EAMON DUNPHY believes Irish football “hasn’t been at a lower point in my lifetime” – and Declan Rice proves why.
Rice and his fellow ex-Ireland international Jack Grealish scored as England beat Ireland 2-0 on Saturday in Heimir Hallgrimsson‘s first game in charge.
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The Arsenal midfielder refused to celebrate opening the scoring at the Aviva Stadium, having played three times at senior level for the Boys in Green.
All three caps came in friendlies under Martin O’Neill before he pledged his future to England in February 2019.
Writing in his column for the Irish Mirror, Eamon Dunphy suggested Rice’s switch in international allegiances summed up the current state of Irish football.
He argued: “The granny rule is no salvation anymore. It used to give us Mark Lawrenson, Ray Houghton and Andy Townsend.
“Now it gives us Will Smallbone, Callum O’Dowda and Kasey McAteer.
“It did give us Declan Rice, it has to be said, and his situation sums up how badly Irish football is run.
“There is now way that a footballer who played three senior internationals should be let go.”
Dunphy took exception to Martin O’Neill’s past comments concerning the 25-year-old’s switch to England.
In the build-up to Saturday’s game, the ex-Ireland manager appeared on TalkSport and was asked about Rice.
In response, he referenced England’s recent track record of having been to back-to-back European Championship finals, suggesting he made the right call.
He said: “Personally speaking, I couldn’t care less.
“Secondly, if I did care, then I would think to myself, that Rice has chosen to play for England, what a terrible decision that’s been!
“He’s been to a couple of Euro finals and the Republic of Ireland haven’t won a game.”
In December 2022, O’Neill defended his role in the Rice episode, insisting that he couldn’t “coerce” anybody to play for Ireland.
He said: “You can’t coerce players into becoming international players. I played Declan Rice three times in three friendly games.
“He was only a young kid, he played in three friendly games at senior level. He was terrific in the games.
“It’s as simple as this – Declan Rice wanted to play for England.
“Do you think that Declan Rice now at this minute going to play in the quarter-finals of the World Cup, do you think that he’s regretting making the decision that he wanted to play [for England]?”
Dunphy took aim at O’Neill’s past comments, claiming it was his job to convince Rice to commit to the Boys in Green.
He continued: “It’s hard to get my head around what O’Neill had to say.
“He was the IRELAND MANAGER. His job was to sell Ireland to Rice. Saying you can’t tie them to Ireland…really?
“That’s exactly what needed to be done.
“Rice destroyed Ireland on Saturday. That’s on O’Neill and the FAI, in my opinion.”