'It struck a chord with a lot of people' - Open book Andrew Porter happy to show the human side of rugby

For the third year in a row, Ireland are building up towards a Guinness Six Nations championship with a warm-weather training camp in Portugal.

Unlike previous years, they are doing it without their head coach Andy Farrell, who is away prepping for the British and Irish Lions this summer. One other big difference this year is the absence of the Netflix cameras.

Having filmed two series of Six Nations: Full Contact, the streamer has decided against renewing their rugby docu-series in 2025, after ratings for the first installment failed to impress.

One of the few high points in last year's series was the focus on Ireland’s Andrew Porter, as the loosehead prop spoke openly and honestly about his mental health struggles through his teenage years following the death of his mother, Wendy, when he was 12-years-old.

Twelve months on from laying his deepest thoughts out for the world to see, the 29-year-old says it was a cathartic experience.

"I’m definitely glad that I did it," Porter (below) says, speaking from Ireland’s Algarve training base this week.

"The amount of positive feedback I got from it, the number of messages – messages of support but also people who might not have had that knowledge about me. and yeah, it resonated with a lot of people because it doesn’t just have to be people who are big into rugby.

"I think it struck a chord with a lot of people who happened to watch it beyond rugby fans. It reached a broader audience, of people who are maybe struggling with their mental health.

"I’m glad I did it, in the hope that I could shed light on how I dealt with things and what I went through. Hopefully people can use that to improve their mental health or seek help if they need it."

Life is due to get a bit busier for Porter