Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
NEW-LUKE LEINSTER
Disappointed Ireland contingent back in harness at Blues and frustrated Mcgrath can’t wait to get his teeth into some action
LUKE MCGRATH says that Leinster’s strong start to the season has been a tonic to the Far East Blues.
Last year’s beaten Champions Cup finalists had 14 players with Ireland in Japan who came home with varying levels of unhappiness.
For Mcgrath there was frustration that, despite being one of only two scrum-halves in the Ireland squad, he only got 146 minutes of action spread across the five games – including 80 against minnows Russia.
Some of them weren’t even in his own position and, having leapfrogged Connacht’s Kieran Marmion to make the trip, that added to his woe.
“It was very disappointing on the flight home,” Mcgrath admitted. “It probably only really hit me when I was watching the semi-finals at home, thinking about Japan the week before.
“I was obviously delighted to get the opportunity to represent my country at the highest level, that was a massive honour.
“But personally I didn’t play too much. I obviously got that 80 minutes against Russia which I was happy to get but I didn’t get to play too much.
“Every player wants to play more but the competition for places...the way it happened against Japan, there were a lot of injuries in the backline so I had to come on on the wing which I wouldn’t usually have to do.
“Things like that were a little bit frustrating but it’s more frustrating as a team, as a 31, the fact that we didn’t reach our potential.
“The pressure of playing in those big games, the atmosphere, you got to play in front of huge Irish crowds, it was a class experience and that will live long with me. I really enjoyed it, it was just the fact that rugby wasn’t going to way we wanted it to. It’s hard to put your finger on why exactly but it was disappointing coming home too early. We didn’t reach our potential really.”
But Mcgrath and his Leinster colleagues in Japan were keeping an eye on results back home and, before his return to action last weekend, the Blues had won their first five PRO14 games of the new campaign.
The 26-year-old started in the victory over Connacht that made it six from six, the perfect platform to beginning their Champions Cup bid against Benetton on Saturday.
“You go away from rugby for a few days but I really wanted to get back in and get back playing, thankfully I got to play last week and get back to winning ways,” he reflected.
“It improves your mood that way rather than thinking about it too much. There’s a lot of optimism in the club which is what we needed after the World Cup.
“When we were away we saw the results and saw the team going very well which is brilliant.
“So when we come back and integrate, we have to reach the standard in training of the young lads who have got caps – they’ve been going really well at the start of the season.
“Now it’s a European week and it’s going to be brilliant, there’s huge competition for places which should drive us on.
“The best thing is to get back out and play for your club and that’s what the lads coming back in are trying to do now.”