Imagine what they had said ... a moment to seize SA rugby’s history
AS A rugby-mad kid in Ireland, I used to go the rugby internationals, or Tests as they’re called here. After each game at the old Lansdowne Road, school kids were allowed to congregate outside the dressing rooms and we could get autographs.
Most prized were the scrumhalf’s signatures. My position. A favourite was Irish No 9 Roger Young. He was a dental student from Queens University in Belfast and he was selected on not one but two Lions tours. He was skilful, solid and brave and played scrumhalf to the genius of his flyhalf, a chap named Mike Gibson. His best mate was Welsh legend Gareth Edwards, so just seeing him was special and chatting as he signed.
Like me, Young came to South Africa for a year, in 1971, and like me, he has never gone back to Ireland. Just about every acquaintance from Cape Town used to ask if I knew their dentist. We met briefly on my Lions tour in 1980, but lost touch for years after our move here. Recently, contact was re-established and a few weeks ago a champagne breakfast was held at “Chez Robbie” and our wives, both Jennies, got on famously.
Where is this sickly-sweet self-indulgence going, you may well ask. Well, Roger said he had a book to lend me. He would send it up via his daughter, who lives in Joburg. It duly arrived. It is written by a guy called Tom English and is called No Borders: Playing Rugby For Ireland.
Spoiler alert. There are no great literary exposes or deep tactical examinations. In fact, English writes hardly anything at all. It is simply made up of 338 pages of short, direct quotes from international players. It starts after World War II when Ireland, out of the blue, won a Grand Slam, Triple Crown and championship in three years.
The first quotes feature the legendary Jack Kyle, Karl Mullen and the famous back row duo of Des O’Brien and Jim McCarthy. The book starts there because they were the oldest players alive when the research started. Direct short, sometimes multiple, quotes from players involved in games in the 1940s, 1950s and so on until today? Can you imagine anything more boring?
I ignored it until this week. It is brilliant and unusual and in its strange little way, tells the story of Irish rugby over the period. The legends, the highs, the lows, the ridiculous amateurism and the influence of religion and politics are all reflected via these individual quotes.
The quotes are skillfully interwoven into the fabric of Irish rugby history and even history itself. It also honours so many players, long forgotten. The work of collection, though a labour of love, must have been long, detailed and intense. Obviously, as the book gets more recent, the entries are more numerous, but ironically, they collectively, match the prevailing mood no more vividly than the old ones. It is poignant and also hilarious.
Here’s the point. In South Africa we have a rugby history that in many ways reflects our society. Think of the games played by the octogenarians of today. They were mighty, despite the amateurism. They were part of the divided past. Think of the other sides that were outside the Rugby Board.
Can you imagine how quotes from those legends, ignored by the ruling unions and press, would reflect those times? Think of the demo tours to the UK and New Zealand. Think of Errol Tobias. Was he a hero or a sell-out? My quote would call him a hero. Imagine thoughts from him and from others, skilfully arranged in sequence. Imagine Danie Gerber on facing the All Blacks in 1992. Imagine Joost’s quotes on 1995. Think about Kamp Staaldraad. Think of Brent Russell, the greatest waste of talent selectors ever made. Take it through to today and the current issues ...
The convention needs massive work to achieve the balance between the fun and excitement of young players and the differing views on current events.
Some might say it needs commentary from a writer to give perspective, but this is the point. The lack of control makes the reader decide on the era and the events. The unusual format is the key to the success of the whole exercise.
What an opportunity to preserve history from, say, the 1940s until today. Somebody who loves history and rugby reads it. Then grasp the nettle and let those SA players speak.