Tag Archives: retro rugby

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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!

For the weekend that’s nearly in it.

Saturday, October 18, 1980.

Romania gripped by Ceausescu’s austerity policy sent her rugby team to Dublin… to make a good impression.

Kevin Myers wrote in the following Monday’s Irish Times:

“They’re playing very dangerously,” said a woman in the grandstand amid the tinted glasses, fur coats and the havanas, as the Rumanians passed the ball within their own goal area, each looking at it like it was a wrongly addressed letter..

..The crowd applauded the visitors warmly, perhaps an indication of a wish for them to enter the International Championship. If they do, it must be RTÉ commentators’ devoutest hope that the Rumanian winger Fuicu, changes his name or is dropped.

Ho, dear me, rugger rout not to hand.

Final score: Ireland 13 Romania 13

match programme stub

For the weekend that’s in it.

Saturday, February 2nd, 1980.

Ireland faced Scotland off the back of a whipping from her old master.

Ballerina-footed Ollie Campbell and the greased ferret like elusiveness of Colin Patterson lead the charge, backed by southern musclemen, Donal Spring and first-time in green try scorer Moss Keane.

Niall Kiely wrote in the following Monday’s Irish Times:

Our resident Scotsman in a busy restaurant came from Troon, and named, inevitably one-felt, Brown. He had found problems to transcend the day’s woes, one of which led him to beseech every woman present for a needle and thread – a terrace scrimmage had seen him split his only pair of trousers – yet further tragedy stalked in that he had belatedly discovered that Galway , where he wanted to visit an old flame, was not a suburb of Dublin.

Och!

Previously: Giving It A McLash, 1985

Retro Rugby on Broadsheet

wales-ireland-1989 prog ticket stub

For the week that’s in it.

Saturday, February 4th, 1989.

It was the year the Hurricane blew away a young Stephen Hendry to win the Irish Masters Snooker Championship and Samuel Beckett passed away.

It was also the year a resurgent Ireland team traveled to the Cardiff Arms Park determined to banish the waning Welsh to a third successive defeat.

Noel Mannion’s block, clutch and gut-bursting carry paved the way.

Eileen Battersby wrote in the following Monday’s Irish Times:

Noel Mannion, grabbed the ball inside his own half and with the grace of a stampeding dray horse, showed the Welsh backs – and the rest of Wales – exactly how serious their rugby problems are when he scored 70 yards later.

“What have things come to when they can’t catch a number eight?”, asked the shaken Welshman in the sheepskin coat.

Blue-dee Buh-real-ee-unt.

Previously: Bread Of Heaven

ireland1985

For the weekend that’s nearly in it.

Saturday, 19 January 30 March 1985.

Wee’ Barry McGuigan, Live Aid, and Optimus Prime dominated our thoughts.

When many young people were forced to roll up their sleeves. And go sockless. Such was the pernickety fashion of the time.

And Ireland’s second ‘Tripler’ of the ’80s was within kicking distance.

The earlier fixture, postponed by a flurry of snow, led to this Ireland team famously decamping to O’Donoghue’s of Merrion Row, Dublin for a session  St George-busting strategical think tank and wedgies.

It worked.

Irish coach Mick Doyle (top sitting far right) said:

“The lads were plucky, they wanted to win and it showed in the last 15 minutes, particularly in the way they tried to avoid doing the the expected things…”

Meanwhile, in the following Monday’s irish Times.

Rugby sage Edmund Van Esbeck was beside himself.

The strife is done now and the battle won: the tumult and the shouting have died away, the carnival is over but the memories will linger on.
Illustrious players and memorable matches have graced Lansdowne Road turf for well over a century now, but the happenings at this aristocratic among rugby grounds last Saturday will be indelibly etched into the history of the game and the minds of all 50,000 people who saw Ireland beat England by 13 points to 10. The prize for that victory is the Triple Crown and International Championship…

He’s no McGurk in fairness.

RUCK!

Previously: Cabbage Patch Kids 

Comin’ For To Carry Me Home

image

For the weekend that’s in it.

Saturday, 1st March, 1975.

In the centenary year of the Irish Rugby Football Union, once again, the Irish rugby team with its combination of a blatant shove in the back and a dribble up field spirit, skill and enterprise helped lift the island’s morale.

Amateur individuals subservient to the nation.

A double was on.

An almost giddy Edmund Van Esbeck wrote:

Exhilirating back movements, the deftness of the hands and the agility of the limbs of those who do their work in the tight, the ruck, the maul and the line-out. The essential ingredients were forthcoming this time that were so sadly lacking against Scotland

Meanwhile, in the crowd..

allezAllez what now?

Anyone??

Previously: Frogger, 1983

programmeticket

For the weekend that’s in it.

Saturday, December 31, 1988.

In the year Nelson Mandela is awarded the freedom of the City of Dublin in its millennium year and the Lotto went loive, It was also Italy’s first international appearance at full level against one of the home nations.

Little idea in the line-out, no concerted pattern in the ruck or maul and vulnerable in the extreme around the fringes of the scrum..

And that was just the Irish.

Edmund Van Esbeck wrote:

That was a frustrating exercise. There was absolutely nothing in that match to enrich the memory of the occasion. The manner and lack of quality in the Ireland performance was disturbing. There was very little to admire and basically nothing to encourage.

YIKES!

but we have Joe now.

Leinster2001CelticLeagueFinalticket stub

For the weekend that’s in it,

Horgan! D’Arcy! Cullen! O’Connell! O’Gara! O’Driscoll! Other People!

All locking horns in the Celtic League final at An Sean Bóthar Lansdún on 15 December, 2001.

Carnage ensued.

The Irish Times reported the following Monday:

“When we look back at this one it could turn out to be a seismic day. Rumours of Munster’s impending demise may be a tad premature, but notions of Leinster’s emergence as a real force in Irish and European rugby were confirmed by this memorable win. Hallelujah. Leinster have come of age…”

FIGHT!

Meanwhile..

poster prize

The spirit of Irish rugby by Retro Eire

Fancy this on your wall?

We have one, yes ONE print to give away.

Simply PREDICT the score of tomorrow’s game. That’s all.

Lines MUST close at 2.45pm. 4.45pm.

match programme

For the weekend that’s in it.

Saturday, 19 February, 1983.

Ireland led by original captain fantastic, Ciaran Fitzgerald, dragged his men back into a game they trailed. Despite missing six of his 11 kicks, Ollie Campbell was in otherwise sparkling form, Trevor Ringland ripped the leather pill from Patric Esteve on the line while Moss Finn did more than most with two tries to seal Ireland’s first win over the cheese eating surrender monkeys French in eight years.

Speaking to Niall Kiely (Irish Times) a belligerent Dubliner said:

“You know the difference between a culchie and a frog?..

It was 4:10 p.m. on Saturday, France were leading Ireland 16-15 and his fellow-jackeen, Oliver Homer Campbell, had nodded, missing five goal-kicks.

..at least the French go home.”

Meanwhile, in the crowd that day..Inspector Clouseau

unnamed

Bon times.

Previously: Le Ledgebag

Images: Irish Times Archive and Ebay

 

I82ticket

For the weekend that’s in it.

Saturday, 6 February, 1982.

Without a Triple Crown for 33 years, Ireland arrived in the allotment that was the then Twickenham having slayed the Welsh a fortnight previous.

Blind side lightening from MacNeill, balletic sleight of hands between Duggan and Slattery and the wrecking ballin’ Ginger McLoughlin.

Maeve Binchy writing in the Irish Times described the Irish invasion:

“FOR DAYS, they had been coming over. Plane loads of supporters, wrapped in scarves, full of hope and occasionally swinging a bottle of Baileys Irish Cream by the neck as a nice communal drink while on the hoof. The young ones came noisily, singing the first three lines of about 20 songs but not being able to finish any of them.”

On the dance floor in Zhivago’s that night? A toe tapper.

Images: Ebay

Extended Footage

 

Previously: Comin’ For To Carry Me Home