This is a two part post from the brilliant game yesterday. One part for beating the English which is always a good day. Especially to dominate them in the way that the team did yesterday. Then part two to acknowledge the contribution of CJ Stander who has played his last game in a green jersey after 5 years of hard work and determination.
Ireland 32 - England 18
A comprehensive victory and one that should have been even more. Ireland were sloppy towards the end after coming out fighting. From the first whistle, they were fast of the mark, attacked everything that was put in front of them and put the English line under severe pressure. I think that we were all surprised to see it. England are normally very physical and put other teams on the back foot but they just weren't able to live with the determination and aggression of the Irish players.
Huge individual performances let to a much improved Irish performance than we had seen since the covid era started.
Ref: Pixabay
England have had the better of us in the past couple of years and are always up near the top of the pile in terms of rugby so this win meant a lot to our team. Evert time is sweet but breaking a negative cycle means that little bit more. Being the underdog has always suited our teams and this is just one more example of it in modern times.
We have a very small selection of players but they always become more than the sum of their parts once they join as a team.
CJ Stander with his last game in the green of Ireland.
CJ Stander the honorary Munster man and Irish international. Every so often we get a player from outside these shores that buys into everything that we stand for. CJ was one of these and since the very start with Munster, he has given his all for the jersey and deserves his Irish status. Told that he was too small in his native SA, he travelled to Ireland looking for new opportunities and took full advantage.
An ever present on the pitch since his first cap. CJ has collected an impressive 51 international caps since 2016 due to his delayed international status. It was a shock to see him hang up the boots so early as he is only 30 and still playing his rugby to the highest level but that is life. He felt it was time and happy to leave.
He has given everything that he could to the cause and we can't begrudge him leaving on a high with a serious blow to the English confidence after yesterday.
We will miss him from the team and hope that he can make the upcoming lions tour as he has been a great player for us and one that gives his all on the pitch every time. That is the most important quality in a player for me and i would select it every time over natural skill. Skill without hard work means nothing. With enough hard work you can improve your skill.