Earlier this week it was reported that Ireland skipper Johnny Sexton has been accused of three disciplinary breaches on the day of the Champions Cup final at the Aviva Stadium, and that an independent panel was going to convene to discuss the possibility of a sanction.
With online reporting being what it is these days, naturally the story was originally broken using this heading : “Exclusive: Sexton could be forced into early retirement with 24-week ban”. Obviously it’s the most basic formula being used there, namely choosing a headline that mentions the most extreme possible outcome to attract the most clicks and reaction. And I have to give extra points to the City AM team for including a perfectly teed up photo with the article, we can only assume Johnny here is saying something like “fine display of refereeing there Jaco!!!”.
Anyway if a reaction is what they wanted, then that’s definitely what they got. Well, first, let me give you mine.
I know there are many who will assume since I’m a Leinster supporter then I’ll somehow choose to defend these allegations, but assuming they’re true and he did say those things at different times, well, I can’t defend them. Of course there’s no excuse for saying anything to officials on the day of a match unless you are the nominated captain on the pitch while play is still going on, and even then it needs to be done respectfully.
We all understand the disappointment of any kind of a loss and that goes double when it’s a major final and possibly triple when a match goes the way that one did. But it should go without saying that we expect more from our leaders and all the way down to school children we want them to show respect to both opposition and officials especially in defeat.
But when it comes to the discussion over what kind of ban he’s going to receive, maybe we should all just back up a little. For one thing, reports of this incident started breaking within hours of it happening and before we had any actual details, in several corners of the internet he was proclaimed guilty from the get go. And I don’t just mean corners of the internet from countries outside of Ireland like the ones we’re due to face in the World Cup either.
Look, Johnny Sexton has always been a polarising force within the Irish bubble. And even when he’s wearing the green jersey, a lot of supporters find it very difficult to acknowledge his contribution to Ireland’s success over the years and only seem to speak up when he makes the wrong kind of headlines. And that’s fine, like I’ve said many times before, different people follow rugby for different reasons.
So while the online media have their own motives for suggesting this ban could rule him out of the World Cup, many seem to think there’s no chance he’ll get a ban simply because he is who he is and that the World Cup couldn’t do without him.
OK, well all of that speculation is fine, I guess, but I wonder if there’s any other method we can use to help us work out what kind of ban he could get for doing something like this? How about precedent? Have rulings been issued before for not respecting officials? And is there any way we can link those involved in previous rulings to this particular case?
Why am I bringing that up here? Well first of all, I have to point out that I don’t argue with that sentiment at all – I think ROG has done extremely well as a coach and definitely should be on the IRFU’s radar, if just a long-term one for now, only a fool would argue otherwise.
In November 2021, O’Gara was banned for two weeks for “showing disrespect to the authority of an official” during a match against Toulon.
He was then suspended for two weeks in April 2022 for “indiscipline” and “challenging the decisions of officials” in a game against Racing 92
Then in September 2022 it was six weeks for “lack of respect” and “action against an official” at Lyon.
Finally this fourth ban in November 2022 was for 10 weeks for “harming the best interests of rugby”
Am I comparing his four offences over the space of a year to Sexton’s three in one day? Maybe a bit, and maybe they are different circumstances in their own right, but while the incidents may not have happened in the same actual ball-park, they are definitely in the same topical one.
So I have to say I’m baffled as to why neither the online entity that originally broke the Sexton story, nor the Irish supporters that are so happy to point out the possible consequences, are able to at least offer the O’Gara situation up as a comparison, I mean even without the fact that they were on opposite sides that day at the Aviva Stadium, you could say their career paths have crossed a few more times over the years.
If it took four hearings for O’Gara to be banned for 10 weeks, then the case against Sexton will need to be really, really bad for his first to get him anything close to that. I’m not saying it’s impossible, and I’m not saying I’m at all happy about these reports and I wish he hadn’t done it, I just want to be sure that when we’re talking about it we’re using all the relevant information, and I’d say this was pretty relevant.
One thing I’m sure all Irish supporters agree on is that we hope that whatever the outcome of this matter, the effect on our World Cup chances is minimal. We’ll just have to wait and see.
We’re planning to go back to our Sunday night pod recording times this coming weekend, for now we’re going to look at the Irish Under 20s as they prepare for the Junior Rugby World Championships down in South Africa so don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe to all our social media channels and in the meantime, be sure to enjoy your rugby wherever you are, stay safe everyone, slán. JLP
We’ve been taking a couple of weeks off since the end of the 2022/23 season, obviously as a Leinster fan it didn’t exactly end up the way we wanted but overall as our first season with our new podcast based format we still had a lot of quality rugby to harp on going back to the beginning of last September and we look forward to getting back to it soon.
But I just thought I’d check back in with a TikTok today because there has been a lot of debate on Twitter over the past 24 hours or so since news broke that Jean Kleyn might be returning to the South African squad after being pretty much out of the Irish test picture since the 2019 World Cup.
Look. One thing I’ve learned doing this over the years is that while we all share a love of rugby, the fact remains we all love it for different reasons. We’re all looking for something different from it. And that doesn’t necessarily mean any of us is right about what we want from it, it’s just different. For me, yes, I’m a Leinster supporter, I’m happy when we win, disappointed when we lose. But I’m also an Ireland supporter, also happy when we win, also disappointed when we lose. And to be an Ireland supporter I believe you have to be able to put the provincial stuff behind you, it’s an absolute necessity.
Now when it comes to Kleyn, of course I appreciate that there’s a fear among Munster fans that if he ends up taking advantage of the new rules to play for the Springboks, there’s a chance he might not be able to play for the province again. And no team wants to lose their best players, especially one that played a large part in their winning their first trophy in over a decade. That’s totally understandable.
You can probably tell I’m about to say but, right? So here goes….BUT….
What exactly are we trying to say is happening when Kleyn is left out of the Irish training squad ahead of the World Cup? Does it mean Andy Farrell thinks he’s not up to test standard? Does it mean Farrell has something against him? Does it mean he’s blaming him for Ireland’s performance in 2019? Does it serve as further proof that there’s an anti-Munster or pro-Leinster bias in the Irish coaching ticket?
OR…could it mean that going back to the squad he picked ahead of the 2021 Autumn Nations Series it seems perfectly obvious that he is a coach that knows the way he wants play, selects the players he wants to fit that style regardless of what province they hail from, and since that time, has only been on the losing side twice, once in Paris against a French side on its way to a Grand Slam, and next in Auckland against an All Black side he went on to beat twice in the following weeks?
Just to be clear….I am aware that just because you win a bunch of games in a row that doesn’t guarantee you success in the immediate future, if you’ll recall I already mentioned I’m a Leinster supporter so I know this all too well.
But seriously….what does a test coach have to do to get a bit of leeway when it comes to his decisions? We all know that no matter what squad he picks, someone is going to be left out, right? We all know that those players who don’t quite make it are going to hail from one of the four provinces no matter what, right? And we all know that a test coach probably shouldn’t make his decisions based on whether or not that means a player is going to stay at a particular province, right?
I could go into a defence of the players who have made the squad ahead of Kleyn, I could also go into a defence of Farrell’s tendency to go for more versatile position players on the fringes of his squad, but really it’s not about that. If this was just about a debate over the composition of the squad I wouldn’t be doing this video because we’ll always disagree on selections. It’s just that there’s an extra element to this Kleyn debate that goes too far and probably would have if it involved a player from any of the other three provinces too.
It’s perfectly natural for Munster fans to still be on a high after their win in Cape Town, I know I would be if Leinster had found the extra points needed to turn our last couple of results around. And like I already said, it’s perfectly natural to be concerned about losing a key player. But I guess all I’m saying here is that maybe those two factors are leading some people to conclusions that are ignoring a lot of other facts.
The Irish test squad is in a really really good place right now. And from what I’ve seen it really looks like one of the many things Farrell is good at is giving the players he does select the belief they need to overcome pretty much any mental obstacle that can be thrown at them, from the whole “never won a test series in New Zealand” thing to the whole “no matter who he picks one set of provincial fans is going to complain” thing.
So this has me wondering…since the URC doesn’t kick off again until the World Cup has just four nations left, maybe we can take a break from the provincial stuff for a few months and just be Irish supporters?
Anyway…like I said, a lot of us seem to want different things from following rugby but just so you know, here at Harpin’ Manor we’ll be taking another week or two off from the regular content, I mean there’s still a lot going on like the Irish sevens in both genders taking part in the European series, the Top 14 and Super Rugby playoffs, but we won’t be going back into full swing until Irish Under 20s start their Junior World Championships and then it will be all about the World Cup so be sure and stay tuned to all our social media channels and in the meantime, be sure to enjoy your rugby wherever you are, stay safe everyone, slán. JLP
Ryan Baird immense ..kudos must go to all coaches n staff and squad
10 tries conceeded in 2 6 Nations campaigns combined telling stat..hats off to Simon Easterby for defensive work especially
James Griffin
England brought physicality but not a lot of game nous. Ireland, while not always as precise as in previous games, matched their physicality but in addition, had good game management and made good decisions at crucial times. Delighted for the entire squad; a fully deserved slam.
Gavin Hegarty
Not a good Irish performance but always great to get a slam.
Up for discussion is where rugby is going. A red card should be for a malicious act, not for what steward did. His offence was a yellow at most.
TWITTER
The best part of all this?
After the trophy is lifted. After the job is done.
Seeing who they are. Kids in tow, joy, delight, banter.
Utter professionals week to week, but they let the emotions lose once it's done.
Cried looking at POM and Sexton with their kids.
Wholesome
— IrishWomensRugbySupportersClub (@IrishWomens) March 18, 2023
Conor Cronin The wins in the previous 3 rounds with a big injury list, outdone by getting through that game in spite of the injuries.
We allowed the scots to dictate big parts of that game but once we took charge we’d 2 quick tries and that was it. raging for James Ryan not to get the score or the assist with that fine supporting run, and not to have got the BP.
Players really stood up and were counted, and while there were mistakes it’s the attitude of getting up and getting the next phase right that is the core of this team right now.
James Griffin What a very special group of men! To play through so much adversity and win is why they have the ranking they have. Speedy recovery to the injured.
Mark Jackson Think that covers most contingencies ..struggling to come up w new ones ..maybe Hugo Keenan as a LO jumper…Jukebox finally kicking for goal.
Kevin Kelehan Dogged in the extreme, not much more could have gone against them, the disallowed first try, the smashing of Doris in the air in the line out and no sanction, then Sheehan and then Henderson so early in the game. Today was proof that even a much improved Scotland with tails up in front of a noisy crowd could not derail Ireland seriously discommoded by injuries. Time to nail Farrell and Catt down for a contract extension before the World Cup!
Lee O Farrell They always talk about the rub of the green but the lads today made their own luck.
An incredible performance. One of the things that sets this group apart from previous Irish teams is the headspace. And these lads have it in spades!
Andrew Potts Every benefit of the doubt was given to Scotland by the Ref.
Even the fact he was joking around when Ringrose was being attended to for a serious injury was completely tone deaf.
TWITTER
Incredible to see folks on here saying the win will gloss over Ireland's rocky first half, yes, it will, it's an 80 minute game.
I'd love to see a side not struggle with the level of churn that went on
Josh was throwing in the lineout lads…. Let the slack out the rope there
Can you imagine tuning in half way through the second half and seeing JVF throwing the ball into the line outs and Cian playing at 2 – you’d be wondering if you’ve had some funny mushrooms at lunchtime 😂
Brian Nisbet Grand Slam still very much on. 7-22 in Edinburgh. Very scrappy match and concerning injuries, but still, it’s a win and any issues will be forgotten after the fifth win next weekend.
Marc Fritsche The players will be in nothing but ice baths for the week, that was extremely physical
