Picture the scene: Jeff Hendricks and Robbie Brady trace a stolen laptop to an estate in West Dublin and are filmed confronting the person in possession of the computer.
The video of two Irish football internationals engaged in a heated and very nearly physical argument goes viral. What is the public reaction?
Would it be the same as the reaction to Bundee Aki, Kieran Marmion and other members of the Connacht squad turning up on an estate in Galway after tracing down Robbie Henshaw’s stolen computer?
Robbie Henshaw was dead serious when he said he was sending Bundee Aki after laptop thief https://t.co/GPcsqVFbvd
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) May 15, 2016
No, probably not.
In today’s Irish Independent, GAA editor Martin Breheny asks whether a group of GAA players doing something similar would be accepted. More likely it would provoke a lot of “hand-wringing about players acting as vigilantes”.
It appears Aki and his crew will not face any action from their employers, with coach Pat Lam drawing a line under the incident on Tuesday, ahead of Saturday’s PRO12 semi-final against Glasgow.
“It’s good to see that the boys look out for each other on and off the field. It wasn’t a smart thing to do and the boys know that.”
The popularity of rugby players in Ireland has been discussed previously and perhaps it has something to do with the relaxed approach figures of authority take to hi-jinks, drinking after games, practical jokes and vigilantism.
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