England have been accused of playing “absolutely disgraceful” versions of opposition anthems before rugby football kick off as Twickenham was criticised for a perceived lack of respect towards visiting teams.
A recorded version of ‘God Defend New Zealand’ was played for the All Blacks- New Zealand national rugby union team- without the backing of a professional singer last Saturday, with the lead up to the match dominated by Joe Marler dismissing the haka as ‘ridiculous’.
And former Ireland lock Donncha O’Callaghan accused England of poking fun at another country’s culture while also saying Twickenham lacked respect for the opposition in how the anthem was played.
“Instead of poking fun at something that’s cultural and really important, [they need] to tidy up their own stuff,” O’Callaghan told The Offload podcast.“I think England’s playing of the opposition’s anthems is absolutely disgraceful. They just play it really poorly, and they always have. Don’t turn the speakers up and just do poor renditions of it.
“You want to take the home advantage, but at least show [the visiting team] the decency of playing their anthem properly. I thought it was disgraceful on Saturday.”
England have used singers for opposition anthems at Twickenham before, including in 2012 ahead of their 38-21 win over New Zealand in what went down in one of the best results in their history.
After a week of speculation sparked by Marler’s comments regarding the haka, which led to Scott Barrett responding that Marler had “loaded the gun”, England ended up walking towards the haka in a line while the crowd sang Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.
Asked why England had decided to come up with a response, captain Jamie George said afterwards: “It was something we had spoke about or I had been thinking about for a couple of weeks really.
“I spoke with the senior players, I spoke with Steve [Borthwick] and it wasn’t a reaction to Joe. I had actually spoken to Joe about the possibility of doing it and he enjoys putting things on social media so that was how that went. I was very thankful for Joe for that, I told him that [on Saturday]!”
The Rugby Football Union confirmed there would only be a singer for the England anthem ahead of Saturday’s game against Australia, adding that it was the RFU’s standard practice to only have a singer for the home anthem.
So-called ‘Home of rugby’ cheapens experience by prioritising English anthem.
Covering both the All Blacks and the Wallabies over the past fortnight is to be reminded of the continued allure of Twickenham as an almost mythical venue for rugby. Scott Robertson, the New Zealand head coach, talked of his memories of the world’s largest purpose-built rugby stadium last week, growing up in the Land of the Long White Cloud and watching the All Blacks at anti-social hours playing in front of dignitaries and, sometimes, royalty at what he dubbed the “home of rugby”; while Harry Wilson, Australia’s captain, spoke of his anticipation at leading his side out at Twickenham for the first time on Saturday.
So when Donncha O’Callaghan, the former Ireland and Lions lock, slammed the Rugby Football Union on Friday for its “disgraceful” attitude to opposing teams’ anthems, it struck a chord. Last weekend, as England succumbed to New Zealand for the third consecutive match this year, the home side’s anthem was afforded its own singer; against Australia, the same will happen, with Dom Hartley Harris, a renowned name in musical theatre, clearing his throat for a rendition of “God Save the King”.
For the opposition, however, there is no such red carpet. The All Blacks’ “God Defend New Zealand” did not receive a live vocalist – instead a musical accompaniment was played over the tannoy – and it is understood the same will take place for “Advance Australia Fair” on Saturday.
The RFU says it is “standard practice for anthem singers to accompany the home anthem only, as is the case in most global rugby stadia”, but at Eden Park in July, as England took on New Zealand for the second Test, “God Save the King” was accompanied by a local children’s choir live on the pitch. It is a shame that the so-called “home of rugby”, this statement destination for rugby players and fans alike, has cheapened its match day experience by prioritising the English anthem over the oppositions.
