Boks, the shot-clock and Zombie: Mick Cleary's RWC hits and misses
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If Siya Kolisi alone were the gauge for acclaim, then South Africa deserve every accolade in the trophy cabinet. For his statesmanship, his humility, his holistic vision of life, there was no finer sight than seeing him on the Stade de France podium with the Webb Ellis Cup (again). As to the merit of the Springboks as champions, there can be few quibbles either. Knockout rugby is about knocking out the opposition. QED. It doesn’t really matter if it is by one point or a dozen points. South Africa deserved this 2023 gong as they came through all sorts of tight situations and endured in the toughest of pools as well. They have genuine all-time talent in their ranks in the likes of Eben Etzebeth, Pieter-Steph du Toit and Cheslin Kolbe. Their management team were brilliant but bonkers, a compelling double-act with Jacques Nienaber heading Leinster’s way. This Springbok vintage, though, does not eclipse other past winners such as New Zealand of 2015 or England of 2003 or maybe the inaugural winners, David Kirk’s 1987 All Blacks. The 1995 Springboks were memorable for all sorts of reasons. One thing is for sure. Kolisi is the modern-day Pienaar, a man of his times.
It certainly felt like the longest, passing through the seasons and almost back again. An esteemed colleague from The Times made a case for it being the best of the 10 tournaments based on various facets, notably the fact that the eventual winners had to fight tooth and nail to get their hands on the trophy, three one-pointers through the knockout stages. Seven out of eight of those knockout matches were close, two of them epic contests that would bear comparison with the very best, Ireland against New Zealand and France v South Africa. However, there were too many lulls, too many mismatches and not enough sustained brilliance or magical sequences that will linger forever. Off-field there were too many reports of over-zealous stewarding, rubbish stadium access, rip-off prices (no surprise at a global event but still inexcusable) and not enough deep engagement between organisers and public. There was the delight of seeing Portugal emerge and dazzle, Uruguay too, Fiji give it a real lash and for those of a Pom persuasion a touch of enjoyable schadenfreude as Eddie Jones’ Australia hit the skids. The 1995 World Cup remains the most memorable for me followed by Japan 2019. This tournament was flawed if very engaging at times. Now, if France or Ireland had made it through…
France en fete. Gosh, it was glorious while it lasted, that sense even felt from afar of one of the game’s great rugby nations finally get its act together and an entire country living the dream. Wales used to have the same concentrated focus of a small area mad about the game but those days (in tandem with its heavy industry) are long gone but south-west France still has the oval ball at its social and sporting heart. Toulouse, Bordeaux and even across into newish territories of Marseille and Nice, the tournament was alive and buzzing.
The Shot Clock – cost Owen Farrell but it is a welcome innovation. Time for a Scrum Clock?
Patrice’s Lagisquet’s Portugal
Will Jordan on the move
Packed Stadia – Zombie and La Marseillaise
Head Injury Consideration (even at the cost of so many cards. It’s the only way)
The TMO and Bunker System Of course it is nigh on impossible to turn back the clock on technology but even so I would wager that 90% of rugby as well as football fans would willingly accept any potential downsides if TMO and VAR were to be scrapped entirely. Wayne Barnes did as he was obliged to do in the World Cup final and made the right decision in sending-off All Black captain, Sam Cane, while only later issuing a yellow to Siya Kolisi. But the faffing and fiddling while this or that knock-on was unearthed by super slow-mo boffins in a truck sucked the life out of the spectacle. Abandon the bunker and put the shackles on the TMO
The Tannoy-type anthems
The Poor TV replays of Incidents
Box-kicking
Scrum Re-Sets
France and Ireland as World Cup contenders? This may be rather alarmist but there was so much hope invested in the respective fortunes and prospects of the two countries you do wonder how long it will be before either of them can again approach a World Cup with such genuine hopes of winning it? Ireland had everything going for them with a run of unbeaten test matches under their belt, a clean bill of health for Johnny Sexton and a passionate tribe of followers to boost them. As for France, they must still be rueing what happened, caught out defensively by simple kick-and-chase tactics. Even now, you look back and figure they ought to have won the entire tournament, with forwards such as Peato Mauvaka and Gregory Alldritt allied to the peerless Antoine Dupont and wing, Damian Penaud. The one that got away from both countries.
There are also many notable names to salute as the four-year cycle comes to an end, a natural parting of the ways from a Johnny Sexton to a Sam Whitelock and on to a Keith Earls and Courtney Lawes. It’s remarkable just how long careers actually are given that so much commentary is dedicated to how attritional the game is yet a Sexton was still there, a Dan Cole or Aaron Smith too. Chapeau to the veterans.
M Pinto (Portugal); W Jordan (NZ), W Nayacalevu (Fiji), B Aki (Ire), D Penaud (Fr); R Mo’unga (NZ), A Smith (NZ); O Nche (SA), P Mauvaka (Fr), T Lomax (NZ), T Flament (Fr), T McFarland (Samoa), C Lawes (Eng), P-S du Toit (SA), A Savea (NZ)