16/11/2020
'International Rugby has Lost its Soul'
There has been one thing, and one thing only dominating the news cycle of the last 10 months, that dreaded 'c' word. However, in recent days we have received that long anticipated good news regarding vaccines, with both Pfizer and Moderna announcing the progression of what are seemingly effective treatments in halting the advance of the disease.
So with one cautious, if not overly optimistic eye towards the future, what does it mean for the sport we love from an international point of view? This year saw the international rugby calendar ravaged. Leagues and tournaments were suspended in both hemispheres, with the Six Nations being postponed until last month and the complete abolishment of the traditional November internationals which sees the best of North and South pitted against one another. Thankfully though, we did see the completion of the Six Nations, albeit behind closed doors, and we have also seen the Rugby Championship resume with socially distanced crowds.
Rugby has returned. But not as we know it. There isn't 80,000 fervent Welsh supporters proudly raising the roof of Cardiff's Principality Stadium with a tear-jerking rendition of 'Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau'. There aren't raucous chants of 'Allez le Bleu' echoing around the Stade de France on a crisp Autumn night as 'le petit general' Antoine du Pont runs the Irish defence ragged. International rugby has lost its most important component, its soul.
This soul, it isn't so much a physical thing, but rather a feeling. Every fan around the world knows it. For me as an Irish fan, its that feeling of rushing down a packed Bath Avenue with the smell of burger vans and takeaway Guinness wafting through the air. The excitement. The joy. The hope. The despair. These emotions are still there, but not to the same extent. They will only be fully rekindled when we are back in the Aviva Stadium, back in Murrayfield, back in Twickenham. The fans are the lifeblood of the game, the reason players play, and until they return, I'm afraid it's just all a bit 'je ne said pas' as my Parisian friends would say.
Here's to 2021, and the safe and timely return of rugby's soul.
