Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
SHOULDER & WISER
Fit again after his op, smart cookie Ryan continues to learn on and off the pitch
AS if James Ryan’s brain wasn’t full enough with rugby, he’s also got a couple of mind-boggling modules to get his head around as a student.
The Leinster and Ireland star has just stuck back into History Today and Law, Politics and Human Rights – an interesting combination given all the madness that’s going on in the world.
But Ryan will calmly and diligently plot his way through it all, just as he has done on the pitch since he made his Ireland debut before his Leinster one in the summer of 2017.
In rugby, sport and beyond, every week seems to bring a new challenge in these pandemic times.
And this one is no different for the
24-year-old as he and his Leinster colleagues find themselves in Italy to face Benetton this afternoon.
It is the first time that
Leinster have had to leave Ballsbridge to play a game since the resumption of rugby in August.
“It’s good to be back, I’m enjoying it,” Ryan grinned. “We’re away this week which wi l l b e a bit strange. I think my last away game for Leinster was in Treviso as well on January 18. It will even feel weird getting on a plane again.”
Ryan’s first game since Ireland’s loss to
England in February was the PRO14 final win over Ulster on September 12. He under went shoulder surgery around the end of July but was back for the league decider and the Champions Cup quarter-final loss to Saracens. “I did it after being back training a few weeks,” said the Dubliner, who initially feared he could lose half a season because of the injury. “As soon as I did it, that was the f irst thing I thought of, I’d never done one so I didn’t know what the timeline was. When I spoke to the lads they were confident enough they could get me back in nine or 10 weeks. There probably could have been worse times to be carrying a knock.”
Leinster fans will be excited to see what could be the Blues’ second row partnership of the future today, with Ryan Baird (left) in the line-up.
“He’s some athlete,” admitted Ryan. “He’s 6ft 6ins and he runs between nine and 10 metres per second so he’s ridiculous really. Across the lock positions, we’re really well stocked and they all bring something different.
“Scott Fardy is really vocal, brings a lot of energy and experience. Ross Molony is a super smart player, his lineout acumen is similar to Devin Toner in that area. Ryan’s coming through now so we’ve got good variety there.”