Episodes

  • S2 Ep7: Ollie Phillips

    S2 Ep7: Ollie Phillips
    Mar 28 2024
    TritonLake, as title sponsors of the Ireland Sevens programme, brings you TritonLake Perform – a podcast series that will explore the intersection of sport and business, and in particular, the necessary ingredients when it comes to creating and maintaining a dynamic high-performance culture. Hosted by TritonLake founder and CEO, Conor Smyth, guests on TritonLake Perform will come from the worlds of sport and business, with particular focus on businesses operating in the countries where HSBC Sevens World Series Events take place - many of which are key markets for TritonLake.

    In this episode, Conor sits down with former 7s World Player of the Year, Ollie Phillips, who speaks about his time as one of England’s most successful 7s players while also playing 15s rugby in the Premiership and Top14, to struggling with his identity post-rugby as he broke multiple Guinness World Records and took on extreme challenges. Ollie is now the Founder and CEO of Optimist Performance, helping individuals and teams improve their performance across the board.

    Phillips started out at the Newcastle Falcons academy, he learned his trade alongside rugby legends Jonny Wilkinson and Carl Hayman, while also playing rugby 7s with England. This led to him being voted the 2009 World Rugby 7s player of the year. Ollie enjoyed pushing the boundary of staying contained to either 7s or 15s rugby, and in 2009 he switched Newcastle for Paris when he joined Stade Français, going on to be voted the best overseas player in France in 2011.

    Throughout this episode, Ollie talks about the challenges he faced both in rugby and during his daring exploits, including a career-altering injury that prevented Ollie from captaining Team GB 7s in the Olympics, and a life-or-death scenario while up Mount Everest. These experiences served as a catalyst for his evolution into a sought-after motivational speaker and coach when he founded Optimist Performance.

    Finally, Ollie shared his advice on becoming a leader in a high performance environment, where he hones in on owning and amplifying people’s super strengths as they are the reason that have gotten you into the position you are in today.
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    37 mins
  • S2 Ep6: Dan and Adam Leavy

    S2 Ep6: Dan and Adam Leavy
    Jan 12 2024
    TritonLake, as title sponsors of the Ireland Sevens programme, brings you TritonLake Perform – a podcast series that will explore the intersection of sport and business, and in particular, the necessary ingredients when it comes to creating and maintaining a dynamic high-performance culture. Hosted by TritonLake founder and CEO, Conor Smyth, guests on TritonLake Perform will come from the worlds of sport and business, with particular focus on businesses operating in the countries where HSBC Sevens World Series Events take place - many of which are key markets for TritonLake.

    In this episode, Conor sits down with brothers and ex-Irish international rugby players, Dan and Adam Leavy who speak to Conor about their careers as high-performance athletes and retiring at a young age, to now owning their own whiskey company, Ogham Whiskey. The brothers reflect on growing up in a competitive household while also sharing some of their most cherished rugby memories, playing on the field together with St. Michael’s secondary school. 

    Adam tells TritonLake Perform about his journey to becoming a core part of the Irish Sevens side and competing at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics before retiring in 2021 to focus on his career off the field. Dan shares his rapid rise to the Leinster and Irish rugby squads before suffering a career-ending injury, forcing him to retire in 2022. Both brothers highlighted the importance of having interests and opportunities off the pitch while being professional athletes. 

    The brothers and now business partners went on to create their own Whiskey brand, Ogham Whiskey alongside their dad and other business partner. Dan and Adam share the major similarities between high-performance sport and high-performance business and the benefits they have been able to bring from their rugby days to their business days. 
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    29 mins
  • S2 Ep5: Greg O'Shea

    S2 Ep5: Greg O'Shea
    Nov 13 2023
    TritonLake, as title sponsors of the Ireland Sevens programme, brings you TritonLake Perform – a podcast series that will explore the intersection of sport and business, and in particular, the necessary ingredients when it comes to creating and maintaining a dynamic high-performance culture. Hosted by TritonLake founder and CEO, Conor Smyth, guests on TritonLake Perform will come from the world of sport and business, with particular focus on businesses operating in the countries where HSBC Sevens World Series Events take place - many of which are key markets for TritonLake.

    In this episode, Conor sits down with TV presenter, ex-Irish rugby sevens player and Olympian, Greg O’Shea, to discuss his time as a professional rugby sevens athlete, Olympian and high-performance athlete, as well as his stint on Love Island, which saw him transition from elite rugby into the world of social media and TV presenting. Greg takes us through his journey on and off the pitch, discussing his passion for fitness and how he hopes to help promote rugby sevens as the new season quickly approaches.
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    37 mins
  • S2 Ep4: Kate Kirby

    S2 Ep4: Kate Kirby
    Mar 8 2023
    TritonLake, as title sponsors of the Ireland Sevens programme, brings you TritonLake Perform – a podcast series that will explore the intersection of sport and business, and in particular, the necessary ingredients when it comes to creating and maintaining a dynamic high-performance culture. Hosted by TritonLake founder and CEO, Conor Smyth, guests on TritonLake Perform will come from the worlds of sport and business, with particular focus on businesses operating in the countries where HSBC Sevens World Series Events take place - many of which are key markets for TritonLake.

    In this episode, Conor sits down with the head of performance psychology at the Sport Ireland Institute, Dr. Kate Kirby, who speaks to Conor about her journey in Performance Psychology. Kate reflects on her time studying in the UK and Ireland and looks at just how far Performance Psychology has come in Ireland. Kirby looks back at her time and success with Team Ireland at the London, Rio and Tokyo Olympics. She is set to travel to the 2024 Olympics taking place in Paris. 

    Kirby highlights the important role that psychology plays in performance and how it can assist athletes in reaching their full potential on the big stages. She looks at how mental health can affect performance and how this has come more to the forefront in recent times. Some of the challenges around the mental side of being in a team environment vs being an individual are also visited. Kate speaks about control and the pressures that can come with being a leader. 

    On the corporate performance side, which Kirby has experience with, she stresses the importance of values and visions of the individual being in line with the team and company. She believes that businesses can take a leaf out of the book of sports with regards to reviews and how having a systematic approach here can be hugely helpful. Kirby helped the Women’s Hockey team in an external review prior to their 2020 World Cup silver medal which helped the team in their preparations.

    Finally, Kate gives the advice that being clear on your values and who you are should not be drastically compromised to be in any environment. Knowing what you stand for and what you can offer is key.
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    30 mins
  • S2 Ep3: Sue Anstiss

    S2 Ep3: Sue Anstiss
    Feb 21 2023
    TritonLake, as title sponsors of the Ireland Sevens programme, brings you TritonLake Perform – a podcast series that will explore the intersection of sport and business, and in particular, the necessary ingredients when it comes to creating and maintaining a dynamic high-performance culture. Hosted by TritonLake founder and CEO, Conor Smyth, guests on TritonLake Perform will come from the worlds of sport and business, with particular focus on businesses operating in the countries where HSBC Sevens World Series Events take place - many of which are key markets for TritonLake.

    In this episode, Conor sits down with Chief Executive Officer of Fearless Women, founding trustee of the Women’s Sports Trust and the Co-Founder of the Women’s Sports Collective, Sue Anstiss MBE. Sue speaks about the keen interest she had in sports and women’s sport from a young age, highlighting where women’s sport once stood and where it stands now, while also stressing the incredible power that investors and sponsors have that can help bring the women’s game to new levels. 

    Sue also discusses her Women’s Sports Trust ‘Unlocked’ Programme which helps female athletes amplify their social purpose, with the help of activators in business, sport and the media. 

    Finally, Anstiss speaks of her excitement of the future of women’s sport, highlighting the importance of networking being a key part of furthering oneself and one’s goal in this space.
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    25 mins
  • S2 Ep2: Omar Hassanein

    S2 Ep2: Omar Hassanein
    Jan 17 2023
    TritonLake, as title sponsors of the Ireland Sevens programme, brings you TritonLake Perform – a podcast series that will explore the intersection of sport and business, and in particular, the necessary ingredients when it comes to creating and maintaining a dynamic high-performance culture. Hosted by TritonLake founder and CEO, Conor Smyth, guests on TritonLake Perform will come from the worlds of sport and business, with particular focus on businesses operating in the countries where HSBC Sevens World Series Events take place - many of which are key markets for TritonLake. 
    In this episode, Conor sits down with Chief Executive Officer of the International Rugby Players Association and former CEO of Rugby Players Ireland, Omar Hassanein, who speaks to Conor about his own time as a professional rugby player and the challenging period that occurs for many players in the transition to life after rugby. Hassanein chats about how his experiences working as the General Manager of Operations with the Rugby Union Players’ Association (RUPA) in Australia, before his move to Ireland in April 2011 which saw him take the reins at Rugby Players Ireland, at a time when the association consisted of just 2 staff members. 
    Hassanein, oversaw a transformative period for RPI which coincided with a remarkable period of success for Irish Rugby both at international and domestic level. Chief Executive of the organization for over six years, Hassanein led the implementation of a world class player welfare programme, establishing links with the Irish business community to bring much-needed commercial support to the players’ union and also, spearheaded the well-known mental wellbeing campaign, Tackle Your Feelings.

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    39 mins
  • S2 Ep1: Geordan Murphy

    S2 Ep1: Geordan Murphy
    Dec 6 2022
    TritonLake, as title sponsors of the Ireland Sevens programme, brings you TritonLake Perform – a podcast series that will explore the intersection of sport and business, and in particular, the necessary ingredients when it comes to creating and maintaining a dynamic high-performance culture. Hosted by TritonLake founder and CEO, Conor Smyth, guests on TritonLake Perform will come from the worlds of sport and business, with particular focus on businesses operating in the countries where HSBC Sevens World Series Events take place - many of which are key markets for TritonLake. 
    To kickstart Season Two of TritonLake Perform, Conor sat down with former Irish international and Leicester Tigers coach Geordan Murphy. During the conversation, Geordan reflects on the achievements, challenges and learnings from his time in England and in the Ireland shirt, having made the move to England and Leicester Tigers early in his playing career. Geordan also speaks about his activities away from the pitch, in particular his work with Rugby Coach Management Ltd and Recruit for Spouses. 
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    32 mins
  • S1 Ep7: Niamh Briggs

    S1 Ep7: Niamh Briggs
    Sep 26 2022
    TritonLake, as primary sponsors of the Ireland Sevens programme, brings you TritonLake Perform – a podcast series that will explore the intersection of sport and business, and in particular, the necessary ingredients when it comes to creating and maintaining a dynamic high-performance culture. Hosted by TritonLake founder and CEO, Conor Smyth, guests on TritonLake Perform will come from the world of sport and business, with particular focus on businesses operating in the countries where HSBC Sevens World Series Events take place - many of which are key markets for TritonLake. 
    The seventh and final episode of Season One of TritonLake Perform features Niamh Briggs, Assistant Coach of the Ireland Women’s XVs rugby team. In this episode, Niamh speaks about the influence her family had on her sporting journey, and how growing up in Waterford forged a strong foundation in Gaelic Games before she made the move to rugby. She describes her start in rugby as a steep learning curve, making her Irish rugby debut just eight months after she first began playing the sport. Speaking candidly about her playing days and her time as captain of the Irish team, Niamh talks about not getting the best out of herself as a player and what she would do differently now. Niamh also looks back on the recent tour to Japan with the Ireland Women’s Rugby Team, describing what she believed to be a ‘winning tour’, as Ireland capped nine new players and learned more and more about the true nature of high-performance. To wrap up the final episode of the season, Niamh picks out her top moments for Irish Rugby in the last 12 months, citing the men’s historic New Zealand tour win and the women’s first ever tour to Japan. 
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    31 mins