PRIMA DONNAS IN RUGBY – WHO NEEDS ‘EM?

James O’Connor (left), talented Australian utility back, is one of a small band of ‘troubled’ high-profile players currently strutting their stuff in elite rugby union. The reputed leader of the self-styled ‘Three Amigos’ (O’Connor plus fellow Wallabies Kurtley Beale and Quade Cooper) certainly hasn’t covered himself in glory on or off the field. As a result he’s found himself released from his contract with Melbourne Rebels in July 2013 and booted out of the Wallabies squad in October the same year.

However, while fans and commentators can forgive lapses in form in players who clearly give their all for the cause, they (we) are less forgiving of those who seem not to give a stuff about their rugby and have things in their life they appear to consider more important. O’Connor, along with Danny Cipriani and Gavin Henson now belongs to an unholy trinity of that least welcome figure in a rugby dressing-room – the Prima Donna.

The PD can be recognised by a combination of one or more of the following traits:

• He’s always a back, often a playmaker – one around whom the team revolves.
• Outrageously talented, often to the point of flashiness, and usually makes a massive impact in big games early in his career.
• As a result, he develops a high profile off the field – celebrity girlfriends, TV appearances and modelling contracts can form part of this mix.
• As a further result, he develops a ‘star’ persona, either through the adulation of people he mixes with off the field, or through believing all the hype about himself in the media, or a bit of both.
• After a relatively brief time at the very top of his game, on-field form starts to dip.
• At the same time, stories start to appear of training ground bust-ups, late night drinking sessions during match weeks, spats with celebrity girlfriend and so on.
• The end result is the PD being released from his club contract, dropped or not selected for his national team and assuming a nomadic existence plying his trade at any club willing to take a gamble.

Any of this sound like someone you know? Danny Cipriani was involved in an exchange with England hard-man Josh Lewsey at a Wasps training session and ended up being knocked out; Gavin Henson flitted from club to club without settling anywhere, seeming to prioritise his TV appearances over top-flight rugby; O’Connor’s drinking and early-morning burger runs were the first sign that his mind wasn’t right. Recently given a chance to shine by London Irish, O’Connor immediately alienated their fans the day after an impressive debut, by travelling to French club Toulon with an apparent desire to secure a move to the Med. Various comments on Facebook are encapsulated in this one:

“I think it’s ******* diabolical. I also wonder how he’s gonna get on at Irish if a move to Toulon doesn’t materialise… I’m regretting us ever signing him. Just another rugby player with problems that no club can fix.”           London Irish supporter ‘Abu’ on O’Connor

The whole issue with PDs can be summed up as follows: they become more famous for their off-the-field activities than their rugby, and their attitude reflects this. They appear to believe they are more important than team-mates, that they don’t need to put in as much effort, and that they ‘deserve’ a greater share of the wealth and respect to be had as a professional sportsman. Some who start to head this way can be turned around with strong management (see Stuart Lancaster’s handling of scrum half Danny Care in 2012), but the key is in their desire. And the sad truth is, the PD’s desire to succeed in rugby is not strong enough either to resist the siren call of celebrity, or to put in the required level of graft to turn around a slump in form. The pattern of jumping ship to other clubs reveals another narcissistic trait – it’s always someone else at fault. The PD can’t accept responsibility for their actions, which is why it is so hard to get them to change.

It’s very sad to see such talent go to waste. In football, this type of player is tolerated to a greater extent – footballers seem to have a greater affinity for these types of antics, so they are more like the norm. In rugby, we’re less forgiving, probably because there are so many examples of the right way to build a career or cope with adversity (Dan Carter, Jonny Wilkinson, Shane Williams, Michael Lynagh, Joost van der Westhuizen and many others).

In rugby, it really seems to be a case of “Who needs ‘em?” – long may it continue.