‘To have celebrated would have been really disrespectful of me’ – Declan Rice on why he didn’t act like Jack Grealish

Rice came in for sustained abuse from large sections of the home support as he made his return to Lansdowne Road, where he won the last of his three senior Ireland caps in 2018, but while Jack Grealish did celebrate the goal he scored, Rice held off.

“Obviously, my nan and grandad on my dad’s side of the family are all Irish. They have obviously passed away, they are not here anymore. I think to have celebrated would have been really disrespectful of me, with them obviously not being here anymore and them being my dad’s parents,” he said.

“I didn’t want to do that, to be honest with you. Obviously, I had such an amazing time playing for Ireland in the first-team, the 19s and 21s. I have great memories that will live with me. I don’t have a bad word to say, I wish them all the best, like I always do with anyone.

“Obviously, there has been so much talk this week, a lot of people in the media talking about me and Jack, and obviously Lee [Carsley], but to come here today and…

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