Respect.
Munster enjoyed an impressive 39-16 victory over Cardiff in Thomond Park on Saturday. The players came through a battle, and ground out hard-fought victory in which Ian Keatley deservedly took the man-of-the-match award.
Munster had many stars on the day, none-more-so than CJ Stander who came through 80 minutes of punishment, making almost 20 carries.
Saturday was Stander’s seasonal debut for Munster, and he really hit the ground running for Rassie Erasmus’ side, who were in need of a big performance after getting hammered by Glasgow last Friday.
A big performance was exactly what transpired, but CJ Stander sweeping up the rubbish in the Thomond Park dressing rooms, after the game was surely the highlight of the day.
All of the other Munster players had understandably packed their bags and left, after a tough day of work in Limerick, but the South African born, Munster blooded Stander was making life easier for the cleaners of the ground.
He then proceeded to dispose of the rubbish, when there wasn’t a sinner to be seen around the place.
CJ Stander cleaning the Munster dressing room after the game. What a man. pic.twitter.com/8NiaAWW8CW
— Niall McIntyre (@NiallMcintyre) September 30, 2017
In a world of spoiled professional stars hitting the headlines for the wrong reasons, Stander deserves huge credit for performing such a deed that he had no obligation to do.
The gesture is one that New Zealand rugby players are famed for, known as ‘cleaning the sheds.’
That’s respect, that’s pride, that’s class.
It’s no wonder we love him.
