RYAN: I’VE NOTHING ON PAUL O’CONNELL
JAMES RYAN isn’t particularly keen on the comparisons to Ireland legend Paul O’Connell, but performances like the one he turned in against Wales on Saturday won’t exactly dampen the hype.
Once again, the 21-year-old was a remarkably composed and assured presence against a Wales side full of experience and with Lions dotted all over the park, but the comparisons with O’Connell don’t just relate to the pitch.
The former Munster and Ireland captain once said that in his playing days, he would be so nervous before matches that on the bus to the stadium he used to wish he was among the crowd of supporters rather than in his tracksuit. ‘I can relate to that,’ admits Ryan. ‘The night before the game I’m not too bad but certainly the morning of the game I’m very nervous. The game is too big not to be very nervous about it and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t. Once you get out there it’s fine. The build-up is the hardest bit.’
It’s possibly an area where O’Connell has offered some words of wisdom, as the two have crossed paths on a number of occasions in recent months. The young lock is keen to pick up any nuggets of information from the former Lion, who for the past few months has been coaching with the Ireland Under 20s.
‘I’ve spoken to him a couple of times. We’ve had a few sessions with the 20s and caught up briefly then. Hopefully down the line I can chat to him for a bit longer.
‘He’s just a wealth of knowledge and experience. Everything he says I soak it in. He has been there and done that.
‘He’s one of the greats of Irish rugby and to be compared to someone like that is humbling, but not appropriate.’
Another rising Ireland star, Jacob Stockdale, knows the value of what Ryan brings to a squad better than most, having lined out alongside the Leinster man since their days with the Ireland U18s.
‘You know what, he probably hasn’t changed an awful lot,’ Stockdale says.
‘He came in and was made captain straight away [with the U18s] because the guys knew there was really good leadership quality with him, and it was the same with U19s and U20s. He’s always had that real leadership quality and that hunger to kind of work hard and get over the gainline.
‘He’s evolved his game over the years, but in terms of his mentality he hasn’t changed an awful lot.
‘It’s just probably something that he has. There’s guys who are natural leaders and just kind of stand out in that sense — Rory, Pete O’Mahony, Johnny Sexton, and then in the younger realm, James Ryan.’
As for his own rapid rise, Stockdale admits it’s still hard to take it all on. He bagged another brace of tries against Wales on Saturday, bringing his total Ireland tally to eight.
Remarkably, despite winning only his seventh cap at the weekend, only 28 players have more tries for Ireland than Stockdale.
‘I think for Ireland U18 I got eight in five games, so I’m dropping off now,’ he points out.
Stockdale opened and closed the Ireland scoring against Wales, getting on the end of a whipped Sexton pass in the sixth minutes to dot down in the corner before racing over in the final minute after a risky intercept.
‘You go into a game with coaching points and things that you need to look out for. Joe wanted me to be really good in the air and work hard, and that’s something you take into account when you’re playing, but once you’re out on the pitch you just kind of have to do your thing I suppose.
‘I wasn’t thinking should I do this, shouldn’t I [go for the intercept], I just saw that he was going to throw a long pass and [it was instinct], and I thought I could get into the space and get it.’
However, despite his scoring hotstreak the Ulster winger acknowledges that there are still some areas of his game that he needs to brush up on at Test level.
Against Italy, the 21-year-old was on the end of a Johnny Sexton earful for not being ready for a quick-tap penalty move, and was almost caught out again on Saturday as Sexton opted to run the ball rather than kick at the posts in the closing stages.
‘Johnny probably sees things other guys don’t see,’ Stockdale continues.
‘I kind of had a look and said “there’s nothing going on there”, and went to get sticky spray for my arm because it’s useful in the air, and then I just heard the crowd roar, turned around and Johnny is haring it towards the line.
‘So I still need to learn to always be switched on.’