Israel Dagg: ‘How the hell did we let the South African teams go?’

Former Crusaders, Highlanders and All Blacks full-back Israel Dagg has issued a passionate tribute to the South African teams following their exit from Super Rugby.

Dagg says that he misses the days when the likes of the Bulls, Cheetahs, Kings, Lions, Sharks and Stormers featured in the tournament.

The South African teams broke ties with the Super Rugby competition, with four teams competing in the Rainbow Cup before joining the PRO14, which was renamed the United Rugby Championship.

Israel Dagg misses South African teams

Ahead of the Super Rugby final between the Blues and Chiefs, Dagg was in a nostalgic mood and questioned why New Zealand and Australia broke ties with the South Africans.

“I went down a rabbit hole. I know we should be focusing on the now and what’s ahead of us this weekend. But man, I miss South Africa being a part of Super Rugby,” he said on New Zealand sports radio station SENZ.

A social media video got Dagg on the subject of South African teams in Super Rugby as he reminisced on his days travelling to the Republic and fronting up against some of the great Springboks.

“Watching a clip on social media of a packed-out Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria as the Bulls won the Currie Cup and Super Rugby Final against who? Your Chiefs, Sammy,” the 66-Test cap ex-back added.

“And it got me, thinking ‘How the hell did we let them go?’ Our greatest rivals with arguably some of the greatest players to play the game constantly on our screens or even in the flesh, I’ll never forget my first trip to South Africa.

“A young kid playing for the Highlanders, travelling the globe to play against players I only thought of as cartoon characters. Suddenly, they were running at me, wanting to take my head off.

“The great Fourie du Preez playing mind games with me. Bakkies Botha – I’ll never forget this – laughing at me as I stood there bridging over the ball.

“Or Ryan Kankowski of the Sharks chipping it over my head and scoring a try that only the great Bryan Habana could emulate.”

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SA teams ‘brought a unique intensity’

Dagg believes that the South African teams brought an added edge to the competition and that they are greatly missed.

“The presence of South African teams in Super Rugby brought a unique intensity and diversity to the competition. Their style of play, the passion of their fans and the legendary players who graced the field added a richness that is sorely missed,” he added.

“Matches against South African teams were not just games, they were epic battles that tested every aspect of a player’s skill and mental fortitude.

“Look, I know it’s not the time to talk about this, but seeing those socials really got the memories flying, a part of me hopes it’s not lost forever as I know how important those memories are for me, and I hope others may be able to experience them too.

“The future of rugby is unpredictable, and perhaps one day the path for these great rugby nations will cross again in a way that brings back some of that magic,” he concluded.

During his playing days, Dagg played over 100 Super Rugby matches, running out over 80 times for the Crusaders and 20 odd times for the Highlanders.

He was part of the Crusaders’ tournament-winning teams in 2017, 2018 and 2019.

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