‘I learned a lot on tour. It makes you hungry for more’
Ballina No 2 is keen to show his best form in the coming weeks ahead of key inter-pros
DAVE HEFFERNAN got to experience a summer tour at senior international level for the first time in 2017, and after he whetted the appetite for more, it’s now back to basics where he wants to establish himself as the first-choice No 2 in the Connacht squad.
Even though they slipped from their perch as the league’s best side since 2015-’16, the depth continues to grow at the Sportsground, and Shane Delahunt has brought his game on massively since the start of the campaign while Tom McCartney continues to build on his hooking expertise.
It leaves Heffernan (26) with a constant battle on his hands but he relishes the opportunity to prove himself every time he steps out for a match, or even just a training session in Galway.
And with the summer just gone, which included a first cap for Ireland against USA and a trip to Japan, the Ballina native has picked up plenty of nuggets of information to expand on his skill-set.
“It was a good summer. It was cool being on a tour. I really enjoyed that and learned a huge amount. It makes you hungry for more,” says Heffernan.
“It’s so professional with the way everything is done so well. You are competing with guys who are playing at the highest level all the time. I was a bit disappointed with how I played when I did get down there. But it just makes you really hungry to get back in there.
“Some of the senior guys, the likes of Keith Earls and Cian Healy. You can learn so much from those guys with the way they prepare for the games. It’s all extremely professional.
“They command a really high standard. They put you under a massive amount of pressure and that’s really good because that’s the kind of pressure you get in the game. They are trying to see if they can break you in training. But it’s really good. There wasn’t a huge amount of senior players on the tour but the likes of Cian Healy, Devin Toner, Keith Earls those kind of guys were the guys you would look towards really.”
Heffernan missed out on last weekend’s stunning bonus-point win at Brive in the Challenge Cup, but is sure to be utilised as Connacht aim for glory in that competition for the first time this term.
After all, he played a major role in helping them to PRO12 glory two seasons ago, and he has accumulated 94 appearances for the province as well as four tries along the way.
“The consistency is my biggest area to work on. I have had some good performances this year that I have been really happy with but then I had some that I was really disappointed with too,” says Heffernan.
MISTAKES
“I started the first couple of games really well. The Ulster game I was really disappointed with. It’s just finding that consistency going forward. I am trying to reassess things at the moment, fix that, and stop making the same mistakes.
“I just need to be able to learn a bit better from the mistakes I do make.”
But the Blackrock clubman knows that in terms of outcome, Connacht have failed to live up to their billing in the league once again this season.
They had a poor 2016-’17 in Pat Lam’s final term in charge, and the first half of Kieran Keane’s inaugural season hasn’t been up to their standards either.
Connacht are currently fifth in Conference A of the Guinness PRO14 but Heffernan says there are no hard luck stories and the team need to fight their way back up the standings.
“We are where we deserve to be. We are disappointed with a few of the results. But when we are beaten by a better team we are looking at each other and not blaming anyone else.
“Some of the defeats have been poor performances, but Scarlets and Cardiff are two games where if one or two decisions went our way, we got a bit unlucky. But we had a good honest chat after the defeat to Zebre.
“We need to take ownership, look at ourselves, see what we can do personally and as a group. It hasn’t been good enough and as a playing group we are looking forward to improving.”
And Heffernan, who can also play in the back-row and started his career there, is looking forward to a jam-packed Christmas schedule.
After this weekend’s Challenge Cup tie against the French Top 14 outfit, Connacht host Ulster on December 23 in the first of the huge inter-provincial derbies.
Following on from that it’s Leinster at the RDS on New Year’s Day and then a trip to Tho mo nd Park where they face Munster on January 6.
Heffernan knows this is the time where international selection comes into question once again and the bragging rights are another big factor when the rival provinces collide.
But he will concentrate solely on tomorrow evening’s fixture against Brive, before he allows himself to mentally prepare for the festive program.
“We have three massive games and it’s a big challenge for us. We are totally focused on the Challenge Cup and Brive at the moment,” Heffernan adds.
“But there is something to look forward to, the atmosphere at the inter-pro games is incredible and every player within the squad wants to be involved in them.
“It does lift the intensity in training a little bit and everyone is looking forward to it.
“Everyone is looking forward to it, it’s going to be good.”