Ireland rugby star’s Movember motivation as he opens up about ‘eating disorders’ and ‘a tough few years’

In a world of marginal gains, Andrew Porter recognises that not every improvement is made on the training pitch or in the gym.

It’s a timely intervention by the Leinster and Ireland star in a week when the subject of mental health in sport has hit the headlines, with James McClean describing as a “weakness” the idea that men would open up about their feelings.

McClean’s comments emerged after Porter spoke with this publication about his role as an ambassador for men’s health charity Movember.

So his words should not be read as a rebuke of the former Ireland international, whose comments have reignited an important conversation.

Instead, having a six-foot, 120-plus kg prop speak openly about his advocacy for physical and mental health should help chip away at what remains of a destructive stigma.

Porter (30) has enthusiastically embraced the opportunity to once again represent the charity whose initiative has already raised over €30 million in Ireland alone and has helped fund projects tackling prostate cancer, testicular cancer, mental health, and suicide prevention.

“It’s something that is close to me,” he said. “More and more men are more comfortable with opening up and telling people that they are not okay.

“They are more conscious about, should I go and get this checked at the doctor, rather than leave it to luck or hoping things will sort themselves out.

“I think more people are more comfortable and confident about reaching out for help, and that’s always something I’ve been big about myself.

“I went through a few years of the exact opposite of that where I kept everything to myself and it didn’t do me any good.”

Porter has made no secret of the mental health struggles that followed the loss of his mum Wendy to breast cancer when he was just 12 years of age.

“I went through eating disorders and I had a tough few years,” he said of a subject that he explored in depth in his autobiography, Heart On My Sleeve.

“I suppose that kind of changed my personality in a way. I isolated myself a lot, I just kept to myself and kept the head down, and hoped no one would notice.

“I brought it all back to rugby where I was always confident when I was on the rugby pitch.

“When I was younger I could float through the whole day in school and then I’d feel at home when I got the ball in my hands at the end of school.”

His progress on the rugby pitch also led to problems as he made the step up from underage rugby to the big-time with Leinster and Ireland.

“I remember when I first started I was crazy anxious,” he said. “There is a lot of anxiety around that as a young player.

“Anxiety can make you freeze at times and you can forget yourself and forget that you are doing the job you love.

“But I brought it back to that - I’m doing what I love, I’m incredibly lucky to be doing the thing I love. I’m incredibly grateful to be able to say I love what I do.”

There was once a time when McClean’s view was held by the vast majority of sportspeople.

That is no longer the case, with Porter saying: “As a sportsperson you are looking for every percent that you can gain, whether that’s physical or mental.

“If you are not doing well mentally you are going to suffer on the pitch or in your job.

“It doesn’t have to just be sportspeople, it could be anyone in any walk of life. If you are struggling mentally it is going to show up in other ways and manifest itself in other parts of your life.

“I found it helpful to reach out to people and unburden myself of what was going on in my life. You will find that people are more than happy to help.

“It’s not as linear as going to therapy and everything is fixed. You have to do a lot of the work as well.

“If you are not willing to put in the work and help change things and look at things from a different perspective, that won’t help.

“It’s something that is constantly… there is always something to work on, there is always going to be something thrown at you in your life. Life has ways of throwing curveballs at you.

“Just being able to reach out and to have someone to talk to helps you deal with what life throws at you. I’ve been using therapy for the last few years on and off.

“There are so many supports available in our space now that wouldn’t have been available to a lot of players a couple of years ago, whether that’s counselling or therapy.

“There is so much great work that Rugby Players Ireland do for their players. You see that across different unions, not just in Ireland.

“If you are not doing well in your own head it is going to show up in your day-to-day life.”

Andrew Porter has launched Movember’s 2026 fundraising campaign, calling on people across Ireland to turn the strength and fun of friendship into action for men’s health.

The findings show there is no single way to create space for a meaningful conversation.