Mike Quirke: A shout out for the lads in the trenches

When I watch rugby games on television, I loathe when the commentator talks about the huge amount of ‘unseen work’ being done by certain players. 

Of course, what the man with the microphone is really telling us is; the work being done is in plain view, but we’re just too uneducated on the game to understand what he’s doing out there and too ignorant about the intricacies of the battle to truly appreciate the different roles on the team.

Maybe he’s right – it’s was always easy for a rugby novice like myself to appreciate the sniper-like accuracy of O’Gara’s kicking, or the majesty of Paul O’Connell’s fielding, but far more difficult to properly acknowledge the importance of the muck-savagery involved in John Hayes’ war in the trenches.