Why Jonny Wilkinson didn’t sing national anthem for England

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Most of the England players sang the national anthem lustily during the 2003 Rugby World Cup final, but not Jonny.

With his eyes almost closed, he looked so deeply entrenched in his cocoon of concentration that he probably didn't even hear the anthem in order to 'stay calm'.

There are two dangers in such single-minded pursuit of perfection. One is that putting your body on the line in such a physical sport might inflict lasting damage; the other is that once all the goals have been attained the perfectionist might decide there is more to life.

Another famous player who didn't used to sing the national anthem is Rory Best.

It’s understandable why the former Ireland captain didn’t sing "Amhrán na bhFiann" before home games, but the 36-year-old’s silence during “Ireland’s Call” – the anthem designed to unite the whole island of Ireland for rugby – raised more than a few eyebrows, especially since he was skirt.

Now, Best has opened up about his reasons for not joining in, sharing the story in an insightful interview with former teammate Darren Cave on .

His explanation is as straightforward as it gets:

"Look, the thing is, it’s so ironic that you get abused for it, and nobody’s ever stopped and asked you, ‘why don’t you sing it?’" Best explained.

The roots of his decision go back to his Ireland Schools’ days, where a memorable moment left Best thinking twice about his pre-match rituals.

“It goes back to my Ireland Schools’ days. You think it’s going to be the greatest honour you’re ever going to achieve. You’re playing for Ireland. Being from rugby families like we were, you’re going ‘this is incredible!’” he recalled.

"You get so emotionally charged for it. And Ireland’s Call comes on that you’ve heard so many times in the old Lansdowne Road or watching on TV, and you’re belting it out."

But then came the game that changed everything.

“And I remember we played France or England. Kicked off. I’m flying up going ‘the first guy is getting it!’. They catch it, kick it out, and I’m then turning around, running back to get a ball, still thinking ‘somebody’s gonna to get it’., and I fired this throw in and it went, like I sort of tell the story that it went three times the height of the person I was throwing it to, it wasn’t that bad! And it flew over the top.

“From then on, I went, I can’t go into a game… because it’s so emotive to me, Ireland’s Call. And actually, even the tail end of the Irish national anthem, you know the way you get that build up for that crescendo at the end. They’re memories I have from going to the old Lansdowne Road to watch, this build up, and then the massive cheer, and then Ireland’s Call coming on.”

“The problem is then, I worry that it’s going to happen in a big game. That we’re going to kick off against the All Blacks, Beauden Barrett’s going to catch it, kick it out, and then I’m fully charged, trying to focus in. And it is such a core skill. 

“It’s a bit like goalkicking, you have to get your heart rate down, you have to focus, get your breathing back, and focus for that split second to throw the perfect throw and that’s just why I did it. I don’t know whether it would affect me as much now.”