Jaden Hendrikse's cheeky wink reminds us that rugby needs characters, not robots

Daily Maverick

2 days ago

Rugby's struggle for global superstars is evident, as seen in the contrasting reactions to Jaden Hendrikse's sly wink and Northampton's Henry Pollock's flamboyant celebrations. Rugby needs larger-than-life personalities to grow the game.
'Winkgate' stole the headlines after Saturday's United Rugby Championship (URC) quarterfinal clash between the Sharks and Munster, which the South African side won 6-4 by place-kicking shootout after the sides were tied 24-24 after 100 minutes of rugby.
It didn't take too much to divert the attention from a match that, outside of the first place-kicking shootout in URC history, offered very little in terms of extended quality entertainment while the referee's clock was running in regular time and the 20 minutes of extra time.
But a cheeky wink by one of the kickers in the place-kicking shootout, Jaden Hendrikse, aimed at Munster flyhalf Jack Crowley spurred a few days of social media outbursts from rugby fans globally, calling the act 'unsportmanlike' and 'against the values of the game', along with plenty more unsavoury comments directed towards the Sharks scrumhalf.
It even drew a reaction from Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus on X.
The social media fallout was largely excessive for an event so frivolous, but it was not uncharacteristic for rugby as a sport, whose loudest voices can evidently be self-righteous of the behaviour of its athletes.
Rugby has so few global superstars – unlike soccer, tennis or even basketball – and it does itself no favours by attempting to suppress the personalities of its players on the field.
Superstars
Northampton Saints backrow Henry Pollock also attracted headlines in recent weeks for his eccentric try celebrations throughout his side's sublime run to the final of the Champions Cup.
His celebration – by holding two fingers to his neck, as if to check his pulse – in the Champions Cup semifinal against Leinster drew the most attention. Especially from opponents.
Several players from the tournament winning team, the Bordeaux-Bègles, including French flyhalf Matthieu Jalibert and Bègles head coach Yannick Bru, posed for pictures in the same fashion after the final – mocking Pollock's celebration after defeating his side.
Pollock doesn't fit into the traditional mould of English rugby players. He is full of flair and exudes confidence, which some may argue as arrogance, on and off the field.
But he's a personality that rugby so desperately needs and shouldn't try to suppress, akin to the attempts to stifle Hendrikse.
Although, as someone seemingly carrying the torch for rugby players who are a little bit different, being on the receiving end of banter from opponents is to be expected. However, to be slammed by critics for antics – completely within the laws of the game – does nothing to grow the game.
Instead, it marginalises players who are a bit different, when it could be used to leverage new fans to the game.
Rugby has very few superstars — which are needed to draw new eyes to the sport. French star Antoine Dupont is one of them. US women's Sevens star Ilona Maher is another, for different reasons.
Dupont, one of the best players in the world and already a French icon, starred at the Olympic Games for the French Sevens team last year in their gold-medal run. He ensured the limelight was shone even brighter on a sport often considered a little brother to the 15s version.
While Maher has more followers than 5 million followers on Instagram — more than any other rugby player in the world — she uses the platform to showcase her personality and the behind-the-scenes action of what being a professional rugby player is like.
Maher had a short stint with the Bristol Bears in the United Kingdom at the start of the year and her debut match set a new attendance record for the Bears.
Stars bring fans to stadiums and new eyes to the game that desperately needs it.
Growing the game
Rugby has a massive following in South Africa, with the national team currently enjoying its most successful period in history aiding that. But across the globe, the sport is largely niche with other sports such as soccer and cricket dwarfing rugby in every metric.
World Rugby launched several attempts to grow the game and amends its laws almost annually in an attempt to make the game more entertaining to increase its supporter base.
But evidently what generates fans, especially new ones, are heroes and interesting characters — such as Dupont, Maher and Pollock.
Hendrikse has neither displayed the same larger-than-life personality as the latter two in his five-year professional rugby career to date nor is he quite the superstar that Dupont is, but on Saturday he was cheeky.
Although his impudence generally does not extend any further than that of any other scrumhalf.
Munster scrumhalf Conor Murray, for example, shook Bradley Davids's hand to 'wish him well' before he took the kick to win the match for the Sharks — not too dissimilar from the gamesmanship that takes place in soccer before a penalty is taken.
It's the way sport works. Teams find the tiniest opportunity to find a mental edge, especially in a match where the margins between victory and defeat were evidently so small.
These actions should be embraced, it adds an additional layer to the game and simultaneously deepens rivalries — both elements that are positive to growing the game.
Although, as with shifting away from the customs of any activity in society, the forebearers often bear the brunt of criticism while paving the way for the next generation. DM