Rory insists Jord is up with the Best
JORDAN Larmour can bridge the Test match generation gap and produce his “devastating” best on his Ireland debut on Saturday, according to Rory Best.
Exciting full-back Larmour is primed for his Test bow in the NatWest 6 Nations clash against Italy in Dublin this weekend, after a string of fine performances in his breakthrough campaign with Leinster.
Italy boss Conor O’Shea likened the 20-year-old rookie to All Blacks great Christian Cullen on Thursday – but Ireland skipper Best is convinced Larmour can shake off the hype.
“I’d imagine Jordan might not even have been born when Christian Cullen was producing magic for the All Blacks,” said Best.
“He doesn’t strike you as one who gets too uptight but at the same time he gets very little wrong in training, and that speaks volumes about his character.
“And if you want to see how he reacts in a pressurised environment, just look at how he has gone in the biggest provincial games so far.
“The Champions Cup is one thing, but the big inter-pro games I think are another step up, and against Munster at Thomond, and then against us at the RDS, he stood up and showed what he’s capable of.
“With quick ball he can be devastating, so it’s up to us to try to provide that platform for him.
“I think we’ve seen quite a bit of him over the years coming in and now all the other provinces in some shape or form have been affected by him over the last few months,.
“Even just the change of pace he has in a walk-through, he’s just a very exciting talent.”