CRACKER JACK!
Conan grabs try in Ireland’s hard-fought win over Fiji
JACK Conan doesn’t want to just take part, he wants to take over.
The Bray beast starred and scored as Ireland scraped over the line against Fiji on Saturday evening but the Leinster ace wants it to be a regular thing.
His first-half try made it four tries in five caps for the number eight but he wants more than just the odd cap in an experimental side.
“When Joe tells you on the Monday or the Tuesday that you’re going to be involved, you’re not thinking that you’re borrowing this jersey from someone for 80 minutes.
“You’ve got to think that ‘this is my jersey now’ and do your best. Today (Saturday), we weren’t at our best, but that’s rugby and you have to roll with the punches. It’s something to improve on and get better.”
At 25, Conan was one of the more experienced starters at the Aviva Stadium and his body felt the increase in intensity on the international stage.
Although thoroughly aware that there is plenty of room for improvement, he still takes great heart from the winning performance of such a blend of experience and inexperience.
“It’s definitely a step up and it’s a few weeks since I played in that Ulster game so I was definitely blowing there a bit in the first half, but I got my second wind in the second half.
“It’s one of those memories that we’ll share going down the line as a team.
“Last weekend we had more than 600 caps against South Africa and this weekend we only had about 200 so for such a young squad, a young 23, to dig deep I think will build the team even more down the line.
“It was fantastic to be part of that – obviously it wasn’t a vintage performance on our behalf, but any time you go out and get the win it’s great.
“They (young players) were given their shot – it’s good for them, it’s good for the culture, it’s good for the team.
“We weren’t at our best, but I think the experience lads gained today is absolutely .”