FAREWELL TO A TRUE GREAT
Cullen leads tributes as Heaslip calls time
IRELAND and Leinster back-row Jamie Heaslip was forced to call time on his career yesterday due to a back injury which has kept him sidelined for the last 11 months.
Heaslip hasn’t played any rugby since being struck down in the warm-up to last year’s Six Nations clash with England, with his final game being the defeat to Wales in Cardiff on March 10.
Leinster coach Leo Cullen said: ‘It’s a sad day in many ways, but also, for us in Leinster rugby I think it’s important that we celebrate one of the greatest players that has probably ever played for Leinster.’
While refusing to publicly discuss the nature and severity of his injury, Heaslip believed he would recover from the problem.
Last November he revealed he was hopeful of a return in early 2018, while disputing reports he had undergone a second operation in a bid to save his career.
However, following medical advice, Heaslip has decided to hang up his boots ‘with my future well-being in mind’. He represented Leinster 229 times and gathered 95 caps for Ireland, winning three European Cups and three Six Nations titles.
His mission statement was very simple: win everything
IN A sweaty corridor in the bowels of Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria, Jamie Heaslip made the slow walk out to face the media.
It was less than half an hour after the Lions had lost the second Test, and the series, against the world champion South Africans (in what has been acknowledged as one of the most intense and compelling encounters international rugby has seen) and Heaslip was in bits, physically and emotionally.
There were only a handful of journalists to talk to him as the English-led swarm had descended on Simon Shaw across the passageway.
Shaw had been immense in the second row that afternoon, but Heaslip was not far behind him at No8 and the pain and significance of defeat were scripted all over his face as he slumped against the wall and gazed up at the ceiling as though seeking a handy escape route.
It is always difficult to perform an autopsy in the immediate aftermath of devastating loss but the first question (from the only English reporter present) did not help the awkward situation.
‘Jamie, I know this a tough question but what’s it like back in the dressing room?’
‘It’s not a tough question, it’s a ridiculous question, what do you think it’s like in there?’
There followed an excruciating five minutes of heavy sighs and monosyllabic answers before the Lions No8 was released back to his teammates to nurse their collective hurt.
It was an illuminating window into the psyche of a great competitor, a man who found it impossible to put on a front and disguise true emotions when they are so vivid and raw.
And that was Heaslip. The Kildare man was one of the most engaging characters of his generation in Irish rugby, when he chose to be, but the bottom line was always determined by his overwhelming desire to succeed in all circumstances.
Heaslip’s refusal to put on an act could translate to surly media performances when he felt they were an unnecessary irrelevance to the matter at hand. It was an attitude the impinged directly on his unhappy time as Ireland captain a few years later but also spoke to the singleminded drive that fuelled one of the great Irish rugby careers.
The following year, in a one-on-one interview, Heaslip showed the other side to his personality, speaking openly and entertainingly about a wide array of topics ranging from his love of music to his childhood influences and determination not to allow rugby define his existence. Yet, if that interview fed into the somewhat care-free, multi-dimensional public image Heaslip liked to portray, the focus still came through when asked to outline his goals for that season with Leinster and Ireland.
‘Win everything, simple as that, win everything,’ he said, instinctively placing the common purpose ahead of any individual aspirations.
It was a mission statement Heaslip carried with him throughout his career, from his exceptional performances that drove the Ireland U21 side to the World Cup final against New Zealand in 2004, through three European Cup triumphs with Leinster, two Six Nations titles and a Grand Slam with Ireland to two Lions tours as Test No8.
But Heaslip always had an appreciation of the grassroots value of Irish rugby also. His older brother Graham had enjoyed a distinguished career as second row with Galwegians and Warren Gatland’s Connacht without earning an Ireland cap, and Heaslip delayed an initial offer of a Leinster contract to continue playing All-Ireland League with Trinity, before making the step up when he believed he was ready.
After winning his first cap against the Pacific Islands in 2006, Heaslip was gutted to miss out on the 2007 World Cup but benefited from the fallout of Ireland’s disastrous tournament by being installed as first-choice No8 (bar a couple of rotations) from the 2008 Six Nations through to the career-ending back injury he sustained in last year’s tournament.
Over the course of 95 Ireland caps, five Lions Tests and two World Player of the Year nominations, Heaslip established himself as the finest No8 Ireland has produced, overtaking the great Willie Duggan in the pecking order.
His game evolved over that period. Initially Heaslip was the free-ranging footballer with a licence to roam — as typified by his glorious try that helped set Ireland on the road to Grand Slam glory at Croke Park in 2009 — but when Sean O’Brien arrived to take on the bulk of the carrying duties, he embraced a more industrious brief, becoming a leader in defence and specialist at the breakdown.
It made Heaslip the complete No8 package, an all-rounder whose commitment to maximising physical readiness (off-field activities ranged from oxygen tents to pilates and Bikram yoga) contributed to a remarkable durability that allowed him to amass 100 Test appearances until injury eventually caught up with him last year.
Heaslip had a mental toughness to go with it, coming through the intense scrutiny that followed his red card against the All Blacks in 2010 and displaying a consistent ruggedness that backboned Ireland’s finest performances in recent years.
One of those standout displays came in the historic first victory over New Zealand in Chicago in 2016, when Heaslip was immense from the first whistle up to his vital role in setting up Robbie Henshaw for the crucial late try.
That contribution summed up a playing attitude that was never about individual showboating but all about what he could do to drive the team on. He has set incredibly high standards for others to follow and it is no coincidence Leinster currently houses the finest pool of backrow talent in Europe, with the likes of Max Deegan speaking openly about how Heaslip has inspired his own career from a young age.
Given his refusal to allow the game to take over his life, a future in rugby is unlikely for Heaslip, who has long since been exploring career opportunities outside the game.
His playing time will be remembered for supreme fitness, relentless workrate, consummate all-round ability and the overwhelming desire for collective achievement.
Whatever happens next, Jamie Heaslip’s legacy as one of Irish rugby’s greats is set in stone.