Sean O’Donnell
People in the Irish Rugby Banter group, and other social media outlets, recently may have seen a few unusually acerbic contributions from me in response to others concerning the upcoming tour of South Africa, on which there is an emerging narrative that it is a bridge to far for the players involved. As the dust settles I wish to clarify why I am so passionately aghast at the suggestion that the tour is responsible for the overload on players.
First things first. These players have endured a punishingly long season. That much is obvious. What I fail to see is how test Rugby in general and this tour in particular, are to blame. Test Rugby is the ultimate in our game, the shop window in which the game is played at the highest level. To represent one’s nation is surely the highest accolade any player can expect. For the disinterested spectator, supporting one’s country is the usual medium by which one becomes interested in a sport. For a child it is what inspires many a young boy or girl to become involved, to emulate their heroes one day.
Of course the local and the regional have a place at the table also. The basic clubs aka the Lansdownes and Young Munsters etc. and the senior ones as in the provinces as well as the schools all have a role to play. Playing for your own place, your town , village or townland will inspire young people but representing your country is surely the gold standard.
The argument has been advanced that the players should be given the Summer off as they have played too much Rugby . Yet this tour has not arrived on the fixtures list out of the blue. It has been pencilled in on the already short test Rugby window since before this season commenced and should have been allowed for by those managing the players. The vast majority of their season has been spoken for by the club game encompassing two lengthy drawn out competitions both involving games 6,000 miles away in South Africa, sometimes involving multiple draining trips to and fro. If Summer tours by the national squad are the straw that breaks the camel’s back, then I respectfully suggest the camel needs better care throughout the year.
Of course playing in South Africa contributes significantly to player development but this needs to be rationalised. Treating fixtures in South Africa as routine away fixtures in what are otherwise domestic or European competitions is hardly sustainable. A reorganisation and simplification of the two club competitions including fewer long haul fixtures would surely be in everybody’s interest.
The ratio of player minutes in test vis-a-vis club Rugby is skewed in favour of the latter in my view. I appreciate that club Rugby generates revenue, not least for the club owners although this thankfully does not apply in Ireland. If players need more time off, and who can blame them, I do not think the cap should be passed to the test arena. For myself, and it appears this is a personal perspective, whereas I enjoy all Rugby, the highlights of the season are the 6 nations,the Summer and Autumn
tests (soon to be amalgamated into a single competition?) and every four years, the World Cup. The rest are the stepping stones I use to cross the river between test windows. Remember how we all felt after that magical Summer series two short years ago.
I encourage all Rugby supporters to re-embrace Andy’s Army and support the boys in one final sublime endeavour.