CJ STANDER’S BULLDOZING ball carrying has gotten Irish fans very excited about the prospect of the South African becoming Irish-qualified this autumn.

Stander has slowed down a bit from his all-action displays for Munster earlier in the season but he remains an effective battering ram when given the ball around the try-line.

For Stander’s sake, their hopefully isn’t a requirement to speak the Irish language in order to become eligible for the national team.

If a Leaving Cert examiner were to quiz him – or Eusebio Guinazu and Andrew Smith – the lads would do even worse than I did in my Ordinary Level Irish exam.

To be fair to the lads, if speaking Irish was a requirement for being a citizen of this country, then a lot of us would be handing in our passports.

Stander actually becomes Irish-eligible the day before the World Cup final. It will be great to hear him recite Amhran na bhFiann word-for-word before scoring the winning try against South Africa.

And if he does need a few tips on belting out the anthem, he can turn to his fellow South African up at Leinster.

Also, does anybody actually know who they players they are describing are?

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