Sporting perspective can sometimes be found in unlikely places. There we were, rubbing the sleep from our eyes around 5.30am en route to Dublin airport, when our taxi driver told us a poignant story. The youngest of 10 brothers from the tough side of town, his hobby was pigeon racing. His goal was to win one of the classic races in France, no easy task for Irish pigeons required to fly across several hundred kilometres of sea to reach their distant loft.
One year, one of his younger birds miraculously achieved the holy grail. There was now a rare opportunity to breed a long line of future champions. Or, at least, there might have been had one of his neighbour’s cats not crept in over the backyard fence. In the confusion it was not initially clear which of the 50-odd pigeons had been taken but, in his heart, their owner already knew which one it was. Sure enough, his irreplaceable wonder bird was gone, never to return.
It was a timely reminder of just how abruptly the sporting fates can turn. Irish rugby supporters, for example, may well recall the last time they faced England in an August warm-up Test in 2019. The game was played at Twickenham and the Irish finished a distant second. The final scoreline was 57-15 and their Rugby World Cup campaign never really rebounded.
Four years later Ireland are the number one ranked side in the world, heading over to the World Cup in France as one of the more fancied entrants in the biggest rugby race of all. And England? The beaten finalists of 2019 are treading water at best and, even allowing for their favourable draw, appear to be increasingly long odds to reach a similarly lofty stage this time.
To some degree it is the natural order of things. What goes up in sport will come down eventually. In the entire history of the Rugby World Cup, the only country to have won back-to-back titles is New Zealand, in 2011 and 2015. And, as anyone who witnessed the 2011 final knows, the All Blacks required a good deal of fortune on the night to make that happen.
All of which is potentially relevant to the 2023 World Cup. South Africa were deserved champions four years ago, blitzing England in Yokohama, with Rassie Erasmus having taken charge from Allister Coetzee only the previous year. Erasmus may have a different title now, with Jacques Nienaber having assumed the head coaching role, but he is still pulling plenty of strings. What is about to become clear is whether that reshuffle was indeed a masterstroke and, far from being a fading force, has enabled the Springboks to find a second wind.
Saturday’s half-century of points in Cardiff may not have been an entirely reliable barometer but, in addition to the obvious promise of Canan Moodie, a couple of things really stood out. The first was the South Africa pack, which again looked ominously strong. And the second was Siya Kolisi. Far from resting on his laurels after his storybook rise from Zwide township to hoisting the Webb Ellis Cup, Kolisi continues to make the improbable an everyday occurrence.
As recently as April he was undergoing surgery on a serious knee ligament injury. On Saturday he was charging around having seemingly been fitted with a whole new engine. This matters because the top teams take their lead from their captains. Richie McCaw was a constant presence throughout the All Blacks’ glory years, even on one leg. So was Martin Johnson when England were at their height two decades ago. Would South Africa have kept so cool under pressure in 2007 without John Smit at the helm? No-one wins a World Cup without staying calm when it really matters.
Very few rank outsiders lift the trophy, either. England were not a million miles away in 2007, having been written off by everybody after losing 36-0 to South Africa in the pool stages, but the main contenders tend to be those who have already shown some genuine class in the previous 12 months. Ireland and France clearly fall into that category, while both New Zealand and South Africa appear to be gathering useful momentum.
Further evidence could yet emerge at Twickenham on Friday when the latter sides meet in a money-spinning warm-up fixture. There is no such thing as a friendly between the Springboks and the All Blacks, which makes it instructive. If New Zealand can beat a powerful-looking South African side it will deliver a genuine statement. If the Boks slice and dice a beefed-up All Black pack and continue to be a serious attacking handful, exactly the same will be true.
Injuries are bound to play a part at some stage. South Africa will feel even better about life if they can have access to the currently sidelined Handrè Pollard’s kicking and composure. But would France and Ireland both still radiate as much quiet confidence if their key generals Antoine Dupont and Johnny Sexton were suddenly removed from the equation? It is an aspect of top-class sport that is often overlooked. Years of hard work and sacrifice are all very well but, as with champion racing pigeons, you also need a bit of luck.
Twickenham to host 2025 World Cup games
Twickenham has been confirmed as one of eight host venues for the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup. The stadium witnessed a world record crowd for a women’s international of 58,498 when England beat France earlier this year.
Sunderland’s Stadium of Light (capacity 49,000) is the second biggest of the selected venues, while Premiership clubs Exeter and Northampton will host matches at Sandy Park and Franklin’s Gardens respectively. Other games will be played at Ashton Gate in Bristol, plus York, Salford and Brighton.
The last time England hosted the tournament, in 2010, the final and semi-finals were played over the road from the national stadium at the Twickenham Stoop, with all other games held at Guildford’s Surrey Sports Park.
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