FLYING COLOURS
Byrne passes his audition in green to give coach more options
NOVEMBER was always going to be about experimentation as Joe Schmidt keeps one eye on the 2019 World Cup, and on Saturday against Argentina debutant Adam Byrne became the 36th player used by the Kiwi over the course of the threegame window.
However, as much as Schmidt was keen to try new combinations and tinker with his team, surely even he hadn’t planned trialling Byrne in two positions against the Pumas, with the Leinster man starting at 14 before the departure of Chris Farrell saw him shift into centre.
Still, it was an audition that the 23-year-old passed with flying colours, and while he didn’t make the kind of impact he has proved to be capable of in the blue of Leinster, Byrne showed Schmidt he is yet another reliable option that can provide cover in a number of positions.
Speaking shortly after the final whistle on Saturday, Byrne reflected on one of the biggest weeks of his life, even admitting that TV cameras may have caught him wiping away a tear following the anthems.
‘You know, it was extremely emotional,’ he said with a smile.
‘I tried to tell myself I wouldn’t, I tried to not let the emotions get to me but it’s been something I’ve looked at since I was a little kid and it is hard to keep them under control when the anthem’s playing. It was a special moment.
‘It hasn’t really sunk in yet. From finding out on the Tuesday, that was incredible, and then getting over that, Wednesday was a day off and the team was announced on Thursday and I think my phone has been hopping with some really nice messages.
‘It was a really nice mixture, actually, of nerves and excitement [in the build-up], and I kind of like that. A few of the older players, lads with a lot of caps, said to really enjoy it and I tried to take it on board.’
It was a first international cap that has felt a long time coming, with Schmidt a big admirer of Byrne since his days as Leinster head coach, handing the Kildare man his debut at just 18 years of age and making him the youngest player to ever represent the province only four years after he first took up the sport back in Naas.
Unfortunately for Byrne, his rapid rise came to a screeching halt that resulted in a three-year wait for a second Leinster cap, with a horrific run of injuries seeing him break both of his legs on separate occasions.
It was only last season that the young winger finally got a steady run of games for the province and began to fulfil the promise others have long seen in him.
‘He [Schmidt] moved on to Ireland and I had to keep my head down at Leinster,’ he continued.
‘He has been in touch when he has needed to, maybe last summer, to chat through a few things to me. He has been great that way.
‘It’s been a massive learning curve, coming into a new environment. I’ve tried to take as much on board as I can.
‘He’s been extremely helpful. But, the thing I like most is that he is treating me like anyone else. He is expecting me to know my detail. I try not to mess up.
‘Once I got in there [Ireland camp], I just wanted to learn. I thought to myself, once the Fiji game was gone, maybe that was my chance gone.
‘Last week, I was a reserve and, even the whole experience, doing the warm-up, was incredible.
‘I was kind of thinking, this is where I want to be.’
Byrne’s next challenge is to carry his fine form over the winter break with Leinster, in order to make Schmidt’s plans come the Six Nations, with the competition for places in Leo Cullen’s side heating up in his absence as James Lowe finally linked up with the Blues after finishing his commitments with the Tasman Makos.
‘I know it is a cliché — I take every game as it comes — but, it really is the case.
‘You go back to Leinster and there’s a lot of competition there in pretty much every position. I will go back and try to take what I’ve learned here with me.
‘Hopefully, I will keep growing as a player. I still feel I have a lot more to show.’