Donal Lenihan: Irish rugby owes Syd Millar an enormous debt of gratitude

Syd was first and foremost a rugby man who, despite his very strong allegiance to Ulster, always did what was best for Irish rugby, writes Donal Lenihan.

RIP: Syd Millar in 2007.  MARTIN BUREAU/AFP via Getty Images)

Irish rugby lost one of its most revered and impactful figures with the passing of Syd Millar over the weekend. His vision, personality and sheer presence, working alongside the late Tom Kiernan and Noel Murphy, is the principal reason Irish rugby not only survived the advent of professionalism but turned it to our advantage.

Both Syd and Tom were in the room in Paris on that famous day in August 1995 when the vote was taken by the IRB, as World Rugby was known at the time, for the game to go open. Syd and Tom were mandated by the IRFU to vote against the proposal for the game to go professional but were outvoted.

Rather than throw their toys out of the pram and despite their reservations about the path the game was about to take, those two in particular set about shaping the best way for Irish rugby to survive and eventually thrive in the new world. They were adamant that having the four provinces represent the way forward was the correct path to take. How right they were.

I was privileged to work closely with Syd on a number of fronts. As team manager at the inaugural World Cup in New Zealand and Australia, I worked very closely with him as Ireland captain. Losing our coach Mick Doyle in the first week of action to a suspected heart attack was a blow but Syd simply stepped into the breach and took over until Doyle was released from hospital.

It was a stressful time in that we had already lost outstanding back row Nigel Carr to an IRA bomb that killed Lord Justice Maurice Gibson and his wife when he and fellow Ulster players David Irwin and Philip Rainey were on their way to Dublin for an Irish training session.

We then lost our established hooker Harry Harbison before the opening game in Wellington to a back injury. Harbison was distraught when he learned he was being sent home. To ease his pain Des Fitzgerald and I took him out one afternoon to drown his sorrows but stayed a bit longer than we intended.

During his time as Chairman of the International Rugby Board and Rugby World Cup Limited, Dr. Syd Millar, poses in the lobby of the Sofitel Hotel, Paris, France. Pic: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)

In the days before mobile phones, Syd was frantically looking for me to go and meet the Irish Ambassador with him. When we eventually returned to the hotel, I was told we were in big trouble and had better go to Syd’s room where he was waiting for us. Expecting a good bollocking, I told the lads to let me handle it.

When we entered the room, Syd was sitting there with three of the biggest steaks we had ever seen. He just smiled and said we better get a bit of food into us.

From his many Lions tours as a player, coach and manager, he understood the pressure points associated with touring and being so far away from home. That’s what made him great.

I was extremely fortunate to work closely with him when he was chairman of the British and Irish Lions and I was manager. We spent a lot of time together in the year building up to the 2001 tour of Australia and I got a great insight into the way he operated with some of the highest-ranking figures in world rugby.

Syd was first and foremost a rugby man who, despite his very strong allegiance to Ulster, always did what was best for Irish rugby. The game in this country owes him an enormous debt of gratitude. 

My sincere condolences to the Millar family on the passing of a true giant of Irish rugby.