'Ireland's Call' may not be the most riveting anthem in the Six Nations, but its importance to the current Irish squad has been made clear in recent comments by James Ryan, Johnny Sexton, and Mack Hansen.
Sexton was moved to tears during the anthems before Ireland's victory over France in round two of the Six Nations, but the captain was missing for Saturday's round three trip to Rome to face Italy. He may have been in tears for an altogether different reason if he was on the pitch at the Stadio Olimpico.
'Ireland's Call' was played at an inexplicably slow pace, taking quite a bit of life out of the Irish rugby anthem. The rendition was so slow it managed to befuddle the Irish players, who ended up singing a few beats ahead of the band in Rome.
Irish fans took to social media to question the bizarre 'Ireland's Call' ahead of Italy v Ireland - but some, including Peter O'Mahony, seemed to appreciate the apparent attempt at shithousery from the Italian band.
Rome serendaded with bafflingly slow 'Ireland's Call' ahead of Six Nations clash
Ireland lined out with a much-changed team for their third game in the Six Nations, with Johnny Sexton, Conor Murray, and Garry Ringrose all missing from the XV that defeated France two weeks ago in Dublin.
The matchday 23 looked baffled during the pre-match anthems, however, when a painfully slow rendition of 'Ireland's Call' rang around the Stadio Olimpico.
It's Ireland's Call, but not as we know it. After an *ahem* interesting down-tempo rendition in Rome the action is underway.
📺 Watch on @RTE2 and @RTEplayer: https://t.co/UW8C8YbtZD
📱 Live updates: https://t.co/yrkfeBilea pic.twitter.com/nqCYRnm41C— RTÉ Rugby (@RTErugby) February 25, 2023
The slow pace threw off the Irish players so much that many of them lost time with the music, singing the words of the chorus while the verse was still several lines away from being finished. Fair play to the players in question (we're looking at you, Conor Murray) for belting out the song with confidence, and you couldn't blame them for feeling lost with such a bizarre accompaniment.
RTÉ commentator Donal Lenihan noted how the rendition had 'killed' the Irish anthem and said, "I've noticed this before in places like Murrayfield. It's just a slow version and it absolutely kills the thing."
There was no doubt that 'Ireland's Call' failed to inspire in Rome on Saturday, but some fans noted that one Irish player appeared to appreciate the apparent attempt from the Italian band to get in the heads of the Irish players.
Peter O'Mahony, of course, seemed to break a wry smile when he realised what was happening with 'Ireland's Call.'
Peter O'Mahony's face when he registered the band was actually playing #IrelandsCall... #POM #ITAIRL #SixNations2023 🤣 pic.twitter.com/TLKWAGfzsn
— Sea__Point 🇺🇦 (@Sea__Point) February 25, 2023
Love the half-grin from POM at the deliberate slowing down of Ireland’s Call.
Game recognises game.— Tim O'Connor (@timoconnorbl) February 25, 2023
O'Mahony was not the only Irish player to see the funny side of the whole thing.
One wide shot of the Irish players as the band entered the final chorus caught out-half Ross Byrne laughing at the ludicrous pace of the anthem.
Irish fans were completely baffled by the bizarre edition of 'Ireland's Call', and it dominated dicsussion of the match on social media just before kick-off.
Interesting decision to play Ireland’s Call in the mode of The Godfather Waltz. 🤣 #ITAvIRE #6Nations #COYBIG
— Philip Nolan (@philipnolan1) February 25, 2023
This is the slowest version of Ireland's call we've ever heard! The Irish team are singing a full verse ahead of the music 🤣 #ITAvIRE
— Balls.ie (@ballsdotie) February 25, 2023
Ireland’s call as a death march courtesy of the Italian Artane Boys Band!#ITAvIRE
— Enda Lynch (@austinstacksabu) February 25, 2023
Ah isn’t it grand that Italy are still shithousing with Ireland’s Call after all these years. #ITAvIRE
— Niamh ☕️ (@NiamhoNiamh) February 25, 2023
Ireland's Call at half speed...
......... Great pic.twitter.com/FTrgqNyaXE— Jay Long (........Blue Tick) (@Jay_Long_626) February 25, 2023
If Italy can slow Ireland down as much as they have Ireland’s Call they might have a chance#ITAvIRE
— Graham Love (@glove931) February 25, 2023
We can only hope for a bit more energy from 'Ireland's Call' when Ireland travel to Murrayfield in two weeks' time.
SEE ALSO: Ireland U20 Star Sam Prendergast Defied Belief With Frankly Ridiculous Kick Against Italy
