Since rugby's restart we've seen more business out front, party out back
Competition for rugby’s best mullet hotting up
It was a moment to break Billy Ray Cyrus’s achy breaky heart β earlier in August, All Blacks and Crusaders star Jack Goodhue decided to do away with his iconic mullet. The centre had become renowned for his throwback hairstyle, but even he had seen enough. He got the chop.
Goodhue took to social media to tell of the end, with his pics captioned: “We had a good run together. But it was time for the mullet and I to part ways. Was it the right decision?”
It was enough to cause line-dances to grind to a halt and for denim shirts to be ripped off in anguish.
Just when I thought 2020 could not get any worse Jack Goodhue cut the mullet ππ
— my friends call me nini (@jacobs_niyaaz) August 20, 2020
Iβm just throwing this out there: Jack Goodhue cutting the mullet may well signal the turning point in this pandemic.
— Scotty Stevenson (@sumostevenson) August 20, 2020
However, in the aftermath it became apparent that in trimming the lid, Goodhue had opened up the race to claim the title of rugby’s best mullet.
And since Europe’s elite rugby players have emerged from lockdown to renew battle on the fields, it turns out that the contest for such a title is fiercely contested. Outlandish? Maybe. But the mullet is on the rise, from the Gallagher Premiership to the Guinness Pro14 and beyond.
Giddy up and check out some of the cracking thatches below.
We're thinking that a tribunal (kangaroo court) with wide-ranging powers be brought in for the upcoming 2020/21 season.
– @steffevs09 & @jonnymurphyy1 can you rustle up a third man for the panel?
— PRO14 RUGBY (@PRO14Official) August 30, 2020
"That is a magnificent mullet! It has to be one of the leading contenders."
Will Stuart's hair is a work of art!@alastaireykyn and @ugomonye on mullet appreciation duty tonight π pic.twitter.com/KVbhWreJSN
— Rugby on BT Sport (@btsportrugby) August 26, 2020
When you get sin binned but it's ok cos you have a sweet mullet. pic.twitter.com/q0GvDtdPN6
— Murray Kinsella (@Murray_Kinsella) August 24, 2020
Mullet lives matter mate.
RIP Billy the Fish. βοΈ pic.twitter.com/gr5HpPlEWT— Bri (@BriMcS) August 24, 2020
Watch: Jack Nowell’s brilliant finish against Worcester
James Grayson has started nicely for Saints. Also seems to be on the way to growing out a mullet. Coincidence? Nah.
— Charlie Morgan (@CharlieFelix) August 30, 2020
2β£| Forget about the rugby for a minute, is there anything more glorious right now than @tiff_eden's mullet? πββοΈ
Spellbinding.
π¦ 0-0 π»#SALvBRI pic.twitter.com/PMp2oDuXDw
— Bristol Bears (@BristolBears) August 29, 2020
The flying mullet!! pic.twitter.com/7OUIQhoFHl
— Scarlets Rugby (@scarlets_rugby) August 22, 2020
Pre-season mullet for Connacht's Jonny Murphy. pic.twitter.com/tfJcGpGd1J
— Murray Kinsella (@Murray_Kinsella) June 29, 2020
#Rugby fans rejoice, AngoulΓͺme have found the rightful heir to Jack Goodhue's mullet https://t.co/22HH8Vn895
— James Harrington (@Jamesonrugby) August 21, 2020
Don’t miss: From the French Foreign Legion to the Top 14, meet Tavite Veredamu
We second the motion to add @thomasgordon844 to the panel πββοΈ pic.twitter.com/IsQlW6jXs2
— Glasgow Warriors (@GlasgowWarriors) August 30, 2020
Of course, the mullet makes it big in the America’s too.
#TBT – Let's face it, Q practically invented the mullet
Our hooker has been nailing the look for years, even back to his @RugbyOntario Junior Blues days
π Calgary Rugby Park
π Summer 2014
π U18 @RugbyCanada Championship pic.twitter.com/79CQ4rN7y8— Toronto Arrows RFC (@TorontoArrows) May 21, 2020
MLR also on this weekend and, well, Quattrin has already won the Mullet Sweepstakes pic.twitter.com/tmcxowOda0
— Alan Dymock (@AlanDymock) February 8, 2020
Jack Goodhue, Uruguay's GermΓ‘n Kessler's coming for you pic.twitter.com/kP01vCUgEc
— Alan Dymock (@AlanDymock) September 23, 2019
Which of those is your favourite? Any flowing locks we’ve criminally missed out?
Related: Steve Diamond reveals key to Sale Sharks turnovers
Mind you, whatever you think of the above hairdos, you have to take time to appreciate the Godfather β the man who blazed a trail on his own for so many years. Ladies and gentlemen, the great Shane Byrne was blazing trails before retro was cool…
SAD DAY! π Enjoyed it while it lasted, the ban from those dangerous people…#HairDressers But family making me cut me bleeden hair! π€¬ #WishMeLuck One last thing #MULLETSRULE π€π pic.twitter.com/uaeG6JHCF1
— Shane Byrne (@shanebyrneoffic) July 2, 2020
We hope some things never change.
Yeehah!
Canβt get to the shops? You can download the digital edition of Rugby World straight to your tablet or subscribe to the print edition to get the magazine delivered to your door.
Follow Rugby World on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.