The Sunday Times Sport - UK (2021-11-14)

6 November 14, 2021The Sunday Times 2GS

Rugby Union

and skill, they kept reasserting them-

selves and renewing the faith of their

noisy supporters. How fitting that this

was all played out in front of a full

stadium. It seems impossible that a

battle like this could have happened

without such a raucous audience.

It lasted more than two hours,

mainly because the TMO was called

upon to make some very tight calls.

There were so many gripping story-

lines. Ireland were inspired by their

three Kiwis: Jamison Gibson-Park

imperious, Bundee Aki thrusting,

James Lowe a little bit of everything.

How sweet that Lowe should score a

try against his compatriots and also

produce a match-turning defensive

play seven minutes from the end.

It was also a day when new heroes

stepped forward. Caelan Doris scored

a try for the ages, reminiscent of Jamie

Heaslip’s charge against France in

2009. Ronan Kelleher got Ireland’s
      second and was a force of nature for
      his 59 minutes on the pitch. Then you
      have Joey Carbery, who replaced
      Johnny Sexton on 65 minutes and
      showed nerves of steel to land his
      three shots at goal. Or the impact of
      the bench, with Peter O’Mahony
      winning a crucial penalty on the
      ground, then leaping like a lunatic
      when Tadhg Beirne won another.
      That is before we even talk about
      New Zealand. They were supposedly
      jaded and homesick after 13 Tests in
      four months and so much time in a
      bubble. They lost Beauden Barrett on
      20 minutes and had to do without
      Codie Taylor for ten minutes in the
      bin. And yet they were in this until the
      last minute, when Carbery’s final kick
      put Ireland out of reach.
      New Zealand’s standards did slip in
      the ten minutes after the break, when

A

n unforgettable day for

Ireland and a glorious one

for rugby too. It is rare to see

both teams lap the pitch

afterwards but it had been

one of those contests that

reward your faith in this

sport — heaving, twisting,

unpredictable, magical. And, for

Ireland, enormously encouraging. It

felt like they had to win the game a few

times, such were the number of near-

misses, and decisions that went

against them.

Yet through their spirit, self-belief

PETER

O’REILLY

Aviva Stadium

IRELAND FIND

NEW HEROES IN

FAMOUS WIN

Doris, who received

the player of the match

award, celebrates

scoring Ireland’s

third try

29 20

IRELAND

NEW

ZEALAND

CHARLES MCQUILLAN / GETTY IMAGES

Rassie Erasmus walks the fields of

European rugby, a free man. Free,

that is, to stay at his elevated post —

in Edinburgh yesterday and, it seems,

at Twickenham on Saturday.

Previously he was regarded as one

of rugby’s great men. But in July he

became the man who poisoned a

British & Irish Lions series.

Miscreants accused of the worst

kinds of foul play can expect to

have their disciplinary cases

dealt with within three days. It is

now not much less than four

months since Erasmus, the

South Africa director of

rugby, recorded a

62-minute video in

which, among other

treats, he savaged the

refereeing team — led

to many of us, he looked a right prat.

World Rugby charged SA Rugby

with misconduct. Since then a

judicial panel, independent of World

Rugby, has been sitting in judgment.

Why is it taking so long? Some may

suggest that the attempts by Erasmus

and SA Rugby to demand that

proceedings be in public were

simply time-wasting, an attempt

to elongate the process so any

offences were softened in the

public eye.

But, in some ways, the delay

has been unavoidable. The

independent judicial panel,

under Christopher Quinlan QC,

had to be chosen only from those

nations who were not conflicted

— and as England, Ireland, Scotland

and Wales were all involved, and

to many

World

with mis

judicial

Rugby, h

Why is i

suggest

and SA

proc

sim

to

o

p

ha

ind

und

had

natio

— and a

and Wal

by the Australian Nic Berry — in the

first Test between the Springboks

and the Lions.

World Rugby has a sacred

regulation that says there must be no

“comments [including to the media]

that attack, disparage or denigrate

the game... and/or match officials

and/or disciplinary personnel.”

In the video, Erasmus also

exonerated himself from an

accusation that by racing round the

field during the Lions series acting as

a water-carrier — conducting

frequent mini-coaching seminars in

breaks in play — he had infringed the

spirit of the regulations. In addition,

The voice of rugby

Erasmus has only

himself to blame for

damaged reputation –

but it’s still a tragedy

for a rugby great

Stephen

Jones

It would be staggering if Erasmus

escapes punishment for his rant at

officialdom during the Lions tour