The World Cup cycle does matter, despite what Irish fans think
“There is nothing more intoxicating than victory.” So said Robert Greene, the American author of six international best-sellers exploring power, seduction and the laws of human nature. Triumph is a drug, the argument goes, one that shrouds logic and erases reason.
Not convinced? Go on X and trawl through the self-satisfying messages of Irish rugby fans following their side’s 38-17 win over France in Marseille.
Amidst the standard gloating and schadenfreude typical amongst all sports fans, an odd bit of mental gymnastics played out in real-time. In the heady afterglow of a famous conquest, some supporters seemed hellbent on downplaying the Rugby World Cup.
The theory makes a degree of sense, if you squint your eyes and cock your head at the scene as if looking at a magic-eye poster. The Webb Ellis Cup is up for grabs once every four. The whole event lasts eight weeks. That means, over the course of what has been dubbed a ‘World Cup cycle’, a mere 3.8 per cent of the time available is actually filled with the tournament itself.
Eddie Jones is just one high-profile coach who has made the mistake of placing all his eggs in this narrow basket. While in charge of England, he dismissed poor results in the lead-up to 2023 as lessons to be learned. Don’t worry, he professed often and loudly, none of these disastrous performances will be remembered in the long run. After losing his seventh match from 13 played in 2022, Jones was sacked a year out from his target.
Momentum is real. Losing can become a habit. Winning can become a habit. Every Test match involving nations should matter regardless of the wider context. That’s all true, but there are clear hierarchies in any sport. A 100m sprint final in the Annual Darius Dixon Memorial Invitational is obviously not as important as the headline race at the Olympics. Denying this basic fact requires a degree of dishonesty plucked from an Orwellian fever dream.
So why the double-think? A cynic might argue that Irish fans are simply bitter after yet another quarter-final exit. That they are doing everything they can to convince themselves that the tournament they’ve never won, the tournament they really crave most of all, somehow carries less significance because they want it to be true.
Andy Farrell, Ireland’s coach, swatted aside notions that this year’s Six Nations is the first step on a new journey. “I don’t buy into the four-year cycle that tends to come around when World Cups are finished,” he said. True to his word, he named 34-year-old Peter O’Mahony as his captain for the foreseeable future. But beyond that? If you can’t see the lands over the horizon then maybe they don’t exist.
Having masterminded the most cohesive attack in international rugby, Farrell doesn’t need an education on the sport from a columnist. But the above rhetoric feels misguided. Wouldn’t it help to at least have half an eye on the game’s top prize? Would it hurt so much to consider the World Cup as the pot of gold at the end of a four-year rainbow? Would even acknowledging this send his team into a blind panic?
The Springboks’ last three World Cup-winning coaches – Jake White, Rassie Erasmus and Jaques Nienaber – all made the World Cup their priority when taking on the job. It helps that they were leading a rugby nation with the firepower to match actions to words, but this clear intention helped clarify any decisions they made.
Bryan Habana, winner of the 2007 edition, tells the story of White’s first promise that a team that had just spluttered at the 2003 edition, and had won half of their games for the previous four years, could somehow conquer the world. Habana and the rest of the team met White’s bullishness with incredulity. But they drank the Kool-Aid. Even when the side lost 49-0 in Brisbane, or 45-26 in fortress Pretoria to the All Blacks, the guiding light of that original promise kept them on course.
This is why Steve Borthwick’s England is one of the most exciting prospects in Europe, which is a staggering sentence to write. Eight of the match-day 23 named for the game against Wales this weekend have less than 10 caps. This feels like a project that is building. Building to what? Maybe a proper tilt at a World Cup. Borthwick has been conscious not to make any assurances or reference the golden trophy, but it’s clear he has a long-term vision in mind.
In truth, so does everyone. Even Farrell and Ireland. Like it or not, the World Cup matters more than anything else in rugby. It just does. A British & Irish Lions series is a close second, but that is because it is likewise a rare event. Yearly contests will never carry the same weight. Scarcity has a quality on its own.
So, rather than downplay the World Cup, Irish supporters might hold their team to a higher standard and demand an end product to their sustained excellence. One should always find joy in what is a remarkable team operating at the highest level, but ask yourself, Irish fans, how many grand slams and away wins in France would you trade for a single World Cup?
South Africa has won just one Rugby Championship since 2012. Before that they were the least successful team in the Tri-Nations, collecting the wooden spoon 10 times from 16 attempts. Apart from a rare dynastic Bulls side that claimed three Super Rugby crowns from 2007-10, only the Stormers in the URC have won a cross-continent club competition in almost three decades of professionalism.
And yet, despite this record, the Springboks are the most dominant men’s Test side with four World Cups. What’s more, not a single South African supporter would trade any of those crowns for any other title. Victory is an intoxicating drug. But some highs are better than others.
Comments on RugbyPass
Why cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
31 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
4 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 Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 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!😭😭😭 !!!
31 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
31 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.
31 Go to comments