‘Absolutely disgraceful’ – Donncha O’Callaghan slams England’s treatment of opposition national anthems

Donncha O'Callaghan is unhappy with England Rugby.

O'Callaghan was speaking on 'The Offload' podcast with Tommy Bowe, when the subject of Twickenham Stadium's anthem performances came up in conversation.

The Corkman was annoyed by the version of 'God Defend New Zealand' played ahead of last week's game between England and the All Blacks, citing the fact that there was no backing from a professional singer.

“Instead of poking fun at something that’s cultural and really important, [they need] to tidy up their own stuff,” said O'Callaghan, with reference to England prop Joe Marler's poor comments about the Haka last weekend.

“I think England’s playing of the opposition’s anthems is absolutely disgraceful. They just play it really poorly, and they always have.

"[They] don’t turn the speakers up and just do poor renditions of it."

“You want to take the home advantage, but at least show [the visiting team] the decency of playing their anthem properly.

"I thought it was disgraceful on Saturday"

England take on Australia this Saturday and it will be interesting to see if a better effort is made to respect the Australian national anthem.