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‘Sleepless' Andrew Porter breaks silence on 'blood boiling' scrums
Ireland prop Andrew Porter has broken his silence on his country’s agonising exit last month from the Rugby World Cup. The Irish went into their quarter-final against the All Blacks in Paris as the world’s No1 ranked side and were tipped to progress to what would have been a first-ever semi-final appearance.
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However, New Zealand won 28-24, leaving Porter and co deflated. More than four weeks on from that crushing Stade de France exit, the loosehead has opened up on his battle to move on from the disappointment and he has also reflected on the series of scrum penalties that went against him, visibly leaving him frustrated on the pitch during the game.
Appearing on the latest episode of The Rugby Pod with Jim Hamilton and Andy Goode, Porter began: “I’m still trying to come to terms with it in my own head. It was gutting, I have never felt that much of a low in my career.
“There was huge hype and expectation and just the energy that was at home and all the fans that had travelled over from Ireland to create that unbelievable, special atmosphere that I have never witnessed before. All that linked in together and built up really, really high and then it’s like a roller coaster, it’s bang and it felt like you were just at the bottom.
“I came home and thought great, a different environment, but I had too much time with my own thoughts. You start playing everything back in your head, thinking of everything you could have done differently and done better.
Set Plays 
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Scrums
5
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Scrum Win %
100%
15
Lineout
8
87%
Lineout Win %
100%
6
Restarts Received
9
100%
Restarts Received Win %
90%
“I was really struggling being at home after being in such a great environment with all those incredibly special people for so long… I didn’t want to do anything, I just wanted to be by myself.
“At the end of something like that, there isn’t really a debrief… there was no real closure, no real closing the book on it. I have had to deal with sleepless nights, things playing over in your head, that kind of thing. It’s just part of the game we play. We were so close so that is why it was a bit more gut-wrenching.”
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Porter hasn’t yet managed to watch the quarter-final back on video as he remains pained by Ireland’s exit. Despite this lack of review, he stood by the frustrations he felt about the way he was refereed in the scrum by Wayne Barnes.
“I haven’t really gone through it yet, I think it would bring back bad memories. I know I probably should watch it in terms of taking learnings from it, I’ll probably get around to it eventually.
“You feel there is an added pressure and responsibility on you in the front row where a decision that doesn’t go your way can tip things in favour of the other team. There is that side of it. A lot of the time you know when you are wrong and when a penalty is given against you, but when it is the 50/50 calls where you feel a bit hard done by it’s really tough not to get worked up about it.
“I felt that in the game, my blood was honestly boiling after a while because I just felt like I had been hard done by. There are a lot of people out there who can probably disagree with me, they always have. It’s tougher when you feel like those 50/50 calls aren’t in your favour a lot of the time.
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“It’s just one of those things, being a ref is probably tougher than being a player in terms of the amount of criticism you are going to get. One team is always going to hate you at the end of the day. That’s the tricky part.”
Comments on RugbyPass
“upon leaving said establishment I tripped over a stool knocking some bottles into the air and as I fell I accidently dislodged a police officer’s teaser who was passing by on an unrelated matter there by landing on said taser which caused it to discharge 50,000 watts into me. Out of shock I shouted Ireland are going to win the world cup. Upon waking up I apologised for the distress caused by my Ireland comment. The matter is closed. If you wish to pursue this matter may I remind you what I told Wayne Barnes when he sent me off. I AM A BIG ASS MAN”. Or was it “I AM A BIG ASS, MAN” or was it “I AM A BIG ASSMAN”?
1 Go to commentsThe only championship the Boks hold are: Great value for the incompetence of referees during the RWC Moaning endlessly and champions of spewing utterly ignorant 💩 at all times. Displaying the dangers of a third world education End of.
26 Go to commentsSouth Africa and Rassie do a phenomenal job of treating the 4 years in between World Cups as nothing more than a training exercise to build squad depth. The Six Nations money that keeps Irish rugby afloat is unfortunately too important to allow the same approach, and basic population size means we'll never get close to matching the depth of South Africa, England and France. That being said, Irish rugby is in a relatively good place and slowly improving inch by inch. If the other three provinces can pull the finger out and actually develop some players it'd be even better.
26 Go to commentsGood on Clarke for taking on the criticism and addressing his deficiencies, principally his laziness.
2 Go to comments“It is the people’s favourite against the actual favourite. It is the people’s champions against the actual champions. I’m joking, but it’s going to be a fantastic series.” Why did Darcy make that joke knowing it would be used as click bait? Why did RP headline it as a serious comment? Anyway, the tired comment isn’t very astute. SA players may have played more games etc. Darcy over estimated as a pundit.
26 Go to commentsNot sure Frisch will ever make the French team with Depoortère and Costes waiting in the wings to take over from Danty and Fickou.
1 Go to commentsThe Irish are tired and the Boks are old. The test series won't confirm who is best in the world, it will confirm which team needs to pursue the task of rebuilding with the most urgency.
26 Go to commentsGrant, the first time I have seen an article written by you. Maybe I have missed your previous stuff. These days all professional players effectively play a common season so all top players are equally tired, or rested. That is the job of the coaching ticket to build squad depth and juggle resources so players are ‘ fresh’ when the big games come. Possibly Ireland are less inclined to juggle squad compared to Rassie, who is prepared to take the risk to rest players as well as build depth throughout the year so come WC he has a full squad, experienced and rested enough to win 7 games. After all, to win WC you need to get through the tournament and then win the final big 3 games. Ireland should try and build a bit so come final 3 they are ready. So far only played final 1(QF). I am so looking forward to the Irish tour. Hopefully Rassie has enough time to align his guys, as he draws them from across the globe, and not from 2 sides locally( eg Leinster, Munster). No excuses, going to be exciting.
26 Go to commentsIn football, teams get fined and sometimes docked points for deliberately fielding weakened teams yet Leinster can pretty much do as they please with no comebacks. Could it be because Ireland run the URC? Could it be that Ireland run the ERC? Whichever it is, it stinks!!
6 Go to commentsIreland are only the People’s Champions in Irish eyes. The rest of the world do not care for them very much because of attitudes of people like Gordon, Ferris, Best, Jackman…I could go on!!
26 Go to commentsNot sure how Karl Dickson can ever ref a Quins game, he played for the club for 8 years as understudy to Care and is still close friends with half the team
3 Go to commentsAre bookies taking bets on how many times Vunipola's eventual statement will use the term “elders"? My money is on at least 4 times.
4 Go to commentsSo Ireland will be tired, despite having the most rested test squad in the world. They only play tests, champions cup and urc play off games ffs! Case in point; Leinster sent a B squad to SA for their last two games while their first xv rested up and trained at their leisure for the sf vs Saints at the so called ‘neutral venue’ of Croke Park. So tired? Do me a favour… And as for “people’s champions”? Seriously??? Outside of Ireland they are respected for their ability to win 6N. And of course plenty of inconsequential test friendlies without any real pressure. WC ko games when the pressure is white hot? Not so much…
26 Go to commentsSurprising how standing down or benching a player can do wonders for their motivation. Several players this week in that category.
2 Go to commentsHaha lads lads lads, that’s how you have a holiday In Majorca
4 Go to commentshit on Lynagh was defo late and card-worthy. The other 2 are bang on OK. Hurts you at Test level if youre timing is off and the nostrils are flared. Jerry C knew when to lean in on one, Finau just needs to keep his discipline and head straight.
7 Go to commentsSlade was exceptional against Gloucester. Not only was he doing the classic Slade stuff of running amazing lines and timing passes to perfection to put his wingers into space, he was kicking goals, flying off the line smashing people and crashing into rucks like a flanker… his hair even looked on point. 😍
1 Go to commentsThat’s really sad, hope everyone involved is ok. At least he had pants on.
4 Go to commentsTo be fair it was nowhere bear the Leinster first team (for which, btw, Leinster copped nothing like the outrage that Jake White did for sending a rotated team to the UK). But it’s fun to watch the Stormers doing their thing. They are attracting big, diverse crowds of young fans, and deservedly so. Great to see.
1 Go to commentsIt might be legal but he’s sailing pretty close to the wind. Not a lot needs to go wrong for Finau to end up in the bin. Was it late? Not quite, but borderline. High? A couple of CM within the laws, no room for error with that one. Did he wrap the arms? There was a token effort to wrap one arm, the intent was clearly to hit with the shoulder. So yeah, it’s legal, just. But as we all know, a very slight change in the dynamics could easily have him seeing red. Hopefully not when it really matters.
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