AMBITION WRITTEN ALL OVER BLUES’ PORTER
THERE aren’t many professional rugby players that wear their heart on their sleeve, but Leinster’s Andrew Porter bucks that trend.
To be precise, a hefty portion of the prop’s equally hefty left arm is decorated with tattoos of an angel, a dove and the name of his mother, Wendy, who passed away when Porter was just 12, all of which he is happy to discuss.
‘That [biggest tattoo], I was in Rome with my mum, it’s a statue on one of the bridges there. That was my first one. I’ve a dove there as well.
‘My Dad was the one who got me into rugby when I was five, but she was very sporty herself and she always kind of kept me going that way. When she passed it was a big driving factor for me. To keep the family proud almost. I was about 12.
‘I guess, in a way, it affected my life in a lot of different ways. I kind of use it now... if she’s looking over me, I’d like to think she’s looking down, smiling down at me. That I’m doing her proud.’
He’s certainly making a good job of doing just that.
At 21, Porter has already forced himself into Joe Schmidt’s plans, putting in a solid performance as he earned his third cap for Ireland in the November international against Fiji just one year after making his Leinster debut, with the former St Andrew’s man a bulldozing presence for Leo Cullen’s Blues throughout the campaign.
Tattoos aside, the most striking thing about Porter’s appearance is his sheer size — the 6ft Dubliner tips the scales at 120kg.
‘Yeah, it was just always a big hobby for me, always being in the gym,’ he explains.
‘My strength and conditioning coach in Andrew’s was a big motivator for me — David Jones, he’s still there now.
‘When I came in here [to Leinster], you’re surrounded by everyone else, it’s almost like a motivating factor to — I wouldn’t say out-lift them — but it’s great being with people driven by the same goals as you are. I get the best of both worlds, I get to train day-in, dayout in the gym and then go out and do what I love on the pitch.’
That love was tested when Leinster scrum coach John Fogarty suggested a positional switch from loosehead to tighthead, given the Blues’ embarrassment of riches in Porter’s original position.
‘I was confused more than anything,’ he remembers.
‘I thought I was going well at loosehead but then John Fogarty came up to me one day and said “look we want to see what you’re like at tighthead, you have the size, you have the traits for it” and then a few trainings later I was slotting in at tighthead, and then you probably heard about me getting my wings (being lifted off the ground) with Peter Dooley. ‘It’s been kind of a learning curve from back then till now but I think I’ve come along a decent bit in a fair amount of time. ‘It was tough at the beginning. With the call-up to the summer squad it was a great boost to my confidence and being called into the November Internationals was another big boost.’
If all goes to plan, there will also be a call-up for the Six Nations, and Porter admits that after enjoying his home debut against Fiji, his demotion to 24th man for the November closer against Argentina — he played for Leinster against Dragons the previous night — has made him determined to kick on and impress Schmidt over the winter period.
‘Yeah, I was training hard in Carton House — trying to put my best foot forward for the coaches. When you’re not selected it keeps you hungry, wanting to learn more and you want to keep at the heels of top guys like Tahdg [Furlong] and John Ryan.
‘It’s a big goal for me [the Six Nations], yeah, but this window in Leinster is a big opportunity for me.
‘I haven’t played Champions Cup yet, but that’s the next step for me I think.’