Believe hype, Ryan is ready
JOE SCHMIDT isn’t the type of man to take a gamble, hence the lack of concern in handing a 21-year-old who has just five appearances for Leinster his first international start against Argentina tomorrow.
The Kiwi knows well that James Ryan doesn’t shy away from a challenge.
While many players would be keen to play down the giddy hype that has long been surrounding the 21-year-old, the Leinster star seems comfortable in the limelight.
First, there was the burdensome link to the legendary Brian O’Driscoll, with Ryan following in BOD’s footsteps by making his senior Ireland debut before he had lined out for the Leinster first team.
And Ryan took the connection one step further by scoring his first try for Ireland against the United States, just like O’Driscoll.
However, while O’Driscoll didn’t dot down for Ireland until his fourth cap it took Ryan just 60 seconds to get his international account off the mark, latching onto a Keith Earls pass in New Jersey moments after entering the action and racing over the line.
The next challenge was to establish himself at Leinster, no small matter for a rookie who saw his path to the first team blocked by experienced international Devin Toner and recentlyrecruited Wallaby Scott Fardy.
That first Leinster cap finally arrived with a 21-minute cameo at Dragons on the first weekend of Pro14 action this season, a solid showing rewarded with 80 minutes in the 31-10 mauling of the Southern Kings in South Africa two weeks later.
In those first two displays for the province Ryan had proved to Leinster boss Leo Cullen that he could be trusted on the big stage, and when Fardy was a late withdrawal from the squad to face Montpellier in the Blues’ Champions Cup opener against Montpellier, there was no hesitation in handing the former St Michael’s man his European debut.
It was another step up that Ryan relished, and he looked right at home on the RDS turf as he played a starring role in Leinster’s thrilling 24-17 win against the French side.
The reviews of his performance were glowing, with comparisons to Paul O’Connell and talk of Ryan being a potential future Ireland captain sparking up over the days that followed.
Yesterday, Schmidt thrust him back in the limelight once again by naming him in his starting 15 for the final game of this November series, and if anything, his inclusion almost feels overdue.
‘He’s a good athlete James, commits fully to the task, he’s an intelligent young man who has adapted really well to this level thus far,’ Schmidt said.
‘We’ll know a little bit more after this game, that’s what this period is all about.’
From what we know so far, Schmidt looks to have a future Lion on his hands.
The Leinster lock has for some time now been viewed as the ‘next big thing’ in Irish rugby, a tag that was applied following his stand-out performances in captaining Ireland to a first final appearance at the Under 20 World Championships in 2016, where they lost out to an excellent England side.
His progress was stalled due to a nasty hamstring injury last November, with some reports at the time declaring that one of the most promising young Irish players for years had seen his career come to a screeching halt before it had even got off the ground.
Thankfully, those concerns were well wide of the mark. Ryan had suffered a grade three hamstring tear after his leg got caught in the ground during a captain’s run at UCD the night before an AIL clash with Lansdowne.
A trip to the Santry Sports Clinic was required, where a 15minute operation fixed the issue, and while it had initially been feared his season would be a write-off, he was back on his feet in time to captain the Ireland U20s for their Six Nations campaign.
Once again, he led by example, with Ryan’s pivotal role in that U20 campaign ensuring his name made the shortlist for Ireland’s summer tour of the US and Japan, a trip designed to give young hopefuls and fringe players a chance to prove their worth ahead of more serious business down the line.
Despite impressing on that summer tour his game time this November has been limited, only playing the final 10 minutes of the 38-3 demolition of South Africa before injury ruled him out of last week’s close encounter against Fiji — a game in which Schmidt surely planned on giving the Leinster man a more testing run-out.
Now back fighting fit, Schmidt will finally get a proper look at his latest protégé as Ryan partners Iain Henderson in the second row.
And while he may remain something of an unknown quantity to many, some of his new Ireland team-mates have been expecting his presence on this stage for some time now.
‘My mate used to coach James Ryan in school — in Michaels — three or four years ago,’ explained Conor Murray during the summer.
‘He rang me and said, “Watch out for this guy. This guy’s gym scores are through the roof. He’s a captain, an unbelievable player”. I wasn’t surprised to see his progression levels — playing for Ireland before he played for Leinster.’
Believe the hype.