Rieko Ioane, Johnny Sexton, Rassie Erasmus and Ilona Maher.
Planet Rugby continues to round up 2024 as we put together the finest, funniest and most memorable quips, remarks and outbursts in rugby this past year.
How many can you recall from the Six Nations, Rugby Championship, Olympic Games, Autumn Nations Series and more?
“There is a wealth of talent across Britain and Ireland, and I am looking forward to building a team that can deliver the ultimate goal of success in Australia.” (Andy Farrell after being appointed as the British & Irish Lions head coach for their tour of Australia in 2025).
“Just a little bit of philosophy on rugby, how it’s played. We just didn’t quite click in different aspects. There was no intent to get to this point where we are now. But we just believed for the both of us, the best thing for the All Black group is we make the call now. We went through a process, and we got to here.” (All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson explains the breakdown in his relationship with one of his assistants, Leon MacDonald who stepped down from his position after just five Tests).
“I was really out of my comfort zone, and was more nervous than playing a Test in front of 80,000 people. I now really feel part of the North-West University. They are my kind of people.” (Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus after receiving an honorary doctorate from North-West University).
“I want to say congratulations to coach Rassie, he really deserves it. He gave me my first contract when I was 18, so I have experienced everything that he has done. I was very naughty, and he guided me. For some reason he stuck with me, but said I can do so much more with my talent, but that I wasn’t using it. I wouldn’t be where I am without him, my family wouldn’t be where they are without him and my community wouldn’t be where they are without him. As a coach he made us play for South Africa, and not for ourselves. We are such a diverse country, but he made every single person in our group feel safe and heard. We are all indebted to him.” (Springboks captain Siya Kolisi congratulating Erasmus on his honorary doctorate).
The Johnny Sexton v Rieko Ioane feud
“So much for the All Blacks’ famous ‘no d***heads’ policy. So much for their humility. I walk after Ioane and call him a fake-humble f****r. It doesn’t look great, me having a go at one of them just after we’ve lost. But I can’t be expected to ignore that.” (An excerpt from Ireland legend Johnny Sexton‘s autobiography Obsessed on his reaction to an insult from New Zealand centre Rieko Ioane following the All Blacks’ Rugby World Cup quarter-final victory).
“Put that in the book.” (Ioane‘s reaction to Sexton on Instagram next to a photo of him leading the haka after the All Blacks beat Ireland in their Autumn Nations Series Test).
“The Haka needs binning. It’s ridiculous. It’s only any good when teams actually front it with some sort of reply. Like the league boys did last week.” (Former England and Harlequins prop Joe Marler in the build-up to the Red Rose’s Autumn Nations Series Test with the All Blacks).
“The haka for us is a custom – it is part of who we are, it’s our DNA. It is not just about the All Blacks, it is about us as a country. It means a lot to us.” (All Blacks head coach Robertson‘s response to Marler’s comments).
“As the Olympics officially start today, I want you to take a look at all the different body types on display. All body types matter, all body types are worthy. From the smallest gymnast to the tallest volleyball player. From a rugby player to a shot putter or sprinter. All body types are beautiful and can do amazing things. So truly see yourselves in these athletes and know that you can do it too.” (USA women’s sevens star Ilona Maher promoting positive body image to her millions of social media followers at the start of the Olympics in Paris).
“I would like to take this opportunity to announce a significant career decision that I have taken after careful consideration. In a move that I am extremely excited about, I can confirm that I will be joining the NFL’s International Player Pathway program (IPP) in pursuit of earning a spot on an NFL roster in the United States for 2024.” (Former Wales and Gloucester wing Louis Rees-Zammit announcing his decision to leave rugby union to pursue his dream of playing in the NFL).
“I learned of it an hour ago. Spoke to Louis about a half hour ago. It’s a little bit of a shock. Things have happened quickly. Louis had an approach on Sunday to do a training camp with the NFL. He slept on it on Monday. He was told not to tell anyone. It’s been a rollercoaster.” (Wales head coach Warren Gatland on Rees-Zammit’s code switch while announcing his 2024 Six Nations squad).
“If you want me to resign, I’m quite happy to do that.” (Gatland told Welsh Rugby Union chief executive Abi Tierney after Wales lost to Italy in the Six Nations).
“Having had the Aled news, it was a few days later that Felix told me that he didn’t want to work with the team and he wanted to move in a different direction. Felix and Aled are close but it was still disappointing and surprising. I hadn’t anticipated it. Felix is a top-quality coach who has added a lot to this team. As ever, it’s professional sport – things change and things move on. I have got a lot of respect for Aled and a lot of respect for Felix. But my job is to focus on the coaches I work with and coach the players in the squad.” (England head coach Steve Borthwick after his defence coach Felix Jones and head of strength and conditioning Aled Walters resigned from their positions).
“He’s a disgrace that c**t. Who’s he?” (Crusaders coach Rob Penney in response to a journalist who grilled him at a press conference).
“That remark that they made – ‘see you guys in the final’. I just thought these guys were making a big mistake to look past probably the most dominant team in the last 20 to 30 years of Test rugby. Surely, they can’t. We would never say that because we knew we’ve got the host nation and we were going to have to pitch up to beat France in their backyard. It just felt like they were just so confident saying things like that when you know you got the mighty All Blacks coming up in a World Cup quarter-final.” (Springboks lock Eben Etzebeth told Jim Hamilton on The Rugby Pod regarding comments from some of Ireland’s players after they beat the Boks during their pool match at last year’s World Cup in France).
“Ford’s introduction signalled a parking of the bus from England. Naively, Borthwick’s side believed that they could sit on an eight-point lead against New Zealand.” (Former England centre Will Greenwood wrote in a column for The Telegraph after the Red Rose’s defeat to the All Blacks in the Autumn Nations Series).
“I’ve got massive respect for my Hurricanes family and I loved serving them for 11 years. But I think it’s the right time for a change and I spent a lot of quiet time with my family thinking about things before making this decision. To have this team show the love and support they have for me and my family is special. Knowing that, regardless of anything that might happen, they will look after me and my family – I think that means a lot.” (All Blacks back-row Ardie Savea revealing that he has joined Super Rugby Pacific outfit Moana Pasifika).
“It’s probably one of the most bizarre games I’ve ever been involved in. In over 100 Test matches that I’ve been involved in. I’ve never had a situation like that before. It happened so early in the game as well. When Slips (James Slipper) got a head knock right after half-time.” (Wallabies head coach Joe Schmidt after scrums were forced to be uncontested following injuries to his team’s front-rowers Allan Alaalatoa, Angus Bell, James Slipper and Josh Nasser during their Rugby Championship loss to South Africa).
“We want to keep introducing new blood into Japanese rugby. Between 2020 and 2023, Japan had 33 new Test caps over four years. In 2024, we’ve had 17 already. We’re bringing new blood in and creating a new generation of players to increase the depth and quality of our squad.” (Japan head coach Eddie Jones told AAP about his youthful policy in his squad).
David Campese’s views on the Wallabies coach
“I don’t believe we should have a Kiwi coach. I was in New Zealand last week for the Test and they all said: ‘Isn’t Schmidt a good coach,’ I said: ‘Why? What has he actually won?’ He hasn’t won anything. Yes, he might have won a Six Nations, but the World Cup is the ultimate for any sports player or coach, and he hasn’t won anything. We always seem to get a coach that has never won anything. We always seem to get the second-best Kiwi coach, never the first-best.” (David Campese told The Rugby Paper on Schmidt’s appointment as Wallabies head coach).
“He [Schmidt] is proving me wrong again. It didn’t start well but the players have responded well to the coach. He seems to be doing a great job.” (Campese on Schmidt after the Wallabies won their opening two Autumn Nations Series Tests against England and Wales).
“I put a Super Rugby title above a World Cup, because of how much I love this city, how much I love this club, how much I’ve admired this club.” (Ioane told Radio New Zealand after the Blues’ victory over the Chiefs in the Super Rugby Pacific final).
“The preparation was huge. It’s sensational and unbelievable, reward for all my team-mates. We really deserved it, but so did the public because the atmosphere was incredible. We put rugby on a stage where we could take it globally. I am a patriotic person and it was the best way to do it.” (France and Toulouse scrum-half and captain Antoine Dupont after helping his country to victory in the final of the men’s sevens at the Olympic Games in Paris).
“It’s pretty special. I’m proud of the team. I’m proud of the team around us, the people at home who have supported every single one of us and helped us get to this moment. It takes a whole tribe, it takes a whole squad. We’ve got some great players retiring after this tournament and we owe them such a lot. We’ve learned such a lot from them and been empowered by them. But not just us, all around the world.” (New Zealand’s Risi Pouri-Lane after her team won the Women’s sevens competition at the Olympics in Paris courtesy of their triumph over Canada in the final).
“This season we start again like everyone else with zero points. People will be chasing us down and we’ve got to make sure that we’re pushing ourselves and are as desperate as ever to get better. We know there’s a target (on our backs), but we also know we have confidence in the elements the different coaches are coaching and how we go about our business.” (Northampton Saints director of rugby Phil Dowson ahead of the 2024/25 Premiership campaign after they were crowned England’s champions the previous season thanks to a win over Bath in the final).
“It’s twice in a row now the referee has let the away side win. In fact, three times – last year Munster won in Cape Town, Glasgow won in Munster, we won in Leinster and this referee let the away team win (today) so maybe next year I’ll ask when we play away that I want him to try ref us.” (Bulls head coach Jack White on referee Andrea Piardi after his team lost to Glasgow Warriors in the United Rugby Championship final in Pretoria).
“We learned a lesson tonight. Rugby is about commitment, appetite and will. These are three extremely important values and we lacked all three tonight. The thing that disappoints me the most is the content. What is that!? It’s a total lack of precision. We didn’t show anything in front of our loyal supporters. It’s a great result for the sport, but it’s a catastrophic result for me. If you put in a commitment like that, you deserve it. Vannes learned from last week: if you keep knocking on the door, it will open. Vannes did that, and congratulations to them. But on the other hand, we’ve hit rock bottom! When you do that, you can’t touch it again.” (La Rochelle head coach Ronan O’Gara after his side suffered a shock home defeat to newly-promoted Vannes in the Top 14).
“When you’ve got the foot on the throat, finish it.” (England Women’s head coach John Mitchell urging his players to be more ruthless despite clinching a 24-12 victory over New Zealand in their international).
“It was just another scrum, then three cracking sounds – pop, pop, pop. I played on, thinking it was a muscle strain. Today I know: I was two millimetres from a catastrophe,
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