Cooney: I felt bitter at Ireland
BEFORE COVID
JOHN COONEY admits he was bitter about losing his Ireland chance but is now over his disappointment.
The Ulster scrum-half was poised to start against France in the 2020 Six Nations after three sub appearances earlier in the championship.
But the rapid spread of the Covid pandemic forced the postponement of the match and the tournament.
When the fixture was eventually played in October that year, Jamison Gibson-park had become eligible and was brought into the squad in his place.
The Dubliner has not played for Ireland since and was linked with a switch to Scotland last year.
“I was quite bitter for a while,” the 33-year-old told BBC Northern Ireland. “I always used to compare
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myself to the other nines and go into games off stats and performances and think I should be up there.
“But it is what it is. I’ve really enjoyed it here and I’ve always fallen back on representing Ulster, playing the best rugby that I can do.
“I feel like when I did that and when I went away and just completely concentrated on here, I did play my best rugby and became probably more of a team-mate and team player.
“I supported Ireland in the World Cup. Maybe in the past I would’ve been a bit bitter but I was really happy with how they played. Like everybody in the country I was really behind them and wanted them to win.”
Cooney, who made his
11th and last Ireland appearance in the Six Nations loss to England in February 2020, added: “I look back more in terms of incredibly bad timing with Covid. I think I was just unlucky.”