Stephen Donald, how about you champion your sport, instead of putting it down.
Rugby is one of the most special sports in the world. It’s a sport for all sizes and combines athleticism with physicality, champions camaraderie for players and fans alike.
However, it’s the only sport in the world, where fans and former players constantly complain about the state of the game. We don’t allow ourselves to love it. We have to preface our fandom and provide context.
Rugby Union is constantly evolving, it’s still finding it’s rhythm and I think what irks fans most is the lack of direction from an organisational level. But why does that have to trickle down into the actual on field product.
Stephen Donald, famous World Cup winning flyhalf, recently appeared on The Breakdown and for no reason he decided to denigrate the United Rugby Championship. In the context of the All Blacks and where does Jordie Barrett sit in the pecking order, the panel agreed that Jordie isn’t in the starting reckoning.
Firstly, I cannot abide people who have an opinion about rugby, who do not watch rugby. Typically, its older men, who watched a game in 2009, who talk about the state of the game, who question has it gone soft, who talk about the breaks in play only to finish up by asking where does Jonah Lomu play now?
“Not in my day” said old man at shoddy bar.
I also feel that former players have to talk down the current iteration of the sport to emphasise how much better their period was. Yes, there have been different iterations of teams and competitions. Some versions have been better than others, but it’s one product. Dumping on the state of Union now, chips away at the history.
So why is it, that when Stephen Donald is rolled out on a podcast he feels the need to shit on Jordie Barrett and the United Rugby Championship?
“The URC competition is probably a low, a very, very low level compared to Super Rugby, the Champions Cup stuff certainly would be [of the same level],”
It’s just total utter nonsense and goes to show how well-read Stephen Donald is and how little rugby he actually watches. Super Rugby Pacific is having its best season to date, that is true. It’s a fantastic competition this year. However, Super Rugby is not the bar to which all things are measured by.
In fact, Jordie Barrett has played nine games for Leinster during his “sabbatical” so far this season. Only three of those games have been in the URC and two of them were away in South Africa.
South Africa, the crown jewel that fans and execs down south wax lyrical over. Loftus Versfeld and Kings Park Stadium, hallowed ground and you want to sit there and repeat the same story about how many pies you’d had in relation to minutes on the field in the build-up to being called into a World Cup final.
It’s a great story Stephen, it is. I remember you running onto the field and my dad telling me how important a moment this was, not only for New Zealand but for you as you’d been cast aside by an unforgiving New Zealand Rugby Union. But if you don’t watch rugby week in week out, know the players, understand the coaches and what they’re trying to do, then you need to stay in your glory days lane.
Another who is totally guilty of questioning the state of the game is none other than Clive Woodward. The man is given column inches, slots on telly, packers from the BBC and for what? He managed, not coached, England to a World Cup win 100 years ago. Having not been involved in the game since 2005, you want to sit there and tell me you know anything about current high-performance environments. 2005 was twenty years ago.
And for the final nail in the coffin, Jordie Barrett has just been nominated for European Player of the Year. Not fit to start for the All Blacks? Not conditioned for the All Blacks? Stephen you have a superstar on your (international) doorstep and you need to tear him down? Barrett is genuinely one of New Zealand’s world-class players but for some reason you just can’t see it.
Maybe you’re insightful or maybe you’re just not looking.
The United Rugby Championship has evolved with the times. The arrival of the South African teams has added a whole other dimension to the competition. The league’s team have captured the attention of a younger audience and given the tournament a whole new look and feel.
Tune in, have a watch, see for yourself and join us in the 21st century. If not, there’s plenty of room at the bar.