"Tony Ward, voted the first European Player of the Year two months earlier, was dropped. He had won the award largely for his dazzling form in that season's Five Nations Championship. Then, ahead of the First Test on Ireland's tour of Australia, he was canned. It made the six o'clock news. Ward was a gifted footballer. He would go on to play in the League of Ireland for Limerick United FC, starring for them against Southampton in the Uefa Cup."
"He looked the part: stocky, sallow, not only could he shoot the lights out but he could step off either foot, leaving opponents on their rear end. If Ireland had a catwalk then Wardy would have been a model. Then he was gazumped by the frail-looking Ollie Campbell: the holder of just one Ireland cap from three years earlier. After which he had been dropped. The nation struggled to catch its breath."
Tony Ward's 1979 omission from the Ireland team, despite being voted the first European Player of the Year, created national fascination with the No 10 shirt. Ward had excelled in that season's Five Nations and later played association football for Limerick United, yet was replaced by Ollie Campbell. That initial controversy began decades of focus on the playmaker position. In the professional era David Humphreys and Ronan O'Gara contested the role, followed by O'Gara versus Johnny Sexton. After Sexton's 2023 World Cup exit, Jack Crowley emerged in 2024, starting in Marseille and driving questions about succession and squad roles. Coach Andy Farrell emphasized adherence to the plan.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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