KEANAN Brand is feeling the Love now he is back at Leigh after being on the Love Island.
And he is more than coping with the supposed mental challenge of appearing on the ITV reality show, with the help of pal and ex-contestant Jacques O’Neill.
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Leopards ace Brand spent six days on the show after flying to South Africa, three years after he first auditioned.
Now he is back to the day job – training after a hernia op, which he was just four days after leaving – with no regrets about his taste of stardom.
“I actually auditioned in 2019,” revealed Brand. “I was only 19 then and looking back, I’m glad I didn’t get on.
“Then I was in Ireland’s World Cup camp when I got a call from a producer to go and audition. By the time I got home, they’d rang me and asked if I could do a medical.
“But I wasn’t jumping for joy, you can actually fly out there and not get on!
“They called again in December to say they wanted me to go on as a bombshell, which is when I told my boss Adrian Lam and Leigh owner Derek Beaumont.
“They both said, ‘Go for it,’ but I didn’t want to give my rugby career up.
It would’ve been different if I wasn’t injured but because the club backed me, I went in with no pressure.
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“But honestly, there’s not much difference in life now from before I went on. People obviously recognise who I am, which is a bit different, but all my friends and family are very grounded.
“It was just straight back to reality, which is what I wanted. I’ve gone straight back to my normal life.”
Brand’s experience was both ‘amazing’ and very different from what viewers saw on their screens.
But there are no issues like O’Neill said he faced after appearing last year – largely because of the man who may be on his way back to the 13-a-side code soon.
The 24-year-old added: “We’re quite good friends but I didn’t tell him I was going on.
“Once I left, though, he was straight in contact saying, ‘If you ever need anyone, I’m here for you.’ I saw him to talk through things as we’d both been through the same.
“It’s hard to explain what it’s like, so it was good to talk to someone who’s been in that same situation.
“But I went in with no expectations, so after I came out, I wasn’t hit with any overriding emotions.”
If going on Love Island was not enough, Brand now has a task many men can only dream of – putting weight on!
And he hopes to be showing what he can do on the pitch in the coming weeks, with some celebrity backing, including winner Kai Fagan – a student RL international himself.
“He plays rugby union now but can’t wait to watch me play,” he told SunSport. “We actually talked rugby league.
“Now all my eggs are back in the rugby basket. Give me another two weeks and I’ll be as right as rain. When I went back, I was pleasantly surprised I hadn’t lost it!
“And if a player comes up to me saying they wanted a go, I’d say, ‘Go for it, 100 per cent.’ Anyone who gets the opportunity should definitely go for it.”
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