Ireland players gave CJ Stander a fitting post-match send-off

If the tune fits...

CJ Stander caused a lot of eyes to well up, across the country, as he Face-Timed with his wife and young daughter, back home in South Africa, after his final game in an Ireland jersey. 30-years-old and at the peak of his powers, the Munster forward says he will retire from all forms of rugby at the end of the season. Munster and Ireland will miss him dearly. He may yet get to close the curtain with his second Lions Tour. Following Ireland's 32-18 victory over England, Stander was enveloped by his teammates and given a series of warm words and embraces from his beaten opponents. Jamie George and Elliot Daly, who toured with him in 2017, both lingered to wish him well. He was already hoarse from the contest and the tears when he spoke with Virgin Media.

"I worked hard for that jersey, to be in that jersey, and the boys made it easy to be in it, week-in and week-out," he told Sinead Kissane. "They're great people and they've a special team here. Things are going to happen, and it's going to be a privilege to watch them."

https://twitter.com/VMSportIE/status/1373355820503732224 The Irish players then gathered together in the centre of the pitch and Stander was given a rousing send-off, led by Irish captain Johnny Sexton. You could see again, watching from high up in the stands, that Stander was emotional as he wiped his eyes and smiled. He was then given the Millennium Trophy, which has been awarded to the winners of Ireland vs. England since 1989, by Sexton. He proudly carried it off the pitch after posing for one last squad photo on the pitch. The only thing that was missing was appreciative fans. https://twitter.com/patmccarry/status/1373345596355059712 Once he got back to the dressing room, the celebrations and songs were only truly starting to kick off. Ireland fullback Hugo Keenan revealed Stander was serenaded with a Tina Turner 1980s classic:

"Everyone is happy in there. It was a great way to send CJ off. So we sang a song and it was enjoyable in there. It was Simply The Best!"

For those of you currently unfamiliar with the tune, have at it! Ireland head coach Andy Farrell was effusive in his praise for Stander and wished him the best for the future.

"I've just said to him in the changing room that he could be as emotional as he wants to be now because he gives his heart and soul to the jersey, to the green one and to the red one. He has a chance to play in a cup final for Munster next week so we wish him all the best with that. "It's been an emotional week. We've tried to keep a lid on it the best we can and you can say whether we should have brought that out or not but it as fitting that CJ was able to say goodbye to his friends and tell them the truth from where's he's coming from, the reasons why, etcetera. "How they've responded to him and how he's kept a smile on his face has been totally fitting to what this team is about and we're delighted that we're able to put a performance together for CJ to send him off in the right way. We're delighted that we managed to control the emotion in the right way and he's emotional in the changing rooms, but happy emotional. "I cannot say enough about him as a bloke. He's the most kind-hearted, most genuine bloke that you'll ever meet."

Stander will enjoy the release that comes with victory tonight. He will rest up on Sunday but Monday comes with the next challenge - a PRO14 final against Leinster at The RDS.

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