Opinion: True champs silence the naysayers with success

LAST weekend was a magical weekend of sport but also a weekend of proving the naysayers wrong.

Those of us who scroll through our Twitter or Instagram feeds late at night will be familiar with inspirational quotes like, ‘What other people think and say about you is none of your business.’

But there are very few of us who can go through life not giving a continental about how we are perceived by others.

Three men who have been under the microscope of public inspection and scrutiny for many years - two of them more so in recent weeks - managed to silence the voices of scepticism - both externally and internally - beautifully last Saturday and Sunday.

It’s only eight weeks since an online article on RugbyPass went with the headline: “‘Worst Munster team in living memory' - Irish fans react to Sharks loss”, and, in another article, this time in The Irish Times, their rugby corr Gerry Thornley wrote: “Munster look further away than ever from winning their first trophy since the 2010 -11 season”. And, in fairness, it was a fair summation at that time.

Head coach Graham Rowntree, in his first season in the role, had called for patience, but, as we all know, patience is a virtue not possessed by many, particularly sports fans starved of success. While the online sharks were circling two months ago, last Saturday they were whispering sweet nothings at Rowntree and his team who showed that anything is possible with perseverance and grit.

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Another man who has been picked apart by the vultures in recent weeks is Limerick hurler Gearoid Hegarty. Various rumours - including that he had been dropped off the panel or had left of his own accord prior to the Tipperary game - made for great WhatsApp group fodder.

Then there was the loss of form by the 2020 Hurler of the Year who, when last tested in the lab, proved not to be a robot.

Last Sunday in a sun-soaked TUS Gaelic Grounds the towering St Patrick’s man let his stick work speak louder than the doubters and their disparaging comments.

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But, of course, the voices of scepticism aren’t always external. Most, if not all, of those who reach the pinnacle of their sport have managed to silence that self-doubt that lurks within us all. Step forward Keith Earls. In 2021 the Ireland and Munster winger opened up about his mental health challenges and his bipolar diagnosis.

Last Monday evening in Thomond Park, a mere 500 metres from his childhood home - at the other side of the wall - the Moyross man, with one of his three beautiful young daughters on his shoulders and the sparkling URC trophy in his arms proved that true success lies in overcoming nothing and nobody but ourselves.