Wicklow duo vying for start
Pair hoping for Ireland nod
BOTH Jack Conan and Josh van der Flier will be vying to play a part in Ireland’s Six Nations opener against France on Saturday.
The pair share 14 caps between them but face stiff cometition to earn a starting place in Joe Schmidt’s starting XV at the Stade De France.
Jordi Murphy and Peter O’Mahony will be favourites to get the nod over van der Flier whilst Conan faces the unenviable task of trying to dislodge CJ Stander from the number eight jersey.
With Jamie Heaslip out of action, Conan started all three tests on the summer tour but found himself relegated to the doldrums again for the meaty challenges against South Africa and Argentina before being recalled to the starting line-up for the clash with Fiji.
It was around this time that Conan and Schmidt had a heartto-heart and the Ireland coach gave the 25-year old Bray native some pointers.
Conan has been in blistering form for Leinster as they have conquered Europe thus far but it is Ireland’s number eight jersey that he craves.
“Obviously you want to be playing for Ireland and want to wear that green jersey on match day,” said Conan, speaking ahead of Leinster’s final Champions Cup pool game in Montpellier.
“But what others do and who is picked ahead of me, in some regard that’s outside my control.
“I don’t look outward and I don’t think, ‘Oh, I should be playing ahead of him’ or whatever. It’s about looking inward and seeing where you can improve.
“You know, at the end of the day if I’m the best player I can be then I’ll get picked, and that’s fine. That’s just the way it is.
“But if that’s not the case then I have room for improvement. Every player has room to improve. And it’s not about anyone else, it’s about me.”
Conan’s consistency was one of the flaws that Schmidt wanted him to work on. The South African felt that he wasn’t performing enough in the big games and performing for the 80 minutes - something that Conan feels he has vastly improved on.
“The main point of that was because I wasn’t staying in the moment,” reflected the back row.
“I think it’s been better since we sat down and talked about it.
“We’ve had those two Exeter games, even the inter-provincials, defensively my workload has been a good bit higher.
“I sat down and I looked at myself and there were massive areas to improve on.
“I do think I’m gradually getting there bit by bit, so I’m happy with the progress. I think I’ve just become a bit more consistent,” Conan stated.
“I’ve gone from having big moments in smaller games to being more consistent in big games, which I think is massively important for international standards.
“I’m doing as much as I can. I’ll have to see how it ends up.