The moral victory, the gallant loss, the hammered heroes - these are things which we do well in Ireland, perhaps too well. Celebration in defeat is probably not a uniquely Irish trait, but it is something which we appear all too willing to embrace.
Last weekend's Challenge Cup quarter-final brought another defeat for an Irish side saluted as heroic. A late Jonathan Wisniewski drop goal saw Connacht lose by just the minimum in France despite tremendous endeavour.
The hailing of Connacht, despite defeat, has annoyed Ronan O'Gara. In his latest missive from France to the Irish Examiner, the Racing Metro coach decried the 'heroic loser' mentality of Irish sport.
Connacht’s demise wasn’t lost on me either. Saturday night in Grenoble was an horrendous game to lose. I had a Monday flick through the coverage at home. Brave Connacht. Thrilling Connacht. Really?
The heroic loser syndrome in Ireland must stop. It must change before we start achieving consistent success and stop operating on a “let’s take a scalp” basis. It’s like Ireland coming home after the quarter-finals of the World Cup to an airport welcome. Coming home as fallen heroes? Heaven help us.
O'Gara mitigates that raising this point now is harsh on Connacht but he also believes the lauding of the western province in defeat is patronising.
Connacht have been the surprise package of the Irish rugby season, no doubt about that. They go into tonight's interpro encounter with Munster at the Sportsground as slight favourites with the bookies, something rarely seen in the past. Also, Pat Lam's side are just five points behind Pro12 table toppers Leinster, with a game in hand.
Like O'Gara states, if Irish rugby - and all of Irish sport - is to see real success, our teams must start to recognise being in such positions as the norm rather than simply being content with having fleeting encounters with the fringes of glory.
Picture credit: Ramsey Cardy / SPORTSFILE
