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CJ Stander serenaded with Tina Turner classic as he bids farewell to Ireland duty
Ireland’s triumphant players serenaded the retiring CJ Stander with a Tina Turner classic after he helped dismantle England on his Guinness Six Nations send-off.
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South Africa-born Stander stunned the rugby world on Tuesday by announcing plans to hang up his boots in the summer.
The 30-year-old stylishly capped a fine 51-Test career for his adopted country with Saturday’s rampant 32-18 win over the 2019 World Cup finalists in Dublin and was in tears following the full-time whistle.
Ireland full-back Hugo Keenan revealed there were jubilant post-match scenes in the changing room, during which Stander received a tub-thumping tribute.
“It was a good buzz in fairness. We put in a good performance that we were putting pressure on ourselves to deliver on all week and all campaign,” said Keenan.
“Everyone’s happy. It was a great way to send CJ off, so we sang a song and it was enjoyable in there.”
Asked about the choice of tune, Keenan replied: “Simply the Best. It was good craic.”
Ireland ended a four-match losing run against Eddie Jones’ side thanks to tries from Keith Earls and Jack Conan, plus 22 points from captain Johnny Sexton.
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More than a game.
You'll be missed, @CJStander ☘️ 💚#GuinnessSixNations #IREvENG pic.twitter.com/jbxvp5rTPQ
— Guinness Men's Six Nations (@SixNationsRugby) March 20, 2021
Head coach Andy Farrell said after the third consecutive Championship success that Munster back-row Stander would be “a mate forever”.
An emotional Stander told Irish Rugby TV: “Dreams still do come true. I dreamt of playing in the jersey for a long while, I worked hard and everyone made it easy for me. The last few years have been special.
“Thanks to everyone for the game, for the send-off. It’s been a great week. I am looking forward to supporting this team from the stands with a pint of Guinness in my hand.”
"I am forever grateful. Dreams do come true."
CJ Stander speaking to @sineadkissane after his final game in an Ireland jersey.
An Irish legend. 💚#IREvENG #GuinnessSixNations #VMTVRugby pic.twitter.com/HtyWUCWXT0
— Virgin Media Sport (@VMSportIE) March 20, 2021
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Ireland hooker Rob Herring, who also hails from South Africa, was delighted to give his compatriot positive lasting memories of his final game in an Irish shirt.
“I think there is just complete respect (for him),” said Herring. “Everyone in the squad, they see what he does every week, the hard work he puts in, the dedication he has for the jersey.
“It’s been pretty emotional for a lot of the guys, we’ve played a lot of rugby with him and just delighted we can finish off on a performance like that and he can have that memory for the rest of his life.”
Victory over England secured a top-half finish for Ireland and rounded off a remarkable recent rise for Leinster back Keenan.
The 24-year-old has been an ever-present for his country since making his debut against Italy in October’s Six Nations win over Italy, winning 11 caps.
Did your No.8 ever do this for you?
If not, why not? Demand answers.
Credit: @SixNationsRugby pic.twitter.com/9BBCxitNN3
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) March 18, 2021
He has emerged as an outside contender for the upcoming British and Irish Lions series but insisted a call from Warren Gatland is not on his mind as he reflected on a whirlwind spell.
“It’s been a mad couple of months. It’s been enjoyable – I can’t say I saw it coming,” said Keenan.
“I’m loving my rugby at the moment and it’s great to be involved in a special squad and in special games like that.”
Speaking about the Lions, he added: “There’s a lot of work to be done from here until then. It’s the last thing I’m thinking of really.
“We’re straight into a PRO14 final next week – hopefully I’m involved in that – and then it’s into Europe with Leinster.
“It’s a bit of a mad season like that. It just seems like it’s big game to big game to big game.
“You just have to worry about the short-term and the long-term will hopefully look after itself.”
Comments on RugbyPass
🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
26 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
1 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusades , you can keep going.
1 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
26 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
26 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
26 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
26 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
11 Go to comments