I PUT THE IN JAMES

Humble Ryan insists he’s just lucky

JAMES RYAN insists he’s just “jammy” as he reflects on his remarkable winning streak as a pro.

It’s an amazing statistic that since making his senior debut last summer, Ryan has played 19 games for Leinster and Ireland and won them all.

He actually played for his country before he lined out for his province – coming off the bench against the USA last June.

It was a portent of what was to come that he scored a try almost instantly.

“Yeah, it was my second touch,” Ryan recalled.

“Keith Earls (inset) made a break, as he’s been doing all year, and I was lucky enough to be on his inside.

“The ball got popped to me, it could just as easily have been popped to Luke (Marshall).”

The young Grand Slammer has been on the winning side ever since.

It’s a run that has included the November internationals against South Africa and Argentina, the last-gasp Six Nations win over France and the Slam clincher against England – plus numerous Champions Cup pool games and last Sunday’s quarter-final win over holders Saracens.

Not bad for a first professional.

“It’s a bit jammy to be honest,” said Ryan, looking a bit embarrassed by it all. “We’ll see how long it can last, but hopefully it can.

“It’s not important to me. I don’t even normally think about it.

“It’s been mentioned a few times but no, it’s not something that’s at the forefront of my mind.” In the back of full season as a Ryan’s mind, and lodged there for good, are happy memories of all three of Leinster’s Heineken Cup final victories.

“I was in the Millennium, Murrayfield and Twickenham, they were all class games,” beamed Ryan.

“The Millennium (against Northampton) was the best one, for me that stuck out. It was class.

“Leinster having that success kind of makes you want to be part of it and drives any young kid to push on. It certainly played an influence for me as a kid.”

Asked if his team-mates look at him as a lucky charm, Ryan smiled: “No!”

In fact, he’s probably more freaked by his colleagues referring to him as ‘The Big

Cheese’.

It’s a nickname that came to light during the Six

Nations, when Dan Leavy let it slip.

Ryan explained: “It’s from a movie, ‘Why Him?’.

“The character in that is called ‘The Big Cheese’ and

(Leinster No8) Max

Deegan watched it one day, came in and randomly called me

‘Big Cheese’ out of nowhere.

“A few lads heard it and they found it hilarious and that’s how it stuck.”