NASH & GRAB

Calvin seizes chance on wing despite being nervous wreck

CALVIN NASH found it was good to talk after the Marseille try scorer was wracked with nerves before his Six Nations debut.

Two years after almost quitting the game and in what was only his second Test appearance, Nash dotted down for the first time at international level in Friday’s 38-17 victory over France.

Tasked with stepping in for the injured Mack Hansen on the right wing, the 25-year-old couldn’t help but feel anxious last week.

Ireland boss Andy Farrell picked up on it and took the Corkman aside after the captain’s run on Thursday.

“It was a big week for him,” said Farrell. “We had a good old chat and it’s nice when people are able to be up front and tell you exactly how they’re feeling so you can help them. There’s no point in not saying anything.

“At the start of the week I’m sure that there was a lot that was going through his mind.

“But, through the help of his teammates and the reassurance of what he brings to the team, he was able over the last couple of days to get himself to a point where he was able to be himself.

“I thought he looked strong on the ball and he is strong isn’t he?”

Nash was happy that Farrell took him aside on the eve of the game.

“It kind of opened up my eyes to how good Faz is with people, looking out to see what way they are,” he said.

“He was like, ‘You’ve been a bit quiet this week’ and I was like, ‘How has he spotted this?’.

“I had a good chat with him. He just said, ‘What are you going to do in attack? What are you going to do in defence? Blah blah blah’. I had all the answers so he was like, ‘There you go, that’s all the answers, just be yourself ’.

“It made me feel way better so it was class to be out there then.”

Nash revealed that also got in contact with Keith Earls, his former Munster team-mate, for advice.

Relaxed and happy after scoring Ireland’s third try at the Stade Velodrome, he explained: “I was quite nervous to be fair.

“I actually texted Earlsy at the start of the week as well saying, ‘Man, I’m up the walls here now’.

“He just said, ‘You just need to enjoy it’, that he wished he enjoyed it more. And that’s what I tried to do out there, enjoy it.”

Nash also turned to Garry Keegan, the squad’s sports psychologist, on the eve of the game.

“He kind of reiterated what Faz said, ‘Just be yourself, it’s not as though you’ve just appeared in this Ireland jersey, you’ve almost won it’.

“That really put my mind at ease and it was all about just giving my best there.”

Simon Zebo revealed last week that Nash, who was in and out of the Munster team, considered retiring in early 2022.

But Zebo told him that the arrival of Mike Prendergast as Munster’s attack coach that summer would transform Nash’s career and make him an Ireland international.

And Nash recalled: “Myself and Zeebs were injured and I was just like, ‘Man, what am I doing?’.

“It was class to get a new face in and I’ve learned a lot from Prendy. It wasn’t smooth sailing at the start, I still had a good bit to learn but the coaches at Munster massively backed me as well.

“All I can say is thanks to them as well.”