On the pitch Trevor Brennan was a sight to put the fear of God into out-halves – off the pitch he had a similar effect on at least one Ulster fan and it cost him his professional rugby career.

The Leixlip-born former international was banned for life – reduced to five years on appeal – after what he called the grey mist descended on him and he jumped into the crowd to flatten his critic.

Ironically it ended on the ground where he had hit its heights – Lansdowne Road – and a career that showed slow but steady rise through the ranks ended at the age of 33.

Brennan was the focus of the opening programme in a new series called This Sporting Life – Christy O'Connor Sr, Catherina McKiernan, Tony Cascarino, Paul Carberry and Dessie Gallagher will also feature – but this was a missed opportunity to paint a fuller picture of the man.

Because all rugby fans know Trevor Brennan – wholehearted, hard, uncompromising, honest, Mr 100% – but this never got behind the caricature of the man.

“As a teenager he peeled spuds in a Leixlip chipper; now he owns a successful Irish bar in Toulouse,” ran the opening line – and it was downhill from there.

Brennan was a contradiction in many ways because whatever his limitations as a player he still won the AIL, Celtic League and Heineken Cup (twice) – and, until he opened his mouth once too often, he played for Ireland.

But all of that came to an end in 2007 with one single moment of madness, and he became as well known for his Cantona moment as he was for his rugby.

Born in 1973, the second eldest of four boys, he joined his local club Barnhall in 1982 but moved to Bective Rangers ten years later.
His brother Damien was also a rugby player but he died from meningitis while Trevor was playing a match in Dublin and a disillusioned Brennan fell out of love with the game for a while.

There was room to explore this depression a little more – even in a 25 minute programme – but the opportunity was missed as the programme makers settled for a chronological run through his career instead.

For more, read this week's Connacht Sentinel.