The Sunday Game host Jacqui Hurley has revealed she desperately wanted to host the show back in 2017 – but thought the opportunity had passed her by when she didn’t get it.
In January, RTE announced the Cork native would replace Des Cahill following his retirement on the RTE sports show.
But Jacqui said landing the role as the show’s host came “out of the blue” after her disappointment in 2017 when she was overlooked for the job at the time.
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She said: “To be honest, the way it happened, it just changed my plans. I had taken over the rugby last year and I had never done that before.
“I had said ‘Let’s give it the year and let’s have a chat’.
“I was still doing Sunday Sport, European rugby, Irish rugby and doing the news.
“I said to my boss, ‘You need to take something off my plate’, so I had stepped away from Sunday Sport and the radio and thought then I will just be doing the rugby from now.
“The truth is that I thought it (The Sunday Game) had passed me by.
“I really wanted it in 2017 and I didn’t get it.
“At that point, I was thinking The Sunday Game was where my destiny lay.
“But then I thought it had passed me by and I was fine with that.
“I was devastated the first time when I didn’t get it, but at the same time, you move on.
“People tell you there are other things out there for you and then I suppose after a while you start to believe them.
“Then the rugby came around and it has been a dream to get to do something like that.
“So really, I was quite content. I wasn’t chasing The Sunday Game.
“It came full circle and that is exactly how I feel about it now.
“I am very much in the mindset of trying to enjoy it as much as I can,” she told the RTE Guide.
Jacqui revealed the moment her boss called her to offer her the position.
“The Sunday Game opportunity came out of the blue. I wasn’t expecting it.
“And then I got the call. For context, The Sunday Game for me, was all I ever wanted for years.
“So, when they asked me, I was like ‘Wow!’.
“But I was also thinking, ‘I can’t do that on top of the rugby as well’.
“Then my boss said, ‘What if we changed your work schedule so you will do less rugby and then The Sunday Game’.
“There were just a lot of moving pieces, and we got it to a place where it worked.
“The Sunday Game has been something that we have all grown up with.
“I think when I finally got my head around the idea, the emotion was ‘This is dream come true kind of stuff’.
But she admitted feeling some element of pressure hosting the flagship sports show.
“Everyone has an opinion about who should be on it, what counties should be featured in terms of matches, who should be presenting it, who should be the pundits.
“Everyone has an opinion on it, so I guess there is a pressure that comes with that, but also an enjoyment.
“These are the days that you want to be involved in.
“One of the reasons that you get into sports broadcasting is that you want to do big shows like this.
“Is it going to be hard? Is it going to be challenging? Absolutely, but I know I am going to absolutely love it.”
The Sunday Game is shown every Sunday night during Championship season on RTÉ2.
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