a distorted reality, and it\u2019s a tough place to be in. I\u2019ve tried to shut myself off from it \u2013 there\u2019s nothing worse than seeing something written about you after a tough game.<\/p>\n \u201cIt doesn\u2019t bother me anymore, but I hate to see it bothering the people I love. Elaine left social media for a while after the French game, when she got some nasty messages about our unborn son.<\/p>\n \u201cI also remember that following the New Zealand game in the World Cup, someone messaged her to suggest that she divorce me. Thankfully, she hasn\u2019t decided to act on that yet.\u201d<\/p>\n Now 29 years old, chapter three in Porter\u2019s book recalls the Leinster rejection he suffered as a 16-year-old and how he promised what was said to him at the time would never be said to him again.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was 2012 and I was standing in front of the Leinster under-16s coach, John Fogarty, head hanging,\u201d he remembered. \u201cThe disappointment was crushing. I thought that the trials for the team had gone well.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d given it my all in my position and thought I\u2019d given a good account of myself. Worse than being knocked back, for me, was that I was really upset about it. In spite of him trying to soften the blow with encouragement, it was hard not to show him how devastated I was.<\/p>\n \u2018It came as a fairly sizable shock\u2019 \u2013 Lewis Moody \u2018staying positive\u2019 as England great reveals Motor Neurone Disease diagnosis<\/a><\/p>\n