Pair of old warriors are both cut from same cloth
“Fardy was 29 when he was first capped by Australia”
LEINSTER and Toulouse have always prided themselves on their ability to promote from within and develop their own talent.
Leo Cullen has used 56 different players throughout this campaign while Toulouse’s resurgence this season has been spearheaded by homegrown talents such as Thomas Ramos, Julien Marchand and Romain Ntamack.
The model at both clubs clearly works. They are the standard bearers in the European Champions Cup, claiming four titles apiece. Toulouse have also reached six finals, a record in the tournament.
What sets them apart is their ability to bring in a handful of quality overseas stars to support their local talent. There has been the odd dud, but Leinster and Toulouse invariably get their foreign recruitment right.
Not only do they sign players who consistently deliver on the pitch, week to week. They tend to sign players with the character and leadership qualities to add value to the club on different levels.
Whether it’s imparting their knowledge to the coaching team, encouraging the development of academy players or acting as an ambassador for the club, Leinster and Toulouse have a knack of attracting the right personalities who embrace the culture and identity of their new home. Scott Fardy and Jerome Kaino are testament to that recruitment process.
The veteran forwards will be both be in action for Leinster and Toulouse at Lansdowne Road tomorrow afternoon. Kaino will pack down at No8 for the visitors while Fardy is poised to make a big impact from the bench.
This competition has borne witness to a plethora of high-profile stars who arrived in Europe at the tail-end of their career and looked a shadow of their former selves. Fardy and Kaino do not fall into that bracket, they did not come to this part of the world just to collect a big pay cheque.
Fardy, 34, arrived at Leinster in the summer of 2017 with a big reputation. Equally at home at lock or flanker, he immediately bolstered an already formidable pack at the province. He was shortlisted for European Player of the Year in his first season at the club as Leinster secured a domestic and European double.
Kaino has had a similar impact at Toulouse. The former All Blacks enforcer — who finished this Test career with two World Cup winners’ medals and 81 caps his name — arrived in France last summer, adding his trademark physicality to a fledgling Toulouse pack.
These two old warriors have faced each other on bigger stages than this. Fardy and Kaino both started at No6 in the 2015 World Cup final at Twickenham. They were both regarded as the finest blindside flankers in the game after that tournament.
Both have learned from the best. Kaino was part of arguably the greatest backrow combination in Test history alongside Richie McCaw and Kieran Read. That triumvirate featured en bloc in New Zealand’s back-to-back World Cup triumphs in 2011 and 2015. Even in the later years of his career, Kaino still exudes an aura when he’s on the field. He’s a humble guy as well. When Toulouse were beaten by Leinster at the RDS in January, it was noticeable to see Kaino chatting and mixing with the travelling Toulouse fans after the game.
Fardy comes from the same stock. Very much a late bloomer in the professional game, the Sydney native did not make his Super Rugby debut until he was 27. He didn’t get his first Wallabies cap until he was 29. Kaino became an All Black at 22 years of age. Fardy was very much a man in a hurry after that.
He became an integral part of Australia’s pack and formed a formidable backrow unit with the twin breakdown threat of Michael Hooper and David Pocock. It said everything about Fardy’s performances at the last World Cup that many felt he was the standout performer of that trio.
He has carried on in that vein since his arrival at Leinster. So much so that Cullen has convinced him to stay for another season.
‘I made that decision a while ago, just things had to get sorted out. I’m really happy to be here for another year and continue to go after trophies,’ he said back in February.
‘We’re enjoying it, my wife’s settled in well and the young fella’s growing up pretty quickly. We’re enjoying our time here in Dublin.’
Like Rocky Elson, Brad Thorn and Nathan Hines before him, Fardy has joined the great foreign legion at Leinster. He will provide plenty of impact from the bench today. Kaino will have handed out plenty of punishment before that. It will be just another day at the office for both.