IMMORTALITY IS NOW BECKONING
England aren’t going particularly well,’ he continued. ‘I think English teams have a natural confidence, and they believe when they are at home, they grow a couple of inches taller and grow in body weight. ‘This English side, their last couple of results have really tarnished what was an incredible record. I think Ireland have it all to do, but the great thing is, they are in control of that and they most certainly can win the game. ‘This group of players, they are so well educated about the game and so well coached, their ability to win games and the attention to detail is phenomenal.’ Thinking back to 2009, Leamy remembers the build-up to the final day — where Ireland edged Wales 17-15 — being nothing out of the ordinary. The messages were clear and to the point, the preparation all as scheduled, just as if it were any other game. As he had for the defeats of France, Italy, England and Scotland, Leamy was to start on the bench in Cardiff, but it didn’t take long before his role on that historic day took a dramatic twist. ‘After the anthems I turned to Rory Best and said, “Look, I’m heading back into the dressing room to go to the jacks”,’ recalled Leamy. ‘When you’re on the bench, you’re almost a spectator for the first half, because generally there isn’t any tactical substitutions, and it’s rare enough guys go down injured. ‘So I came back out and was taking my seat. I literally sat down and though all the noise heard someone shouting my name over and over. ‘I looked up and someone was beckoning me to tog off. I’m wondering what is going on, had a quick scan and I saw the medical team were having a look at Fez [Stephen Ferris]. ‘On the bench there are calls for guys all the time, so I presumed the guy beckoning me was overreacting a bit. I got up a bit nonchalant, taking my time, then the next thing I started to see Fez getting animated, shaking his head, and the doctors were explaining to him that he was going to have to leave. ‘So, from being in a state of almost relaxation and calm, the adrenaline just rushed through
my body — “Oh Jesus, I’m coming on here into a massive game”.’ After playing a total of 84 minutes across the previous four games, Leamy found himself running into the thick of the action with 73 minutes still on the clock. ‘It’s the only time it ever happened to me in my career,’ he continued. ‘I was trying to gather my thoughts while also performing my roles. ‘The first five minutes, I was absolutely b ****** d, running around like a blue-arsed fly trying to hit everything and probably not doing a whole lot. ‘Eventually I got my second wind, settled a little bit and started to get into the pace of it a bit more.’ The rest, of course, is history. For only the second time, Ireland were Grand Slam champions. ‘I was lucky enough in my career to be in that scenario [winning a tournament] a few times, and you just go bananas. You lose the run of yourself and don’t know what to do, you go to another place. ‘It was great, even talking about it now brings back that great feeling, to be a part of that. You think winning five games in a championship is not that hard to do, but just look at our record over the years, it’s a very, very hard thing for Irish teams to do. ‘When I look back now, it was great to be a part of that very special group of players. ‘It’s up on another level and it was a special day in the sport.’