IT’S SO F A R JOE GO O D

Conan insists ‘sky is the limit’ for Ireland’s new star Mccarthy..and he’s glad he’s on same team

JACK CONAN believes the “sky’s the limit” as to what Joe Mccarthy can achieve at international level.

Conan has watched the rapid rise of the 22-year-old up close from his Leinster and Ireland vantage point.

And the No.8 has been blown away by how much of an impact the second row has already had.

Conan feels the man-of-the-match performance against France is only the beginning for Mccarthy, claiming that so far he is only “scratching the surface” of his potential.

“I just get out of the big man’s way when he’s wrecking people and trying to destroy mauls and things,” smiled the 31-year-old.

“He’s a good man for standing on your feet and stuff in training so I can only imagine what he’s like when he’s hammering through teams and mauls.

“To be fair to Joe, he’s done unbelievably well for a man of his age.

“And I think he just adds something so different with his physique and his style of play. He’s just a big bruiser, isn’t he, just lumping into people but he’s a great bloke as well. It’s funny, you see him on the pitch and he’s causing havoc and just destroying things and then he’s just such a placid and chilled guy in training.

“He’s very jovial and has the craic and stuff, he’s just able to flick that switch and go out and destroy rucks and mauls and things like that.

“He’s someone who has come on and leaps and bounds in the last few months and it’s a joy to see.

“He’s an incredibly hard working fella so I’m sure the sky’s the limit for him and we’re only beginning to scratch the surface of what he is capable of.”

Caelan Doris (right) has been performing at such a highly consistent level that Conan is hoping he can impress if he gets the nod to start against Italy on Sunday.

He started in the fixture in Rome last year, when Ireland gifted Italy an intercept try on the stroke of half-time to leave the hosts only seven points in arrears.

The visitors eventually won 34-20 but, reflecting on it now, Conan recalls the Italians’ fast start and effective game plan to move the ball wide.

“We were just caught a little bit within ourselves,” he said. “Collectively we just weren’t on the money at the start of the game, luckily we were able to get back to the moment and just be focused on the next job and we got there in the end.”

It should be a different story in Dublin but Conan said: “They’re a quality side. Some of the tries they scored against England at the weekend, they’re more than capable of pulling off a few scalps.

“You have the feeling that it’s coming, there’s no easy games and we’re under no illusions that this is going to be tough.

“France didn’t attack particularly well and they didn’t challenge us a whole lot if we’re really honest with ourselves. I know it was a massive win but Italy pose a completely different attacking picture.

“And they will play from anywhere and take any opportunity so it’s going to be a massive defensive challenge.”