From the fringes to centre stage, the South African import now crucial to Ireland's Six Nations
Quinn Roux could never have imagined a few short weeks ago that he would be preparing this Saturday for the biggest game of his career – his first ever Six Nations start at the age of 28.
He was unceremoniously surplus to requirement on January 16 when Joe Schmidt announced the 38-strong squad for Ireland’s Six Nations title defence. Tadhg Beirne, Ultan Dillane, Iain Henderson, James Ryan and Devin Toner were the five second rows chosen ahead of him.
However, instead of being involved in Connacht’s PRO14 game at Cardiff the following week, Roux found himself hurriedly re-routed to the Algarve for national squad training after Beirne and Henderson pulled up lame in Champions Cup action.
That sudden promotion was good enough to earn a spot on the bench for last week’s championship opener against England, and the breaks have kept on coming.
Here's the @IrishRugby team to play @Scotlandteam on Saturday.#TeamOfUs #ShoulderToShoulder #SCOvIRE pic.twitter.com/LQWUS28tMs
— Irish Rugby (@IrishRugby) February 7, 2019
With Toner the latest lock to hobble into casualty, Roux has been selected as one of five changes to start against Scotland on Saturday, 24 days after Schmidt publicly left him high and dry with his original squad choice. It’s a massive step up for the South African, whose previous Six Nations exposure amounts to 69 minutes’ action across three appearances as a replacement.
His elevation will also highlight to the millions of Test match viewers around the globe how the Six Nations really is a league of multiple nations featuring players hailing from far-off places far beyond the borders of the six participating countries.
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It’s a debate that annoys Schmidt – what makes an Irishman? Ever since South African Richardt Strauss became the first foreigner to play for Ireland in 2012 under World Rugby’s three-year residency rule, the IRFU’s project player policy has been in the spotlight.
Some feel allowing foreigners qualify for Ireland simply by living in the country for 36 months devalues the green jersey. Others believe it positively puts an onus on indigenous players to up their standards and fight harder for Test team inclusion ahead of the imports.
Schmidt is very much in the latter category and while there will be bemusement from some critics that Roux is a name that doesn’t sound very Irish, the coach will have had no qualms solving a second row emergency by including the South African from Pretoria whom he initially signed for Leinster in 2012.
It was 15 months ago when Schmidt stuck his neck out in defence of his selection of Bundee Aki, his fellow New Zealander who had at the time just qualified for Ireland under World Rugby’s residency rule. He has since gone on to start 13 of his adopted country’s last 16 matches.
“I walk the streets, I meet people. People are incredibly supportive,” insisted Schmidt when asked if the section of non-indigenous Irish players was an emotive topic among rugby fans. “If that was the case we wouldn’t have sold out matches.
“The foreign player makes up seven per cent of our selections in the last four years. When you put it into context, people like to focus on a very small margin and make that into a lot bigger than it is.
“But so far, the players who have qualified to play for Ireland make up around about six or seven per cent of the players that we have selected over the last four years, so I don’t really see it as something as emotional or contentious as some people would build it up to be but then I don’t have access to everybody.
“Some people would say it is emotive and that they do feel strongly about it. Other people would say that in the past we had people who had played for Ireland who never ever lived in Ireland, who had a grandparent of some sort who was Irish and therefore they played for Ireland and never ever invested in the local community.
“I don’t think I have seen someone invest more in the local community than some of the people who have qualified to play. It may become a moot point with the change (at the end of 2020) to five years to qualify to play for another country.”
Roux’s importance to Ireland at Murrayfield as they attempt to get their wounded Six Nations title defence back on track after their loss to England owes much to the player’s own stubbornness not to give up on his Ireland project.
He never really settled at Leinster after Schmidt snapped him up from the Stormers and Western Province nearly seven years ago. He was only a bit-part player in Dublin, continuing to struggle to impress after Schmidt had vacated the role to Matt O’Connor.
In the end, it was Roux’s willingness to go on loan to Pat Lam’s Connacht in 2014 that rescued him from the wilderness. “Lots of players don’t want to leave because they are comfortable in their environment but if you need game time, you need to put the foot down and just go wherever you can and play as much as you can,” he said about a type of short-term switch that was uncommon in Ireland at the time.
He did well enough to eventually secure a permanent contract in Galway and while it hasn’t been all sweetness and light in the west of Ireland – Roux was excluded from their match day squad when the PRO12 title was won in a final against Leinster – he has since managed to fleetingly work his way into the Ireland fold.
Congratulations to Bundee Aki, Quinn Roux & Ultan Dillane who have been named in the Ireland squad for Saturday's #GuinnessSixNations clash with Scotland.
Bundee & Quinn are included in the starting XV while Ultan is among the replacements ??
?? https://t.co/XjmZg5MJMi pic.twitter.com/T0VvRUzLVD
— Connacht Rugby (@connachtrugby) February 7, 2019
Now comes his moment of truth. An opportunity to start in a Six Nations match and prove to everyone that his face does fit for his adopted country.
He will need to do much more than he managed during his 23-minute cameo against England, Ireland going from trailing by four points to falling 19 points behind before a late consolation try shaved the final margin to 12.
Roux’s contribution was nothing special. There was involvement in four scrums, four lineouts, a lift for a Peter O’Mahony catch, plenty of ruck policing, the odd breakdown clear-out, three ball-carries for a seven-metre gain, three tackles, but interestingly a smack on the back from Conor Murray aggressively telling him to step out of the way of the ball at a ruck near the Ireland line.
That little vignette suggests Roux is still finding his way at a Test level where his inclusion to face the Scots will mean a scrum rejig for Schmidt’s set-piece.
The South African is an out-and-out tighthead scrummager and he packed down versus the English behind Tadhg Furlong and Andrew Porter for two scrums each, forcing Ryan, who had started in that particular lock role behind the No3, to switch over and scrummage behind the loosehead.
Will that change-over for the start of a match now enhance the set-piece threat posed by the Irish eight? We’ll soon know. What is for certain is that Roux has never had a bigger opportunity to demonstrate he really has what it takes at international level.
Comments on RugbyPass
Super rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
8 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
9 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
8 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
22 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
9 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
14 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
14 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
14 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
5 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
6 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
22 Go to commentsJake White is a brilliant coach and a master in the press. This is another masterclass in media relations and PR but its also a very narrow view with arguments that dont always hold water. White wants his team to win, he wants the best players in SA and wants his team competitive. You however have to face up to the reality of a poor exchange rate and big clubs with big budgets. SA Rugby cant compete and unless it can find more money SA players will keep leaving regardless of Springbok eligibility and this happened in 2015 - 2017. Also rugby is not cricket. Cricket has 3 formats and T20 cricket is where the money is at. When it comes to club vs country the IPL is king but that wont happen because the international calendar does not clash with the club calendar in rugby. So the argument about rugby going down the same path as cricket is really a non-starter
22 Go to commentsNZ rugby seem not to have learnt anything from professional rugby. Super rugby was dying and SA left before they died with the competition. SA rugby did a u turn on their approach to international players playing overseas and such players are now selected for Bok teams. As much as each country would love to retain their players playing in local competitions, this is the way the world is evolving my friends. Move with it or stay 20 years behind the times. One more thing. NZ rugby hierarchy think they are the big cheese. Take a more humble approach guys. You do not seem to have your players best interests at heart.
8 Go to comments