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I once wondered if I would ever see Ireland beat the All Blacks in my lifetime. My father never did.
As I young lad I grew up in Ireland a big fan of the All Blacks and the Wallabies. I marveled at the skill of Australia in the era of Campese. Australia was to me like the Brazil of the football world. I would try to watch the boys in gold every chance I got.
As a kid, I would arise at all hours of the morning to see them beat Ireland in Australia. Back then I remember an Irish commentator saying that at least Ireland had won the second half – but lost the game!
Fast forward to the present day and Ireland has beaten Australia again – just. I’ve watched Ireland beat the All Blacks four times and Ireland are now the number-one-ranked team in the world.
How has this happened? I was only eight when Munster beat the All Blacks. The day lives on in the Irish psyche. They even wrote a play about it. I’ve seen the play – it was wonderful! And when Ireland started winning, young boys and girls throughout Ireland started watching Union for the first time. Many started playing for the first time and today Ireland is Rugby Union mad!
When your national team is successful in a sport that they have never excelled at or even played, people take an interest.
The usual first reaction is: We won what? Against England? In Cricket? I remember when Ireland famously beat England in Bangalore in the World Cup in Cricket in 2011, I wasn’t even watching the game. Not many Irish did. But we watch now. Add more Irish boys and girls now play.
The beautiful thing about any sport is the underdog can sometimes win. David can sometimes slay Goliath! The best thing that could happen for World Rugby happened this month. Italy beat Australia and Georgia beat Wales, in a full house in Cardiff no mind. Now while this will be hard to take on the chin for many Welsh and Aussies, we must see it for what it means in the bigger picture for world rugby union.
Yes, I have no doubt that the cream will rise to the top in the upcoming Rugby Union World Cup, like the head of a well-poured Guinness. The semi-finals will be contested by perhaps the usual contenders and even Ireland if they can get passed their quarter-final hoodoo.
But here’s to Namibia, Uruguay, Italy, Georgia, Tonga, Romania, Fiji, Samoa, Chile, and Portugal. Boys and girls in all of these countries will tune in to watch and think “Someday – I want to play this beautiful game.”
Yes, we will see some one-sided matchups. Or will we? Anything can happen at this World Cup, a competition that may get its biggest global audience of all time.
From little things, big things grow and I postulate that one day we will see a World Cup Finals with 32 teams competing from around the globe.
Georgia. Italy. A full house of 40,000 people watching the women’s 2022 World Cup final. The year that the game they play in heaven became truly global and inclusive. The year that the spirit of Rugby became seen!
“The whole point of rugby is that it is, first and foremost, a state of mind, a spirit.” – Jean-Pierre Rives.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.