Rugby Ramblings

The past weekend saw the inaugural final of the Super 15 with the impressive Queensland Reds beating the homeless Canterbury Crusaders. The Reds have seen a complete reversal in their fortunes since Ewan McKenzie took over as head coach two seasons ago. They’ve gone from being a bit of a soft touch and a consistently underperforming franchise to being the side which plays some scintillating rugby where pace and power are key components. The Reds only a few seasons ago were the worst of the Australian teams, the Waratahs and the formerly imperious Brumbies were streets ahead not only in terms of results but also in terms of the support they received from their home states.

Their success is down to hard work and dedication. Where the team’s players used to have a reputation for boozing in the Brisbane nightclubs the no nonsense McKenzies has turned them into one of the Super 15’s fittest and most hardworking squads. Talent plays no small part in the success too. In Quade Cooper and Will Genia the Reds have, in my opinion the world’s best half back pairing, certainly in club rugby. Indeed from an Irish context you’d hope that Sean O’Brien and Jamie Heaslip were taking notes. These two Aussie young bucks will cause us immense problems at RWC11 unless there is a smart plan put in place to nullify their threat. If ever there was a case for including the underrated Shane Jennings in the World Cup squad they are it, Jennings playing on the openside would thrive in a defensive battle against these two guys, and it would also leave O’Brien free to play in his best position on the blindside. Having said all that, to concentrate solely on these two guys would be folly. Digby Ioane, Kurtley Beale, Matt Giteau and James O’Connor all possess the talent to rip open the world’s best defensive systems and for that reason the showdown on the 17th September in Auckland between Ireland and the Wallabies has the potential to be one of the games of the tournament. 

This past week has also seen the announcement of John Hayes’s retirement from rugby after the upcoming world cup. A tower of strength for Ireland and Munster over the past decade Hayes has become one of the most decorated Irish rugby players of all time. During his career he has won one grand slam, three triple crowns, two Heineken Cups, three Magners/Celtic Leagues as well as making over 200 appearances for Munster, over 100 for Ireland and also playing on two Lions tours culminating in a Test cap on the 2009 tour of South Africa.

It’s an incredibly impressive record for a man who only began playing rugby at the age of 18 and who initially started out as a second row but who made the tighthead slot for Ireland and Munster his own. He endured endless criticism in the early part of his career, particularly for the English media, for the quality of his scrummaging. Scrummaging is an art and it’s a position where a player improves with time, in Hayes case, during the early part of his career perhaps the criticism was justified, but in the past 6-7 years there has rarely been a time when he has been on the end of a hiding from the opposition loosehead. In his final appearance for Munster has was part of a pack which comfortably outclassed the more fancied Leinster scrum, testament to the mans class. Hayes played a key role in the impressive Irish and Munster lineouts of the past decade, his strength and height gave him the ability to lift and hold eighteen stone behemoths like Paul O’Connell and Donncha O’Callaghan in the air whilst they collected the ball and more often than not, the plaudits.

Hayes is one of the quiet men of Irish sport, a man whose contribution to the success of Irish rugby in the past decade simply cannot be measured. He was often our only tighthead prop of real international calibre and there was a dependence on him that no other player would have felt, particularly in the light of Simon Best’s unfortunate retirement. Down in Thomond Park there is a massive banner, bought and paid for by the Munster Rugby Supporters Club, it reads “[G’wan the Bull, tis’ your field!”,] never was a truer word uttered.

Post by Ross McGuinness. You can follow Ross on twitter @rossmcguinness