Scottish snooker ace and die-hard Celtic fan John Higgins couldn’t resist the opportunity to take a playful jab at Ally McCoist. The 49-year-old is currently engrossed in the World Snooker Championship, where he is deadlocked at 8-8 with China’s Xiao Guodong, heading into the second session.
Despite the intense concentration demanded by snooker, Higgins managed to sneak in a quick tease aimed at his good pal and Rangers icon, McCoist, during a light-hearted exchange at the Crucible. Higgins is hoping to lift his fifth World Snooker Championship title.
While he is in the zone, Higgins still found time to speak with TNT commentator Darren Fletcher and close friend McCoist. Despite their friendship, the Scottish duo will always be at odds in some way, as Higgins is a diehard Celtic fan and McCoist is a Rangers legend.
Ensuring his passion for Celtic is made clear, not just to McCoist, but to Scottish viewers at home as well, Higgins had a playful dig at the legendary Scottish forward. Their conversation turned to a skit where both Fletcher and McCoist claimed they recreated and sunk the legendary black ball shot, off camera, made famous by Dennis Taylor.
While Fletcher was recounting the tale, Higgins interrupted and suggested that if McCoist’s potting is like his finishing in football, then he would have missed the pot. Fletcher said: “We both had a go at Dennis’s winning black, and would it surprise you at all to know that Ally…”. But before the broadcaster could finish, Higgins, while making his disbelief clear with his facial expression, interjected: “I’ve watched him enough at the Rangers over the years!”.
McCoist responded with a chuckle and said: “We both got it. The worrying thing is we used Jimmy [White’s] cue. I couldn’t believe how light his cue was.”
Higgins’ cheeky dig emphasised his affinity with Celtic, despite his friendship with McCoist. The snooker star’s tone then became more serious, as he wanted to explore McCoist’s links and sources within the sports media.
He was convinced that he heard rumours claiming Tottenham Hotspur are eying a move for Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers. The Bhoys’ boss’ predecessor, Ange Postecoglou, is currently struggling with the North Londoners, sparking rumours that he may be set for the sack.
Higgins asked: “I’ve just seen reports that [Daniel] Levy is trying to get Brendan Rodgers to go to Tottenham Hotspur – is there any truth in that rumour?”. With a wry smile, McCoist replied: “John, I’ll be honest with you mate, I’m trying to get him to go anywhere!”.
Higgins will be hoping he does not exit the competition in the same way Rangers were knocked out of the Europa League by Athletic Bilbao. However, he will be proud of himself either way, considering the difficulty his family have been enduring at home.
Following his 10-7 victory over Joe O’Connor, Higgins shared his emotional turmoil regarding his father-in-law’s recent heart attack. With the worry and stress at home, Higgins missed the Champions Dinner and Green Carpet ceremony, sparking suggestions that he may choose to remain at home instead of compete in Sheffield.
After winning his first-round contest, Higgins said: “That was the most emotional I have ever been today. I left my wife and I was in tears.
“Obviously my father-in-law wasn’t great. I was sitting having dinner with my boy last night and I was thinking about sitting here with my dad 25 years ago. I was drained today.
“I had a couple of hours sleep and I came out tonight and felt a lot better and played a lot better. I am still so proud that I am still playing at a good level at this age.”
At Reach and across our entities we and our partners use information collected through cookies and other identifiers from your device to improve experience on our site, analyse how it is used and to show personalised advertising. You can opt out of the sale or sharing of your data, at any time clicking the “Do Not Sell or Share my Data” button at the bottom of the webpage. Please note that your preferences are browser specific. Use of our website and any of our services represents your acceptance of the use of cookies and consent to the practices described in our Privacy Notice and Cookie Notice.