Keep calm but Irish rugby may be at a turning point
Union Jacks abound, of course. China, mugs and t-shirts of questionable quality, many with images of the royals emblazoned on them. Then there are the plastic Bobby helmets, models of those iconic double decker buses and phone booths and, in more recent years, a quotation plastered everywhere that has come to sum up a nation’s dearly-held sense of stoicism and stiff upper lip: ‘Keep calm and carry on’.
It is a statement that was coined by some British government wonk at the dawn of the Second World War and imprinted on a bright red poster with the crown insignia at its head, all in the hope it could in some small way help sooth fears of mass air raids in the weeks after Neville Chamberlain’s famous radio speech announced “this country is at war with Germany“.
The slogan was only rediscovered at the start of this millennium but it has since exploded into the zeitgeist with everyone from the execrable group ‘McFly’ to Lewisham Hospital tweaking the wording for their own purposes and one of its many other parodies bears the legend: ‘Keep calm and follow me’.
Philip Browne, the IRFU’s chief executive, may find himself having to utter similar words should the worst-case scenario come to pass and Leinster, Ulster and Munster all return across the Irish Sea with their European ambitions neutered by some of the Premiership’s finest. Unpalatable as that sounds, the fact is a combination of form, venues, injuries and the class of opposition make such an unwanted clean sweep something more than just a vague possibility.
Should it happen, it will be the first time since 2007 (and only the second in 15 seasons) where at least one Irish province is not among the last four teams in either European competition and that would represent one hell of a turnaround from the oft-quoted stat about how five of the last Heineken Cup champions have hailed from these shores.
With Declan Kidney relieved of his post last Tuesday, such a depressing landscape would inevitably launch mass mourning and an accompanying bout of self-doubt and inward analysis that is further framed by the realisation the French and English appear poised to reassume a dominance hitherto lost to their Irish counterparts in European competition.
It would be a cruel twist of fate if this weekend in London were to mark the point where Irish fortunes in continental fare turned because nothing has highlighted this country’s ridiculously successful spell in the Heineken Cup this last 10 years, and especially since Munster claimed their first title in 2006, more than their typically successful jousts with our English friends.
Consider this: in the decade since England won the Rugby World Cup in 2003, the provinces have established a win ratio of 62% against Premiership clubs who have access to greater funds, bigger economic markets and a far larger pool of players and the trend has been aped at Test level with the rate of success standing at seven wins from the last 10 Six Nations meetings.
Happy days, indeed.
It has been a spell blessed with standout days such as Munster’s destruction of Sale in Limerick in 2006, their nail-biting semi-final defeat of Saracens at the Ricoh Arena two years later, Leinster’s one-pointer at The Stoop against Harlequins (subsequently overshadowed by ‘Bloodgate’) and Ulster’s eviscerations of the mighty Tigers at Ravenhill in 2003 and last season.
It may be that we are destined to witness further heroics this next few days, another weekend where logic and weight of numbers are dismissed out of hand as an irrelevance by three provinces of whom only Leinster have travelled over with the weight of pre-game favourite resting on their shoulders.
Yet, whatever the outcomes tonight, tomorrow and Sunday, the fact is rugby on these islands is moving on. As professionalism approaches the end of its teens, the game is finding money easier to come by and the majority of it is flowing through — and to — the UK and France, with all the consequences that will bring with it.
If you believe the bookies, there will be no Irish sides clambering for a place in Dublin’s Heineken Cup final next month come Sunday evening although Leinster will go on to serve as a crowd warmer the night before the main event in the Amlin decider at the RDS.
That may well be a sign of things to come.
Email: brendan.obrien@examiner.ie
Twitter: @Rackob
