The finest, funniest and most memorable rugby quotes of 2025 including gems from Andy Farrell, Rassie Erasmus, Louis Rees-Zammit and more
British & Irish Lions boss Andy Farrell, Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus and Bristol Bears flyer Louis Rees-Zammit.
Planet Rugby continues to round up 2025 as we put together the finest, funniest and most memorable quips, remarks and outbursts in rugby this past year.
How many can you recall from the Six Nations, Wallabies v British & Irish Lions series, Rugby Championship, Autumn Nations Series and more?
“I am not going to have a go at anyone, but I am not sure why they are bringing in the international referees this weekend. I didn’t like it from the start, when they said it was happening. It is clear there is a difference in interpretation in how the ball is played on the ground. We got affected by the penalty flow, and we have got to be better to resist those moments when they come, even if they are numerous.” (Leicester Tigers head coach Michael Cheika told TNT Sports on the appointment of New Zealand referee Ben O’Keeffe to officiate his side’s Prem Rugby match against Gloucester at Kingsholm).
“We named the players (who made contact with Dupont), Tadhg Beirne and Andrew Porter, who should appear before the disciplinary commission. We want explanations, so we’ve named two players. We have to protect our players. There are means, there are rules. There is some kind of anger.” (France head coach Fabien Galthie after his captain Antoine Dupont sustained a serious knee injury during a Six Nations clash against Ireland).
“The heart is even more painful than the knee when it’s time to leave the friends behind before the last step,” read the caption. I am proud of what we accomplished yesterday and of all my strength with you, you’re going to make it. Torn cruciate ligaments. It’s the beginning of a new challenge, I’ll meet you in a few months on the field.” (Dupont reveals the full extent of his injury via an Instagram post).
“Tadhg (Beirne) cleans out someone in front of Antoine Dupont and he gets hit on the back of it. It happens, unfortunately. We have moved away and players have a real awareness now of clearing out on the lower limb of the player, which can create that type of injury that might have happened today, but that wasn’t the case. He was securing his own ball and not making contact on Dupont. Unfortunately that happens. The guy that Tadhg hit was hit on to Dupont. It’s just one of those things unfortunately. It happens in the game.” (Ireland interim head coach Simon Easterby on the cleanout which led to Dupont’s injury).
“I understood there were a lot of people saying how important the game is. I was well aware of that. The Friday or the Saturday before the game, I made sort of a decision without thinking too much about it. If we didn’t win that game, then I’d have to seriously consider my position. It would be the best time and the best thing for everyone to walk away.” (Warren Gatland on his decision to resign from his position as Wales head coach after his side fell to a record-extending 14th successive defeat courtesy of a 22-15 loss to Italy in the Six Nations).
“I’m so proud of all your successes, but what I’m most proud of is that you returned to Wales to try and help them become a strong and winning nation again. Unfortunately, the issues were deeper than you could control and the negativity that has come from not only the media, but ex-players who you brought so much success to, is incomprehensible. How quick people are to forget how much you did for Welsh rugby is beyond me. The Welsh fans are the most passionate in the world and I hope they can get behind the team for a better future. Time to come home.” (Gatland’s daughter Gabby Stone‘s Instagram post after he stepped down from his Wales role).
“Ardie Savea best player in the world. Of course it’s that guy Ardie Savea!! One of the great individual performances you’ll ever see. You can see what being around Ardie has done for some of the Moana players. They have seen greatness in the flesh and grown their games.” (Ex-All Blacks fly-half Lima Sopoaga‘s posts on X, formerly known as Twitter, on his former Test team-mate Ardie Savea after he delivered a superb performance for Moana Pasifika during their shock Super Rugby Pacific victory over the Blues in Auckland).
“There’s a fracas at the end. There’s foul play involved. I’ve been assured that the touch judge has seen it and will deal with it appropriately. Henry Pollock was particularly upset by it because I think it was uncalled for and out of order, so he reacted. The officials have told me that they will deal with it.” (Northampton Saints director of rugby Phil Dowson after one of his star players, Henry Pollock, was attacked by Bordeaux-Begles players at the full-time whistle during the Investec Champions Cup final in Cardiff).
“They were after him, I don’t think they like him. He’ll be alright, but they all charged him and tried to get hold of him. I’m surprised if you’ve just won a European Cup that the first thing you do is try and start a fight with a 20-year-old, but fair play. I thought that was interesting.” (England and Saints fly-half Fin Smith on the scuffle between the Bordeaux-Begles players and his team-mate Pollock).
“A southern-hemisphere centre partnership that will be pretty formidable.” (Wallabies head coach Joe Schmidt on Bundee Aki and Sione Tuipulotu lining up in midfield for the British & Irish Lions’ Test against Argentina at the Aviva Stadium).
“For the life of me, I cannot fathom why Andy Farrell would call up an ageing fly-half-cum-centre to replace a classy back-three player. I also have to question judgment here. I have always been respectful of the Farrell name. This is a weak pick by Daddy – and weak isn’t what I’d expect from them.” (Former Wallabies flyer David Campese told Planet Rugby after British & Irish Lions boss Andy Farrell called up his son, Owen, as a replacement for the injured Elliot Daly during their tour of Australia).
A big call in the second Wallabies v Lions Test
“The referees were too weak to give it (the penalty).You cannot hit a guy in the back of the neck to save the ball who is legally jackling. The referees have got it wrong. It has cost the Wallabies survival in the series… a terrible decision that decides this match.” (Former Australia centre Morgan Turinui in commentary after British & Irish Lions back-row Jac Morgan’s clear-out of Wallabies counterpart Carlo Tizzano in the dying moments of the second Test in Melbourne went unpunished and resulted in a 29-26 win for the famous touring team which also clinched their series victory).
“I thought it was a brilliant clear-out. Honestly, it depends which side of the fence you come from, I would have thought. I can understand people’s opinions, but I thought Jack was brilliant when he came on, and so were the rest of the bench.” (British & Irish Lions head coach Andy Farrell when asked about Morgan’s challenge on Tizzano).
“I think everyone can make their own decision on that. You just have to read Law 9.20,and I guess you just have to listen to the description from the referee and then watch the vision. We felt it was a decision that doesn’t really live up to the big player safety push that they’re talking about.” (Wallabies boss Joe Schmidt‘s response to the Morgan/Tizzano incident).
“I’m not in the right emotions to speak about that.” (Wallabies captain Harry Wilson‘s blunt and honest reaction to that big talking point after the match).
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“I don’t really know what to say. This is a very special arena and it’s an honour for us to play here and I’m super proud of the team. Andy Farrell told us to have no doubt that we would win this game and we continued to play big. We continued to play big and we got the win. It’s not about me, it’s all the team, who should great grit and determination. I’m so proud of the whole squad.” (British & Irish Lions lock and captain Maro Itoje after he was named as the player of the match following his side’s win over the Wallabies in Melbourne, a result which gave his side an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-Test series).
“This is probably one of the most embarrassing press conferences I’ve done in a while. It wasn’t just tactical – they also physically dominated us. The longer the game went on, the stronger they got. At altitude, that’s supposed to be us. It shows what (Wallabies coach) Joe Schmidt is building there. I can butter this up to sound cool and respectful, but we were really dog s**t on the day.” (Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus after his side suffered a shock 38-22 loss against the Wallabies in their Rugby Championship opener in Johannesburg.
“I think South Africa probably wanted to play that way for the first 20 minutes, but the game is so intense now it’s hard to sustain that speed for longer. You almost need to consolidate after that period, then your bench comes on, and you consolidate again. Most games follow that natural flow – the first 20 minutes are intense, then there’s a middling 30 or 40, and the last 20 accelerates.” (Current Japan head coach Eddie Jones‘ view on why the Springboks lost that Test in Johannesburg to the Wallabies, who came back after trailing 22-0 midway through the first half).
“Matt Williams, the rugby union coach, had a 17.65% win percentage during his tenure coaching Scotland. He coached the team in 17 matches, winning only 3 of them. Two of those wins were against Tier 2 nations, Japan and Samoa, according to Wikipedia.” (Erasmus‘ verdict on X of former Scotland, Leinster and Waratahs head coach Matt Williams after his continuous criticism of the world champions).
“He came out and put up some coaching percentages, and I don’t even know what I’ve done. Well really, what Rassie was doing was just bullying me. Just trying to say: ‘Well, your opinion doesn’t count’, because this is what happened in a couple of years in Scotland and it didn’t address the issue. Surely the best coach in the world’s got something better to do than listen to what I’m saying.” (Williams‘ response on the Off the Ball podcast to Erasmus).
“When you play a World Cup winning team, a team that’s been together for a long period of time, with experience, you’re not going to win every moment and yeah you have to stay in the fight. It turned into a scrap and when it started raining a couple of calls went one way or another, but we just kept competing and won the ones that mattered.” (All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson after his side’s 24-17 win over the Springboks at Eden Park which extended their unbeaten run at the famous venue to 51 matches).
“Some problem from the other side and I’ll try to explain it. There’s too many rules to this game.” (Referee Andrea Piardi to Munster captain Tadhg Beirne and his Bulls counterpart Ruan Nortje during a URC match).
Louis Rees-Zammit returns
“It’s one that I would never change, no regrets. I was fully into it, fully backed myself. And sometimes it doesn’t work out the way you want it to, but I think now’s a perfect time to come back to rugby and do what I’ve always loved doing, and that’s playing rugby and playing for my country.” (Wales flyer Louis Rees-Zammit on his decision to return to rugby union after trying his hand at American football).
“Nothing really, it was just a conversation that he was coming to the end of his two years, and he said: ‘It’s time for me and thanks for everything’. He’s a really good coach and a good friend. I respect him for the tough decision, but there was nothing from above, not at all.” (Scott Robertson after it was revealed that his All Blacks assistant Jason Holland would step down from his position after the side’s end-of-year tour).
“The most exciting thing I find for this team right now is that we left a load of points out there. There were loads of chances we didn’t take. We got held up over the goal line and there were a couple of knock-ons in the 22 when it looked like we were about to score. That tells me there’s a huge amount of growth in this team because we were playing the number two side in the world.” (England head coach Steve Borthwick after his side’s Autumn Nations Series victory over the All Blacks at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham).
“Yeah, we sensed the disappointment in the crowd, it was like an exhale of disappointment. That’s a new way of putting it. No, it was definitely booing. We all felt it and nobody’s hurting as much as us as a group. But sometimes, in those real painful moments as a group that you live through, you come through stronger.” (Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend after his players were booed off the pitch following their loss to Argentina at Murrayfield).
“I know this sounds a little bit contrived, but I know we are playing Argentina next week, and we have played them twice this year, but I so wish we were playing South Africa. Because you want to see how good, how far this England side can be pushed. The only way to push yourself is by beating and playing against the best, and at the minute, South Africa are way ahead of everyone else. I’d love to know where this England team stands.” (Ex-England utility back Austin Healey said during TNT Sports‘ coverage of the Red Rose v Argentina Autumn Nations Series fixture at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham.)
“Just a little mention about the English commentators, they win one game against New Zealand, and suddenly, they are desperate to play against South Africa because they are convinced they will beat us. It’s unbelievable how quickly they go from sixth in the world to the best in the world. (Former Springboks head coach Nick Mallett responds to those comments during SuperSport‘s post-match analysis of the match).
“You have to deal with the actual incident itself, and it’s a pretty bad one, so yeah, 12 weeks I say would be the minimum that he should be getting, so he’s lucky that he hasn’t got a maybe double that or a bit more. I’ve ref’d him many, many times over the years, and I certainly wouldn’t say that he’s a dirty player. When I refereed him, he didn’t come across as being a dirty player, but he has held his hand up, and he’s got to deal with what happened.” (Former referee Nigel Owens‘ verdict on Springboks lock Eben Etzebeth’s 12-week suspension for eye gouging Wales back-row Alex Mann).
“If you look at the big picture, it’s almost (like) it’s contrived to get other people to the final. Now, I don’t know that it’s contrived, but it’s certainly a question you’ve got to ask. Like, why is this structure a repeat of what we said we wouldn’t do, and everyone around the world said was wrong, from the last World Cup?” (Matt Williams on the 2027 Rugby World Cup draw which sets the Springboks and either the All Blacks or Wallabies on a collision course to meet in the competition’s quarter-finals, with South Africa and New Zealand currently ranked as the top two sides in World Rugby’s official rankings).
