The finest, funniest and most memorable rugby quotes of 2023
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Planet Rugby continues to round up 2023 as we put together the finest, funniest and most memorable quips, remarks and outbursts in rugby this past year.
It was a Rugby World Cup year so, unsurprisingly, most of our quotes are taken from that tournament. How many can you recall from the global showpiece, Six Nations, Rugby Championship and more?
Rugby quotes from 2023
“The way that they have been behind us from the beginning. There’s so much that’s going wrong with our country, we are basically the last line of defence. There are so many people who come from where I come from who are in hopeless (situations). There’s so much division in the country, but we show, as people with different backgrounds, that it is possible to work together in South Africa, not just on the rugby field but in life in general.” – (Springboks captain Siya Kolisi following their win over the All Blacks in the World Cup Final in Paris).
“I love this negativity; it’s fantastic. I love it, love it; keep going, keep going, keep going, keep going, keep going. You ought to give yourselves uppercuts.” (Former Wallabies head coach Eddie Jones told journalists in his last interview in Australia before the squad boarded a plane for the Rugby World Cup).
“Sport can be cruel sometimes – I guess that’s why we love it.” (Ireland head coach Andy Farrell after his team’s World Cup quarter-final loss to New Zealand).
All Blacks quietly confident
“Keep us under the radar a little bit longer. We’re trying to build something that gets us where we want to be. We’ve made the point earlier that we feel the best way to prepare for the big stage is to prepare for the big stage every week. And that’s what we’ve had to learn. We know that we had some growing up to do as a team, coming into this year. And so far we’ve taken three pretty strong steps forward, which we’re pretty proud of. But I’m not sure it’s quite enough just yet.” (All Blacks head coach Ian Foster after guiding his team to their third successive Rugby Championship title).
“I’m gonna miss walking up the stairs to the coaches’ box before a Test. There’s something about taking your seat and watching the All Blacks play and, believe it or not, I love that. After that it’s the people. Full stop. It’s seeing young men grow and be put under the same pressure that I get put under and learning how to deal with that.” (Foster on what he’ll miss the most about his job after the All Blacks’ World Cup Final loss to the Boks).
“There is still a fear factor in the England players, a legacy of the Eddie Jones era that will take time for Borthwick to eradicate.” (Sir Clive Woodward wrote in a column for the Daily Mail after they lost to Scotland in the Six Nations).
“It would be easy to put the boot into Steve Borthwick. But this France humiliation is not the fault of the new England head coach. The result merely shows that the Eddie Jones regime led English rugby into big, big trouble in the last three years, with a few one-off wins papering over the cracks.” (Woodward wrote after England’s Six Nations defeat to France).
“We’ll be scarred for life and that’s part of our journey. We’ve all been through a kind of introspection, first personally and then collectively, about what we’ve been through.” (France head coach Fabien Galthie told Reuters that he is still finding it difficult to come to terms with their World Cup quarter-final defeat to South Africa).
“It’s a job that comes with a huge amount of responsibility, but I’m excited by the opportunity to make a contribution to the legacy of the black jersey. To represent your country, as a coach or player, is the ultimate honour in sport and it’s humbling to be given that opportunity. I can’t wait.” (Scott Robertson after it was announced in March that he would take over the All Blacks’ coaching reins following the World Cup).
“A lot of things have happened back home. I have felt for Ian Foster and the way that he is not coming back next year. It’s not something we usually do. Now we have got to this stage you see everyone is trying to clamber back onto the bandwagon. Obviously Fozzy (Ian Foster) was going to get us there and he’s got a lot of good people around him.” (Former All Blacks captain Tana Umaga told the official Rugby World Cup podcast after New Zealand’s epic quarter-final victory over Ireland).
“Abuse in any form is never okay. Unfortunately, as a union referee at the highest level, I have had to accept and grow accustomed to the post-match vitriol that fans normalise post game. It’s a sad reality that it doesn’t affect me anymore, but that doesn’t mean it’s ok. I think back to the Europa League final referee walking through the airport and his family getting chairs thrown at them. I hope my family is never subjected to this but the direction some fans are going now in rugby, I know we are closer than we have ever been. This is one of many recent examples when someone has crossed the line towards a match official in rugby.” (Referee Ben O’Keeffe on the extent of the abuse he received after officiating in the Super Rugby Pacific final between the Chiefs and Crusaders).
“When people make threats against your wife and kids, they should be held to account and punished. If you’re a fan at your local rugby club and you’re sending vile messages to people’s families and making threats, why should you be able to be involved in the rugby family? The bit I’ve always struggled with and will continue to struggle with is when that abuse comes to my family. I want prosecuting agencies to consider ways of doing that, I want legislation of what social media sites can do to prevent it, and I also want governing bodies to consider what they can do.” (World Cup Final referee Wayne Barnes saying he hopes authorities can find ways of dealing with trolls who send abuse over social media, via the BBC).
“I haven’t checked my phone yet. I’ve no idea! Ask him. I’m not sure we’re talking to each other after the European Cup final. No, I’m sure he will.” (Johnny Sexton when asked if Ronan O’Gara had congratulated him after breaking his long-standing Test points record for Ireland during their World Cup pool game against Tonga).
“I think my little boy will be over the moon, he was talking about it during the week and it probably means more to him. He’ll chase it down now!” (Sexton saying that record means more to his son than to him).
“I didn’t feel much. This record lasted for [18] years and I was shocked that it lasted that long. The only way for me to keep this record would have been if Johnny had retired. But when he decided to play on until the World Cup, it was obvious that he was going to break the record.” (O’Gara’s response when asked how he felt after Sexton broke the record).
“Gone are the days when the referee has control of the game in rugby. The problem is the way that we’re controlling the game, it’s being refereed in replay. It’s time to sack the TMO, get rid of it out of our game, other than when the referee asks ‘is there any reason why I can’t award this try or is there any reason why I should award this try’.” (Former All Blacks coach Steve Hansen told The Breakdown in reference to the TMO’s increased influence during the World Cup final).
Is it a bird? Is it a plane?
“I think it definitely helped that I played with Thomas for six years and knew what he was doing. I did everything by the book and within the rules. I was behind the line before he started his run.” (Springbok wing Cheslin Kolbe told Netwerk24 after he charged down France full-back and former Toulouse team-mate Thomas Ramos’ conversion attempt in their World Cup quarter-final).
“We’re all out for dinner on day one, I’m sitting at the end of the table and Eddie (Jones) comes and sits next to me. The first words out of his mouth are, ‘Mate, doesn’t Kirsty Gallacher live around here? Haven’t you shagged her? What’s she like?’ “I’ve just split up with Kirsty, after a short relationship, and it’s not something I want to talk to my head coach about, or anyone else for that matter. Eddie keeps pecking, like a horny teenager, and in the end I tell him straight, ‘Eddie, I don’t want to talk about this, it’s making me uncomfortable.’” (Former England fly-half Danny Cipriani said in his autobiography, Who am I?).
“It’s just f***ing nonsense. If anyone is stupid enough to pay attention to it then good luck to them. That’s hardly the sort of language I would use. It’s not how I speak to players. In all the years I’ve coached, there would be very few conversations like that with players. It’s not to say I haven’t had a conversation like that, but there would have been very few – and certainly not with Cipriani.” (Jones’ response to Cipriani’s claim).
“Sir, sir, if their hooker calls me a white c***, what do I do?” (England flanker Tom Curry to referee Ben O’Keefe during their World Cup semi-final loss to South Africa).
“Dupont is probably in the best form of any scrum-half I have seen. His ability to flick the switch from defence to attack is sensational, really. They have got players across the board that if you allow them time and space, they can make an afternoon very difficult, as we saw at Twickenham. He is deceptively strong, and he has this ability to get out of situations in which you think you have cornered him. Suddenly there is an off-load, and the French get into their flow. He is quite remarkable, and his skill set is phenomenal. I suppose Dan Carter, in his prime with the All Blacks, had a similar influence on games.” (Wales assistant coach Alex King on France captain and scrum-half Antoine Dupont ahead of the Six Nations Test in Paris).
“I am very powerful but I do not yet control the weather. It is a bit above my pay grade.” (Argentina head coach Michael Cheika when asked if he wanted rain ahead of his team’s Rugby World Cup semi-final against New Zealand).
“Don’t be rude to me, there’s no need to be rude to me.” (Saracens captain Owen Farrell told referee Luke Pearce during a Premiership match against Bristol Bears).
“I made a little joke saying ‘you know they’ve got the ‘Bomb Squad’, so we could have the ‘Easy Company’.” (New Zealand flanker Dalton Papali’i speaking ahead of the World Cup Final on the All Blacks’ bench’s nickname to rival the more familiar one given to the Springboks’ replacements).
“It was incredible, wasn’t it? It reminded me of when, for everybody of a certain age, you played Jonah Lomu Rugby, and suddenly one person can go quicker.” (Scotland coach Gregor Townsend’s on Duhan van der Merwe’s try in their Six Nations triumph over England).
Unhappy hooker
“A loss in a quarter-final, tears running down your face, that’s a feeling you never want to feel again.” (Wales hooker and co-captain Dewi Lake following their World Cup exit against Argentina).
“This won’t sink in for a long time, they won’t realise it. There is no other team has done this, six games away from home. And no one will ever do it again. But we will find a hard way to do it next time!” (Munster head coach Graham Rowntree following their win over the Stormers in the United Rugby Championship final in Cape Town).
“You have to see things in perspective. Handre Pollard is not Superman.” (South Africa director of rugby Rassie Erasmus on Pollard’s call up to the Boks’ World Cup squad while fellow fly-half Manie Libbok was struggling with his goa-kicking).
“He’s got real BMT [big-match temperament], a big set of nuts on him and plays pressure situations really well.” (Springbok front-row Steven Kitshoff on fly-half Pollard slotting the match-winning penalty in the dying moments of their World Cup semi-final win over England).
“I’m a big believer in the proof is in the pudding and what is his proof? His proof is he’s been fired, sacked from England in the last few years. He’s burned a lot of bridges. I actually feel sorry for Japan that they believe this guy is gonna take them somewhere where his track record shows that he hasn’t been able to do. It seems like he’s a little bit out of touch with what’s going on. I guess I’m just speaking from an ex-player’s point of view. I could never believe in someone that I knew was pretty much full of crap.” (Former All Blacks centre Sonny Bill Williams told Nine’s Wide World of Sports in reaction to Eddie Jones being named as Japan’s new coach).