Former Ireland international hooker Shane Byrne talks to JOE about Ireland’s Six Nations campaign so far, waiting and waiting for his first international cap and of course, THAT haircut.
There won’t be many people that remember an uninspiring friendly victory for Ireland over Romania in Bucharest in June 2001, but it will have stuck in the memory for a couple of reasons. Fair-weather Irish supporters, for example, may have found themselves wondering who was the new fella with the long hair that came on as replacement hooker?
That new fella happened to be 29-year old Shane Byrne, who was finally making his debut for his country having been involved in Irish squads since the pre-professional era. Byrne went on to win 41 caps for Ireland as Eddie O’Sullivan’s side became a major force at the start of the new millennium.
He played a key role in Ireland’s first Triple Crown triumph in 19 years in 2004 and was selected for the ultimately disastrous Lions tour of New Zealand in 2005. Byrne then spent two years at Saracens before retiring from professional rugby in 2007.
At 40 years young, however, he’s still lining out for his local club Arklow and is busy preparing himself to captain the Irish legends against their English counterparts on Friday week.
We caught up with Shane for a chat earlier this week, when he talked to us about Ireland’s performances in the Six Nations so far, his long wait for an Irish cap and why he’ll never get rid of the mullet.
JOE: So Shane, have you been impressed with Ireland’s performances in the Six Nations so far?
Shane Byrne: I can’t really say I’ve been impressed, while we have been doing a lot of things right, the errors Ireland have been making and the high penalty count have been annoying. Another thing that I would be concerned about is that we seemed to have abandoned the style of play that we played against Italy and France when Jonathan Sexton played at ten.
And obviously there’s the hair thing as well. There were several times where I was told to get it cut and I said no and then I’d be dropped the next day.
We were keeping the ball in hand against France and Italy and although we made mistakes at times, we beat France by three tries to one which on any other day would have been more than enough to win.
In fairness to Rog (Ronan O’Gara), he was magnificent against Scotland and there’s no reason why he can’t play the new style as well, but it will be interesting to see whether Ireland have just pressed the pause button on this style of play or whether they will abandon it altogether. I think that, with the players Ireland have, it’s the game we should be playing going forward.
JOE: The penalty count and the lineout have been particular bones of contention, as a former hooker yourself and being familiar with the breakdown can you put your finger on what’s going wrong in those areas?
SB: A lot to do with the lineout is calling. The execution can be perfect and the throw can be perfect, but if the opposition have read it, there’s nothing you can do about it. Therefore, you have to be smart with your calling to get it away from where the opposition is strongest and that’s the key.
Sometimes they are bad and sometimes they are good, but in the lineout that’s just practice and being smart in your research. We have a very good lineout and some very good players to throw it to, so I wouldn’t take that as a big, big problem.
Mismatch: Shane can do little to prevent Doug Howlett from touching down during the first test of the 2005 Lions tour
Discipline obviously is. It’s something that can creep up on a team and really all of a sudden be an issue for no real reason. The teams that give penalties away habitually are usually ones with a poor defence and they don’t trust their defence, so therefore they try anything to stop the ball. But Ireland’s defence is very good, so it’s just something that’s become endemic in the side.
The only way to get rid of it really, and Brian O’Driscoll alluded to it after the Scotland game, is by getting the message out there that you can’t play for Ireland if you’re going to give away these silly penalties, and maybe one day, they are going to give players the chop.
Guys need to have a voice in the back of their head, saying ‘I can’t give away all these penalties and if I keep doing it, I might get into trouble or worse, dropped’. If they feel there are no repercussions, they’ll just do it because some of the daft penalties that were given away the last day were absolutely insane.
JOE: Do you think we can win this weekend against Wales and would you be worried about what they can bring to the table?
SB: Yeah, I think we can win. I wouldn’t be particularly worried about Wales, if Ireland don’t win on Saturday they’ll only have themselves to blame. I think we’re a better side than they are and if we reduce our penalty count, I think we should get over the line. Playing in Cardiff will give Wales an advantage, but if Ireland are on top of their game, they should be fine.
JOE: On the basis of these performances, would you be worried or encouraged about Ireland’s prospects in the World Cup later this year?
SB: In an ironic way, if we don’t shine in the Six Nations it will probably do us the world of good going into the World Cup. The last time, we went into the World Cup as one of the favourites, one of the teams to watch and I don’t think we coped well with it.
There’s no way of knowing how it will work, we might go in against Wales and end up winning the Triple Crown. But a poor Six Nations will probably do us good. I think it will do the lads the world of good just to concentrate on themselves for a while without having to worry about anything else and worry about expectations.
Shane on Leinster, his Irish career and his famous mullet
JOE: Are you still involved in rugby these days?
SB: I’m still playing would you believe. I’m playing with Arklow and I’m still enjoying it to be honest, it’s great to be able to help out. I mightn’t be as fit as I used to and I’m getting on in years, but I still do what I can. I don’t know how many years I have left, I suppose they do say age is only a number alright, but my waistline is also a number and that’s getting on as the years go by as well!
JOE: Looking back on your career, you were something of a late developer. Were you ever worried that you mightn’t get your chance with Ireland?
SB: I got in the squad in ‘93 and I basically wallowed and sat on the bench. I sat on the bench I don’t know how many times, I was on tours all over the place and never got capped. And it wasn’t until 2001 when I eventually got capped.
Towards the end of the ’90s, I was definitely getting concerned. It was just obvious that they weren’t picking me, they were basically leapfrogging me with anyone at all, no matter how good or bad I was playing, so that just seemed irrelevant.
Still got it: Shane in action for Blackrock in 2009
It wasn’t that I was playing brilliantly all that time either, but there were times I thought maybe I could have got a chance. And obviously there’s the hair thing as well, there were several times where I was told to get it cut and I said no and then I’d be dropped the next day.
So there were a few times towards the end where I thought ‘Why didn’t I flipping get my haircut?’ Thankfully it all worked out in the end.
JOE: And how about the GAA – I believe you made a comeback for Aughrim after finishing your rugby career – how did that go for you? Were you much of a GAA player?
SB: I come from a GAA background, my family would be steeped in Gaelic Football and Hurling, I knew nothing of rugby until I went to school in Dublin. So I played a lot when I was younger and I had always told them that I’d come back. When I did eventually come back, I’m not sure if my skills set suited the game exactly, but I coped alright with the physical side!
Oddly enough, I found that I was good under a high ball, so I went in full forward and I told them to lob it into me. I promised that if I wasn’t going to win it, I would at least break the ball or stop the defenders around me from winning it. I’m not playing any more, but I did enjoy it when I went back to it alright.
JOE: As a former Leinster player, you must be impressed with what they’re doing at the moment?
SB: They’re really on top of their game right now; they’re playing a brand of rugby that’s absolutely brilliant to watch. They’re one of the favourites for the Heineken Cup at this stage and to be honest, if they are on top of their game for the rest of the season, I can’t see any side beating them.
Guys need to have a voice in the back of their head, saying ‘I can’t give away all these penalties and if I keep doing it, I might get into trouble or worse, dropped’.
Normally, when a season is going well for a side, one or two main players stand out, but there seems to be a lot more than that doing the business for Leinster, even though you’d have to say that Sean O’Brien has stood out a little more than the rest. As I said, I think they’ll be extremely tough to beat and they’ll be in with a great chance of winning the Heineken Cup later this season.
They’ve tied down the likes of Sean O’Brien, Jonny Sexton and Jamie Heaslip for the next few years and it’s a good time to tie them down rather than to be worrying about their futures after the World Cup. The academy structures at the province are top notch and there are some really good players coming through which bodes well for the future.
JOE: Looking back over your career, what would you say was your biggest achievement in rugby?
SB: It’s hard to say what my biggest achievement was really, it hasn’t been that long since I retired so maybe I need a bit more time to reflect and look back.
Shane shows his funny side by featuring in the hilarious video for the song Rugby by Dead Cat Bounce.
For Ireland, we had many great days. Beating England at Twickenham when they were world champions stands out, as does beating Australia (in 2002), but I suppose if I was to pick out anything, it would be making the Lions tour in 2005 up until the first test because you have to be selected in order to make it an achievement.
That test turned out to be a disaster, it was the type of thing you’d wake up in your bed screaming about, but to be selected in the first place was a pretty big honour.
JOE: Finally Shane, I have to ask you about the famous mullet. How much maintenance does it take to keep it – is it a case of hours in front of the mirror every morning?
SB: Anyone that knows me knows that that’s not the case, there’s very little maintenance to it at all. I just don’t like short hair; I’d grow it down to my ass if the wife would let me. I’m well aware that I’m not making a fashion statement of any kind, but I’m happy with it and it suits me fine.
JOE: Will you ever get rid of it?
SB: Are you joking? If I didn’t get rid of it when I was getting all the attention for it during my career, I’m hardly going to do it now!
Shane will captain the Irish legends team against England on Friday 18 March at Donnybrook. For more information on that game, click here.
O2, official sponsor of the Irish rugby team, is calling on all supporters to get involved in their ‘Be the Difference’ campaign as the Irish rugby team compete in the 2011 6 Nations Championship. This year, O2 want the supporters to bring back the Roar to Aviva Stadium. So, whether your Roar is a ‘heave’ or ‘come on Ireland’, or something completely different, O2 are giving supporters the opportunity to show their passion, add to the magic of the atmosphere, and truly get behind the team.
Supporters will be able to upload their Roar at www.bethedifference.ie where it will be featured as part of a supporter’s sound wave. The best Roars as selected by the team will be featured on the big screen at Aviva Stadium before the France and England games.
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