Larmour raring to go after learning in lockdown
THE next few months feel like an important period in Jordan Larmour’s career. Having established himself as Leinster’s firstchoice full-back, he is also on course to make the position his own with Ireland. That’s not to say he is the finished product just yet, but with Rob Kearney departing the scene as soon as the current elongated season finishes, Larmour has a golden opportunity on his hands.
If he is to wear the blue and green number 15 jersey for the next few years, then a couple of key areas of his game need fine-tuning.
Larmour (below) is fully aware of that, which is why he spent the last few months working on his reading of the play, his kicking game, as well as his play-making ability.
Having turned 23 in June, Larmour is no longer viewed as a new kid on the block, and with that comes extra responsibility.
His supreme skill-set allows him to do things other players could only dream of, but he continues to be pushed out of his comfort zone in both Leinster and Ireland.
Over the last couple of months, the New Zealand teams competing in Super Rugby Aotearoa once again demonstrated the importance of having more than one key playmaker.
Opposition teams still feel as though everything goes through Johnny Sexton, which is why Stuart Lancaster and Andy Farrell are constantly encouraging the likes of Larmour and Garry Ringrose to share the load.
Larmour however, rejects the notion that too much of Leinster and Ireland’s play goes through Sexton.
“He is a class act and a class player and sometimes it is on all of us to help out our nines and tens,” Larmour insists.
“We’ve done a good job. I don’t think that would be really fair to say. There are a lot of other things that we can do better to keep improving as a team.
“You learn that through games and playing with each other and combinations and stuff. You work all that stuff out.
“We have been training and preparing well, we just fell a bit short on the day (against England), so it is back to the drawing board to see where we can improve. I do think we were improving.”
Playing on the wing can often make it more difficult to step in as a play-maker, but coming from full-back, Larmour has been given the license to express himself.
Doing so within a team’s system can be a challenge, yet Lancaster and Farrell place huge importance on that kind of threat from the backfield.
“Stepping up and playing first or second receiver, you can do that in training no bother,” Larmour maintains. “Just get there first and make a call. It’s definitely something I have been working on in training.
“It’s a bit different when you are playing first and second receiver when you are out on the wing or out on the outside channels.
“It’s definitely a skill that I need to keep working on and the best way to do that is in training.
“During lockdown, nearly every day I was picking different skills to work on. I worked on all of them. I did a good bit of work on my kicking during the lockdown, up in a field near my house. I did high ball work – a lot of hand-eye coordination stuff.”
While many players have used the down time to bulk up, Larmour has taken a more measured approach because he is wary that his speed and footwork is what sets him apart.
Stronger
“I have got a bit stronger,” Larmour says. “Lockdown gave me a good opportunity to focus on lifting weights. I was doing a few extra gym sessions. I wouldn’t say I have put on much weight. Maybe I have leaned out a little bit.
“I was feeling good and lockdown gave me that opportunity to do a few extra sessions to try and get into the best possible shape I could be.
“But I haven’t bulked up massively or anything like that. Not like Bryson DeChambeau. I’m feeling good.”
Larmour is being tipped as a bolter for next summer’s Lions tour. Although he is quick to dismiss that kind of talk, he wouldn’t be human if it wasn’t in the back of his mind.
For now, it’s all about hitting the ground running against Munster on Saturday week, as Larmour and his Ireland team-mates look to rid themselves of the painful memories from their last outing.
“It was pretty frustrating, especially coming off that last loss against England. Any time you lose a game you just want to get back on the pitch and get back to winning, so that definitely was a tough one to take.
“We were all frustrated that the Italian game didn’t go ahead but it is what it is. Hopefully we will get to finish off the Six Nations now.
“Any time we play Munster it’s always a bit spicy. Playing Munster in the Aviva Stadium, it’s pretty big. I’m just really looking forward to getting back playing rugby again.”
Energia ambassador Jordan Larmour has launched the first of a two-part documentary giving insight into his season – www.energia.ie/rugby/jordan-larmour