Ireland star: 'We need second referendum if no deal'
International rugby player Darren Cave speaks out on Brexit
Ulster and Ireland rugby star Darren Cave has urged politicians to call a second referendum if a Brexit deal cannot be reached.
The 31-year-old from Holywood said he has been thinking about when the UK leaves the EU and worries Rory Best could be forced to contend with a hard border when travelling for Ireland matches.
The County Down man has made hundreds of appearances for Ulster and earned international caps.
He told The Sports Chronicle website:
"I believe in democracy so people shouldn't be allowed vote all over again just because they lost.
"However, if there is no deal or the deal ends up being nothing like the terms the people who voted to leave the EU were told it would be, then we have ourselves a red herring.
"That situation, I feel, leaves us with only one option: a second referendum.''
Cave said political wrangling over Brexit threatens the Good Friday agreement.
He claimed many of the promises made during the vote leave campaign were untrue.
"I just hope the unique balance that makes Irish rugby so successful is not disrupted by Brexit.
"I know my generation couldn't stomach that."
He criticised Northern Ireland's politicians, and said that with powersharing at Stormont suspended for more than two years, problems like homelessness and healthcare had been ignored.
He told the website: "The political landscape in Northern Ireland is a very sad state of affairs and I don't know how it is going to change, as the DUP versus Sinn Fein saga rumbles ever on with the two communities entrenched on either side.
"I would love in my lifetime to see parties not based around unionist or republican ideals taking control of our future."