13

Capture


For the weekend that will be in it.

Wednesday, October 20th, 1999.

The Stade Félix Bollaert, Lens.

A much fancied Irish team just had to show up and beat Los Pumas to secure a World Cup quarter-final place at Lansdowne Road. Guided by Warren Gatland and Donal Lenihan, they had, in fairness, steadied Irish rugby’s on-field fortunes.

Plucky tyke Brian O’Driscoll becoming evergreen in an Irish shirt even before he had broken through at Leinster.

Times were bon..

Donal Spring writing for the Irish Times said:

For this Irish squad, the 1999 World Cup is over before it really begins. We all knew that we were going to get to Lens and that we would meet our first genuine test there as we were always unlikely to beat Australia.

We have failed that test. In these days of public relations the message from the Irish camp was to go “where no Irish team had gone before in the World Cup”. They have achieved that distinction, but it is not quite what they had in mind..

We’ve been here before it would seem.

RUCK!

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11 thoughts on “Lens We Forget

    1. ReproBertie

      You’re not really in a minority. There’s a large number of people who seem to think that because they like soccer they have a duty to have a go at rugby at every available opportunity.

      1. JoeO

        Good stuff. Are we to host it sometime in the next 10 years or so? I think we are. I look forward to tri-lingual logos and headings on programmes: English, Irish and Ulster Scots.

  1. Eliot Rosewater

    Looking back through the previous world cups, is it fair to say that bar beating Australia in the last World Cup, we tend to go over, beat the minions, and bow out at the first sign of opposition? Thank god we didn’t get NZ this time.

    1. ReproBertie

      I’m ignoring Australia since you mentioned them so let’s look a little closer at other teams.
      Are Wales minnows? RWC 1995, pool stage, Ireland 24-23 Wales.
      Are Argentina minnows? RWC 2003, pool stage, Argentina 15-16 Ireland.
      Are France minnows? RWC2015, pool stage, France 9-24 Ireland.

      What is true is that up to this year Ireland have failed to win a quarter final.

      1. Eliot Rosewater

        Oh, sorry, I must have glossed over those three times when we beat teams that rankings suggested we should have beaten (except I think Wales was before ranking).

        All in all a fairly disappointing run whenever we’re expected to go against actual top class opponents. Hopefully we can break the duck and make it to the last four for the first time.

        We’ll always have the six nations, though.

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