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The gloves are off in rugby's newest rivalry

Jonathan Sexton of Leinster tussles with Rohan Janse Van Rensburg of Cell C Sharks during the United Rugby Championship match between Leinster and Cell C Sharks at RDS Arena in Dublin. (Photo By Brendan Moran/Sportsfile via Getty Images)

Last week I sobbed through Kenneth Branagh’s ode to his home town of Belfast. It doesn’t take much to move me to tears, but this elegiac black and white film of the same name resonated on a personal level. Nostalgia and hope mingle with tensions around class and ethnicity. Generational trauma stemming from British imperialism manifests as civil strife. Many people seek brighter horizons elsewhere, leaving behind those who either can’t or won’t go. Only through the childish eyes of our protagonist do we see a world not defined by pain.

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Níl muid comh difriúl. Asihlukile ngaleyo ndlela. Ons is nie soveel anders nie. We’re not so different.

Ireland and South Africa have walked parallel paths on opposite ends of the globe. As early as the 1960s Ireland strongly opposed apartheid in South Africa and would later award Nelson Mandela the Freedom of the City of Dublin while he was still imprisoned in 1988. Unlike every other European country, Ireland welcomes South Africans without having to procure an expensive and time-consuming visa. And on the pitch, standing shoulder to shoulder, are rugby teams representing disjointed peoples under a unifying emblem.

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It’s been easy to like Irish rugby. Beyond my admittedly fetishisation of the country’s history, I’ve always had a fondness for the way the team in emerald green approached the game. Brian O’Driscoll was a favourite of mine growing up. Willie John McBride’s name was one that was constantly brought up at family braais.

What’s more, Ireland have hardly been a threat. Not really. Not like New Zealand or England or Australia. Ireland have never progressed beyond the quarterfinals of a World Cup and have won just seven of their 26 matches against the Springboks.

Their provincial sides, storied though they may be in their own hinterland, have largely been ignorable. Sure they have nicked one or two South Africans, depriving our own unions of homegrown talent, but who can begrudge the likes of Ruan Pienaar and Duane Vermeulen the chance to earn some euros in the twilight of their careers?

No more. Now, the kid gloves are off. I don’t care about the shared history, the diplomatic ties or the number of award-winning, coming-of-age comedy-dramas they produce. All the Guinness in the world won’t sway me from my newfound cynicism.

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The tipping point arrived with the sight, or rather, the sound, of Johnny Sexton wailing at referee Craig Evans for 80 minutes on Saturday. It was enough to cancel my Premier Sports subscription. He’s one of the greatest flyhalves of all time. Even at 37 he could well be the leading 10 in the game at present. But he shrieked like an unhinged shopper on Grafton Street demanding to speak to the manager.

That was it. Suddenly I was reminded of Ronan O’Gara’s clandestine try while John Smith and his team had their backs turned at Lansdowne Road in 2004. I recalled Keith Wood sucker-punching Gary Teichmann in 1998. I even had the recent triumph of the Emerging Ireland side, claiming a 3-0 win on their tour to South Africa. This time the Irish upstarts were accused of time-wasting by Cheetahs coach Hawies Fourie, an allegation dripping with irony coming from a South African coach. But I didn’t let that cloud my reading of the narrative. My antipathy now stretched down to the grassroots.

So, despite Leinster running out comfortable winners over the Sharks, cantering to a 54-34 victory with Sexton immaculate from the tee, I still had a wicked grin stitched across my face. I was able to access a sordid joy in recounting all those Irish false dawns, all that overblown talk of ‘golden generations’, all of that self-aggrandisement centred on elite schools and fabled academies.

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I was surprised by my schadenfreude, usually reserved for foes I fear. And then it hit me like an illegal Bundee Aki clean out. Ireland are now the top team on my ‘love-to-hate’ list. The pleasantries have been stripped from this relationship, exposing raw animosity that could fester into a potentially era-defining rivalry.

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The United Rugby Championship has proved a shot in the arm for the Irish game. For too long they’ve had it their own way, bossing the Celtic Cup and then the Pro12. Irish clubs had won 13 titles from a possible 20 with Leinster enjoying a dynastic run of four championships in a row.

And then the South Africans arrived. Stale after getting whipped by New Zealand’s franchises, and disillusioned with a bloated Super Rugby, they found their stride in the new competition after copping a few body blows during a teething period. The Bulls’ win in Dublin in last season’s semi-final might well be the most accomplished performance from a South African club. That the Stormers beat them in the final underlined the strength of depth in the Republic.

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Perhaps this is why Sexton was so vocal last Saturday. Granted, he has history, but he won’t need reminding that the South Africans have knocked him and his ilk off their perch. Leinster end their regular season with trips to Johannesburg and Pretoria.

In three weeks’ time Ireland, now the top ranked team in the game, will welcome the Springboks to the Aviva. They’ll share a group in next year’s World Cup. If things go awry for his countrymen, Micheál Martin might have a rethink of South Africa’s visa requirements.

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Comments

13 Comments
J
John 936 days ago

Very good article, if Sexton can get under the skin of Saffers then he's doing God's work.

M
Michael Röbbins (academic and writer extraordinair 936 days ago

SexMitten gets under his own skin: you can see it in his eyes—he bloody hates himself most of the time almost as much as he hates his teammates when they don’t do exactly what Sex-scapade wants.

C
Ciaran 936 days ago

Well written article, enjoyable read!

J
John 937 days ago

Having looked at the photo, no wonder Cheetahs were upset it was three v one, really unfair of sexton

J
John 937 days ago

He was rightly annoyed as Leinster had lost Baird through tackle in the air and then a shoulder to the head on Byrne. And yes I think it's brilliant to have SA teams in the competition but I don't need to tip my forelock to them

J
John 936 days ago

Damn right, great to have them in the URC, we needed their constant whining.

S
SF 937 days ago

Always respected Sexton as a player. After his last tirade in the URC, I have lost all of my respect for him. We all watched it from afar. Including our Bok coaches. Perfect motivation for the Boks when they play Ireland. Thank you Sexton.

F
Fil 937 days ago

I landed in Dublin with 2 Safas who were ushered off to a security room as their to tourist visa needed to be inspected

M
Michael Röbbins (academic and writer extraordinair 936 days ago

I woke up this morning and lo and behold outside my window was Big Bird in a blue sailor suit being detained by Interpol.

K
Karl 937 days ago

Wait, Johnny Sexton’s being considered as one of the best fly-halves in the world? Thx guys! Appreciate it..

M
Michael Röbbins (academic and writer extraordinair 937 days ago

Cute prose, although a bit of historical naïveté considering all those great SA club sides of yonder days (greatest victory ever, really?), and more specifically to recent times, the SA sides weren’t getting “whipped” by NZ: uh… Lions in three straight finals anyone? If you want to say SA sides consistently lost in the finals to the bloody Crusaders, then fine, but that’s nothing new and, duh, still happening to all the other NZ sides themselves… (#waytogoblues).


Also Johnny Sexbot can’t be considered the best flyhalf in the world when he consistently plays 8-10 club matches a season and then misses several internationals due to injury. He’s a wonderful 10 in a system suitable to his talents: bout summarizes it. By Jove, his constant whinging is a disgrace though: I don’t hear all the rugby purists taking a bite out of his derrière for constant chat to the ref; where are all the decent rugby values, oh the humanity?!

J
Jack 936 days ago

Sure the Lions played 3 super finals thanks to the weighted conference system they were assured a play off place. If memory serves me correctly the Bulls are the only safa team to ever win Super rugby.

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B
BC 7 minutes ago
Black Ferns reward 18-year-old's form in team to face Wallaroos

Yes, I think that NZ have to work on their forward play if they are going to go the whole way again. I don’t know too much about your forwards but there do seem to be some familiar names still being selected that have come up short in the past. You have considerable talent in the backs but you will need the ball. There is much truth in the saying “forwards win matches and the backs decide by how many”. I would agree with your comment about Leti-I’iga and Woodman has a lot to assimilate in very few matches as a possible 13, perhaps the hardest position to play. I shall watch your match on Saturday with much interest, though not in the middle of our night.


Unfortunately two of Ireland’s top forwards have been ruled out by injury. I’m not sure they have enough depth to cope with that in the latter stages of the WC.


The performance of France at Twickenham was a surprise, you never know which French team will turn up. Having said that, for most of the match they were second best, but some slack tackling, complacency?, and their Gallic pride got them close on the scoreboard. I was there and whilst eventually grateful for the final whistle, we never felt their late flourish would prevail. When the Mexican wave starts after 25 minutes, you know the crowd thinks it’s already all over. You are right though, do not write off the French, they have strong forwards and flair in the backs. Give them an inch and they will take a mile. On their day they are a real handful for any team.

4 Go to comments
B
BigGabe 41 minutes ago
'Love him or hate him, Henry Pollock has got the rugby world talking.'

Fair commentary. I am not sure it would probably work against him though, since his temmates have come out and said that they enjoy it. Similarly, Irish fans seem to enjoy Lowe’s celebrating and English fans their “plastic energy” players.


Oof, that Stormers comment..as a Stormers fan, it hurts to be a Stormers fan. We can be so good, but also we can collapse like a house of cards. I do think that there is a line, I would agree with you. But I also very much think that the rugby public blows it out of proportion when someone gets exuberant (Lowe annoys the daylights out of me, but that’s his game and he is good at it. I am sure plenty of people find Faf annoying too). I’m not sure rugby will go the way of the NFL though, I do think that on a cultural level rugby playing nations (and the cultural demographics that go into playing rugby) differ vastly from the US. The US as a nation is very much about bravado. Similarly, the argument about rugby devolving into football, it is a sport that rewards theatrics so naturally theatrics enter into the culture. I don’t see rugby going that way, there is something different about rugby and the people that it attracts. Perhaps it is the gladiatorial aspect, or the lack of insultingly large paychecks. I am not sure, it would be interesting to conduct a study on this to be honest.


Yes, my examples go back quite far and are sporadic inbetween. But this makes me wonder - does rugby not have so many showboats because it doesn’t attract showboats or because it doesn’t allow showboats?

13 Go to comments
W
Werner 1 hour ago
URC teams aren't proving Stephen Donald wrong

3 things:


1) I don't think you have an understanding of what sort of politics goes on in SA, you are assuming it's very competitive and performance focused same as NZ, I can tell you it's a lot greyer and more ambiguous but green and gold goes along way in greasing wheels. Often revenue at the state and national level are prized more by some in the SARU despite the impact of accepting it, but you will never heard them own it.


2) While we're comparing national teams performance to gauge the ‘domestic’ comps, you do realise that both Ireland and Scotland are higher in rankings and have better recent record than Fiji and Australia who are in the SRP right? And when was the last time either of them made a final in SR? 2014! But here's the thing…. I never said URC is better than SRP, imo they are about the same each with their benefits and different style. Where as you harp on about how crap URC teams are but not why SRP is better. Have SRP teams faired better against European teams? No? So how do you know and ‘demonstrate’ this inferiority? both have a range of good and bad countries competing (URC has slightly more higher ranked teams). Both are dominated historically by one country and team (Leinster/crusaders). So what is this demonstrable fact I'm missing? What's the point of difference other than subjective opinion


3) let me understand this, the only decent team in the URC is Leinster as they are good enough to make Eurochamps finals but not good enough to make the finals of the URC the last 2 years. So they despite beating Leinster (the EC finalists and good team) the other URC teams are still crap?

50 Go to comments
P
PR 1 hour ago
'Love him or hate him, Henry Pollock has got the rugby world talking.'

There are degrees of taunting. In my opinion Pollock is slightly OTT. Nothing offensive, just what Australians call “a goose”. Like James Lowe and Ben Earl. Celebrating wildly and often towards the crowd throughout the game. “Plastic energy” as Bongi calls it. It’s the kind of behaviour that turns a hostile crowd more hostile and motivates opponents even more - so probably works against your own team. Pollock is young and having the time of his life so his antics are understandable but I think most people find that kind of showboating annoying - hence the ‘love him or hate him’ tag.


The reason why the behaviour of Pollock makes headlines is because it is still quite rare in rugby. Your examples go back to 1974, 2003 and 2022. Of course there are chirps between players during a game but what Pollock is doing is more like the showboating you see after a touchdown in NFL. He’s not the only one of course. Just about every Stormers try comes with an elaborate handshake or routine. Perhaps the future of rugby is more like NFL but I reckon it will always be annoying to a lot of people.


Also, unless you are Matt Williams or Gregor Townsend, 6-2/7-1 was never against the spirit of the game. It’s an argument brought up by pundits to get attention or frustrated coaches who are trying to justify poor results. Most coaches, players and supporters get it. Even World Rugby gave it the thumbs up. It should be celebrated for its innovation.

13 Go to comments
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