|
|
 |
You are > Home > Triple Crown is far from a booby prize
|
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Triple Crown is far from a booby prize
BY MICHAEL GALLAGHER
THE Celtic Tiger may have long since starved and decomposed; indeed it never really visited Mayo at all, but the events of last week reminded me of those heady, hedonistic days.
Many people could be heard commenting on the upcoming rugby match with Scotland and complaining that ‘only’ a Triple Crown would be won when Ireland disposed of the Boys in Blue.
There were two things that annoyed me greatly about these comments. First, Scotland were being written off as no hopers and bit
players who were just coming along for a day out and secondly, a Triple Crown was being talked about like a booby prize, like something handed out to a team who came last in a table-quiz.
I remember the nervous tension which gripped my nether regions in the week leading up to Ireland’s match with Scotland in February, 1982. The Boys in Green hadn’t won anything of note since 1948 and after victories over England and Wales they were on the verge of glory.
Ollie Campbell was our hero. He carried the hopes of a nation on his back and had a boot which would kick a can of beans over the crossbar from 50 yards if the wind was behind him.
Opposing him in the kicking stakes was Andy Irvine, a fabulous full-back who was equally adept with the boot. The excitement of that February day has remained with me ever since and memories of Campbell kicking 21 points to win the title still often arrive at the front of my thoughts.
Last week many Irish people seemed to have forgotten their roots. They were taking victory for granted, talking about the Scottish team as if they were nobodys and consoling themselves that a Triple Crown wasn't so bad after all.
Maybe, our superb coach, Declan Kidney got codded by all the soft chat floating around the place. His decision to stick with Johnny Sexton instead of selecting Ronan O'Gara at out-half harks back to those dreaded Celtic Tiger days.
Sexton is the new kid on the block, he looks good, moves well and seems to have it all. Unfortunately he’s still lacking in the simple basic commodity of putting the ball between the sticks when the cold hand of fate reaches in and grabs him by the unmentionables.
Sexton’s kicking statistics make poor reading. Of all the kicks he faced up to in the Six Nations Championship, he only put 38% of them between the posts. O’Gara, on the other hand, sent every one of his efforts sailing through the sticks.
When the chips were down, when silverware was within touching distance O’Gara was the obvious choice. Sexton will have many great days in the future but he is still a long way off O’Gara in terms of delivery on the big occasion.
Of course there were other reasons for Ireland's demise such as a creaking scrum and a dithering line-out but if the kicking opportunities had been taken we’d all have had a smile on our faces on Saturday evening.
* * * * * *
THANKFULLY there are moves afoot to come up with a new anthem for the Northern Ireland soccer team. I’d be much happier if there was a 32-county side representing the entire island but while that idea is still evolving it’s great to hear that they’re coming up with a new anthem suitable for the all of the community in that part of the island.
Hopefully it’ll be better than that horrendous ditty, Ireland’s Call, and will be something which everyone can be proud of because the present situation is deplorable. At the moment those representing Northern Ireland have to stand to attention for God Save The Queen before they kick-off and this is something which annoys many players and may prevent some from lining out for Nigel Worthington‘s team. In Wales and Scotland they have their own anthems, so it’s a little mystifying that the boys in Belfast haven’t come up with their own tune before this.
Hopefully it may go some distance to eradicating the racism which exists in some parts of sport in these islands. The racism that sees Aidan McGeady booed every time he touches the ball because of his nationality reminds us of the time in Landsdowne Road when an American player was booed because he played for Glasgow Rangers.
Amazingly and comically the crowd booed the wrong player – smart guys, those lads who feel fit to boo footballers.
* * * * * *
THE realisation that rugby and soccer will no longer be played at Croke Park has thrown up many emotions over the past few days. The primary query in my head wonders why there is a need for two major stadiums in Dublin. Surely the events of the last few years shows us that Landsdowne Road isn’t required at all.
Croke Park coped adequately with all the needs of the GAA, IRFU and FAI. All the matches were easily accommodated and all associations seemed happy with the arrangements.
Now the soccer and rugby lads have left and are headed back to Lansdowne Road, to a stadium where just 50,000 fans will get to see their heroes in the flesh. This limited capacity means a smaller income for all involved, a smaller atmosphere and a smaller spectacle.
The GAA stick-in-the-muds who believed that the foreign game would infect all of gaeldom once the gates of Croker creaked open have been shown to be dinosaurs. All sports have thrived since they started to play on Jones’s Road and it’s a pity that the situation will change after Ireland’s match with Scotland on Saturday last.
Now Croke Park will be relegated to the status of a big abandoned bowl for more than 350 days of the year and we’ll all have contributed millions to the new building in Lansdowne Road. Not even the worst of our banking brains could have come up with that one.
Main News Page |
Previous Page
|
|
|
|
Facebook
