If CJ Stander had a Limerick accent, after breaking 50 caps inside six seasons, he’d be the first living soul to be canonised by the IRFU. A bronze sculptor outside Thomond Park would already be in the works.
Stander made the three-year residency project a genuine success. Bundee Aki played his part but without CJ’s consistency it would have been deemed a failure. That alone is some legacy.
But there is more to him than that. The recruitment strategy that brought him from Pretoria to Munster is over now, ended quite abruptly by a family decision that once again proves there is no place like home.
Stander’s imminent retirement changes Irish preparations for England on Saturday. If handled correctly, it can energise the pack to reach a standard not seen since 2018.
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This week the plan was to write another column about Ireland’s technical shortcomings, explaining how incremental improvements in attack against Scotland were offset by more porous defending. The lack of a second play maker was also back on the agenda. It would have been a long-winded essay to explain how England will win in Dublin.
Stander’s announcement yesterday offers the Ireland management an opportunity to hone in on the battles either side of the ball. If others follow CJ Stander into every collision on the Munster man’s 51st and final game for Ireland, then the heart will lead the head one more time.
The lockdown has made many people reassess what is really important to them. It made Stander reassess a career in Ireland that keeps him away from his young family.
Getting paid to play rugby is not indefinite. The automatic assumption is that you play for as long as possible. It is refreshing to see a player step away when they are ready, and with no regrets. I remember Denis Hickie retiring after the 2007 World Cup. He was 31. Most people cannot understand why someone would walk away at the peak of their powers but the end of one career is only the start of the next one.
Stander’s return home was inevitable, but we did not expect it until after the 2023 World Cup. The IRFU attempted to re-sign him for a few more seasons – he is only 30 – but in a lovely reflection on Stander’s character, he is honouring a promise he made to his family rather than pursuing short term financial comfort or personal gratification.
Stander’s power – which is only comparable to Seán O’Brien in Ireland’s backrow history – and weekly refusal to cry off with injury would have ensured his selection even if Gavin Coombes and Caelan Doris reach full potential in the next 18 months.
Stand and fight
The green jersey will never see the likes of CJ again because the updated residency laws have done exactly what they were designed to do: stop the recruitment of foreign players in their droves. He leaves a footprint that cannot be replicated but it can be imitated; Munster’s foreign player policy needs to reflect the character as much as the talent. Damien De Allende is a case in point.
Putting all that aside, Stander’s retirement letter on a Tuesday before England reappear at the Aviva stadium for the first time since their seminal victory in February 2019, reads like a promise to stand and fight.
I do wonder if Stander is starting a trend. Play your rugby, earn enough to give you a good footing in life, but hop off the carousel before it fries your brain
Lansdowne Road could be transformed into a field hospital. The English must be delighted to hear that the Irish have stumbled onto a cause. Maro Itoje and friends want nothing more than another battle for the gainline.
It should mean, above all else, that an Andy Farrell coached side with Stander pulling on the shirt one last time, will demand a confrontational approach similar to what has led to England dominating the fixture since this exact date in 2018.
Happy St Patrick’s Day.
The fairy-tale ending for Stander would have him starting for the Lions in the third and decisive Test against South Africa at the Aviva stadium in July. The last part of this dream cannot happen due to the vaccine rollout. Twickenham would suffice.
Farrell must be tempted to bring Peter O’Mahony straight into the backrow. If passion is to override all other strategies then Pete is the only man for the job. All of a sudden physicality is everything this weekend. Ireland need an early lead to cope with an 80-minute onslaught.
I cannot think of a better way to send Stander on his way. Well, Munster winning two trophies would be a perfect send off.
That’s how you bookend one of the most impressive Ireland rugby careers. CJ has been central to all the great days since 2016. He was savage in Chicago when New Zealand were finally beaten. He scored that try at Twickenham to help secure the Grand Slam.
Still only 30, maybe the rugby itch will need to be scratched, but I suspect that will be done in sunnier climes.
Stander’s durability does not make him immune to a lifetime of creaking limbs. Maybe he feels the need to get out while the body still functions like it should. He certainly owes nothing to nobody in the Ireland squad or Munster. His loyalty is beyond reproach.
Unquenchable desire
As far as links in the chain and the whole cliché of leaving the jersey in as good a state as you found it, the Stander years will outweigh any criticism. The issue with him tended to be a side-effect of his unquenchable desire to overpower the opposition. In the tradition of Paul O’Connell, Stander carried ball when others were unwilling or physically unable.
Convincing him to leave the Blue Bulls in 2012 really was a coup by Munster. In the land of giants they saw an out-of-position hooker. The 22-year-old was insulted by the height and size jibes so he moved north, where his drive and determination were harnessed by Munster and eventually Ireland.
He instantly became a Munster man. He captained the province through a dark period. He led when others went missing. He never took a backward step. Not once.
The term mercenary can never be scribbled beside CJ Stander’s name. He cared deeply about the red jersey. He played too hard for such a word to follow him into the future.
I do wonder if Stander is starting a trend. Play your rugby, earn enough to give you a good footing in life, but hop off the carousel before it fries your brain. Of all the current players in the Six Nations, Stander has all the traits, including a spotless injury profile, to keep trucking for another five, six years.
Easily. I spent a third of my career injured. I do not remember CJ being out for a long period. When you work that out, he effectively squeezed a 15-year career into nine seasons. In that sense, he is one of the most valuable players ever to play for Ireland.
He heads home to do something different, or perhaps to do something familiar.
No such luxury
Jared Payne was afforded no such luxury. The gifted New Zealander’s career was ended by traumatic brain injury sustained on the 2017 Lions tour of his own country. Ulster made use of his rare ability to defend the perilous outside centre channel with a coaching role. He’s still only 35. Until the warm up before Ireland faced England in 2017, Jamie Heaslip looked like he would go on forever.
Enough motivational tools have risen to the surface to overcome an English team that has bullied and bettered Ireland since March 17th, 2018
In pro rugby eventually you need to pay the ferryman. The concussion stories, the early onset of dementia, being forced to go under the knife for corrective surgery on a mangled shoulder so you can carry your infant child, needing both hands to stand up from the dinner table, are just some of the issues that pursue rugby players into their forties and beyond.
Stander is walking away at 31, his brain intact, with some beautiful memories and a few quid in the bank, so I ask you: would you blame him?
Durable, and unbelievably game, he deserves to pass on the Ireland jersey with a victory on Saturday. Johnny Sexton has also spoken about his time nearly being up.
Enough motivational tools have risen to the surface to overcome an English team that has bullied and bettered Ireland since March 17th, 2018.
Before Stander’s announcement I would have backed an English victory. Now, I am not so sure. If Ireland start like they did in Murrayfield, attacking the short side with a reliance on Sexton at first receiver superseded by accurate ball handling, all that English momentum created by Itoje’s try against France will turn into pressure.
I cannot see this happening without O’Mahony. Nor with the same backline. Chris Farrell, Jacob Stockdale and Andrew Conway would bring real energy and shore up the defensive frailties Scotland exposed. Farrell’s selection policy is under review.
Grab hold of this rare feeling. Do not play for CJ, but play like CJ and see how England copes with Ireland rather than the other way around.
