Gaeilge á Labhairt ag an Leon

Agus an Spailpín Fánach ina stócach agus gan mórán le déanamh aige, léinn cuid maith dírbheathaisnéisí imreoirí rugbaí na Breataine Bige. Bhí roinnt maith acu i leabharlann Bhéil an Átha i rith m'óige agus léigh mé gach uile ceann acu - Barry John, Mervyn Davies, Gareth Edwards, Gerald Davies. Thit mé ar leabhar JPR Williams i síopaleabhair cáiliúil ar an dTrá Fhada, California, Meiriceá, bliain nó dó ó shin agus tá sé ar an seilf agam anois.

Rud amháin a chur isteach orm maidir le ré glórmhar rugbaí na Breataine Bige ins na seachtóidí ná chomh tírghrách agus a bhídís. Scríobhadar chomh minic faoin rud seo hwyl, saghas paiseanta catha atá ag an gcíne na Breataine Bige, agus acusan amháin.

Chomh maith le sin, scríobh siad go labhraídís sa mBreatnais ag an sínte amach chun dallamullóg a chur ar an sean-namhad. Bhí a dteanga féin an-tábhachtach le cúpla duine acu - Ray Gravell, go dtuga Dia trócaire air, mar shampla - agus ba chúis mór bhróid acu go raibh a dteanga féin acu.

Tháinig sé sin ar áis im'intinn inne nuair a léigh mé go raibh Lúc Mac Gearailt chun tosú ar an gcliathán leis na Leoin i gcoinne na Afraice Theas amárach. Mar is Gaeilgeoir é an Gearaltach, atá go minic ag labhairt le Seán Bán ar Raidió na Gaeltachta nó ar TG4, agus ba chóir dúinn bheith bródúil as.

Is ait an rud é Gaeilge a chloisteáil i gcanúint láidir Bleá Cliath 4, ach is cuma go deo. Níl fios ag duine cad í fíor-chanúint na Gaeilge ar aon scéal. Léigh mé agallamh leis an nGearaltach roimh an dturas agus dúirt sé go raibh an Ghaeilge agus an tír ana-mhór do agus dá athair, Des, a chaitheadh geansaí glas na hÉireann ina aimsir féin. Táid beirt ag déanamh an iarracht, agus sin é an rud is tábhachtaí.

Beidh brú mór ar na Leoin amárach, thús i sléibhte ceartlár na hAfraice Theas. Bhí an t-ádh dearg acu nár rinneadh scrios orthu sa gcéad cluiche agus, mura dtiocfadh fir ionadaí na hAfraice Theas isteach tar éis an chéad uair, seans go gcuirfí faoin bhfód iad chomh dona nach bhfeicfidís solas na gréine arís ar an dturas. Ach ní chuireadh, agus táid beo fós.

Is dócha go mbeidh an lá ag Die Bokke agus má bheidh, ní nach ionadh é mar is foireann go sár-mhaith iad, go h-áirithe suas 'sna tosaithe agus sár-imreoirí acu dá chuid du Plessis, Botha, Matfield agus Burger. Ach beidh seachtar nGael ag caitheamh na geansaí dearga cáiliúla ar an Sathairn, agus fios ag ceann acu nár chóir bacaigh le mac an bhacaigh. Go n-éirí leis agus leo. Nócha a naoi, a bhuachaillí, nócha a naoi!





Technorati Tags: Gaeilge, spórt, rugbaí, Leoin na Breataine, Springboks

O'Connell's Steam Engine: Emulating McBride in South Africa

Lions coach Ian McGeechan sprung more than one surprise when he named his thirty-seven man panel for the upcoming tour to South Africa at Heathrow this morning.

There are fourteen Irishmen on the squad, more than Ireland have ever had before, and Paul O’Connell has been named captain. It’s thirty-five years since O’Connell’s legendary predecessor for the Lions and Ireland, Ballymena’s Willie John McBride, captained the most successful Lions tour of all time, also in South Africa, in 1974. History repeating would be very welcome indeed.

The biggest shocks in McGeechan’s panel are the naming of two men who had no part at all in Ireland’s Grand Slam win, Limerick’s Keith Earls and Tipperary’s Alan Quinlan, but it would be the bitter, bitter heart that would begrudge either man his moment.

Both men are at opposite ends of the their careers, Earls just starting out but the son of a father whom many consider would have played many times for Ireland had he not made the crucial mistake of being born on the wrong side of the tracks, and the stalwart Quinlan, who has been so often left out of Ireland selections for so long. Many glasses will be raised to those men tonight, and I hope the porter is sweet.

McGeechan’s selection of O’Connell as his captain, and such flinty forwards as Quinlan and England’s Simon Shaw, would indicate that McGeehan has no intention of letting the side get bullied in the trenches by Die Bokke. It is unlikely that the infamous 99 call will be heard on the high veldt this time around, but its spirit remains.

One of the many heartening things about the upcoming tour is the return to traditional Lions virtues after the all-too-predictable horrors of New Zealand in 2005. Sir Clive brought 45 players four years ago but clearly had decided his starting XV long before they set foot in New Zealand. The rest were only ever window dressing.

McGeehan seems much more likely to let the team evolve in the six games before the first test in Durban on June 20th. Someone once described Lions tours as a cross between a school tour and a medieval crusade; if McGeehan and co can capture that buccaneering spirit than the chances are good for a record third win in South Africa against the two time and reigning World Champion Springboks.

Ironically, considering the rich history of the Lions at half-back, it is at the pivot that the Lions will be most vulnerable. Mike Phillips is the most likely contender to wear 9, and a man who cannot but remind the Springboks of their own Joost van der Westhuizen in stature and attitude, but it is hard not to be nervous looking at the back up options. Twelve years ago Matt Dawson came from nowhere to become one of the stars of the tour in the best Lions tradition; could Tomás O’Leary or Harry Ellis step up to the same degree if anything happens to Phillips?

The Lions biggest concern is at out-half. Steven Jones and Ronan O’Gara are seasoned professionals playing a professional game but, compared to the great Lions 10s of the past, Campbell, Bennett, the immortal, imperious Barry John, Kyle and Morgan of the fifties – well, it’s hard to see them quite matching up. Once the forwards have gone toe to toe with Bakkies Botha and won the ball off him, there is still then the question of what to do with the thing. The Lions have always been about running rugby; everybody plays a variation of total rugby football now, but it would be a shame if the Lions were to lose that cavalier spirit that made the jersey so famous, even though they only ever won three tours in 27 attempts.

James Hook of Wales and Danny Cipriani of England were the up and coming men with the potential to come alive on a Lions tour, the single greatest stage in World rugby with all due respect to the French, but neither of them have made the cut. It’s a source of concern, but not one that undoes the daring selection of McGeehan or the flutter of anticipation at the prospect of the Lions taking on the Springboks under African skies. Roll on tour, roll on.





Technorati Tags: sport, rugby, Lions, South Africa, Springboks, Paul O'Connell, Willie John McBride