Clock is ticking on Fardy’s push for Euro glory
FOR any Leinster import, creating a legacy is determined by the trophies delivered on your watch.
New overseas signings always arrive under the same cliches of bringing a ‘different experience’ or ‘something new’ for others to learn from, but the truth is that for any foreign player arriving at Leinster, anything other than pocketing some European medals is considered a failure.
That is why the likes of Brad Thorn, Rocky Elsom, Nathan Hines and Felipe Contepomi are remembered so fondly around the halls of Leinster HQ. European titles also help keep talk of the large salaries involved — or the Irish players left on the bench — to a minimum.
This season, Scott Fardy and James Lowe are the men tasked with helping get the Blues over the line and, so far, their contribution has been telling. The likely need to include Kiwi scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park against the Scarlets on Saturday means that Lowe looks set to miss the Champions Cup semi-final as a result of the competitions cap on overseas players in match-day squads, but he has been a thrilling, try-scoring menace in his ten appearances to date.
If Lowe is a Lamborghini burning rubber at top speed, Fardy is more like a high-end Audi — reliable, solid and built to last the distance.
This season the versatile Australian has already clocked up over 22 hours playing time, considerably more than some of the province’s other marquee players. Captain Isa Nacewa, for example, has amassed less than 12 hours, while Ireland Grand Slam star Johnny Sexton has a little over eight hours.
Still, Fardy reckons he has never been better looked after in terms of managing his minutes, a factor that helped sway his decision on a move to Leinster.
Earlier in the season he hinted at having turned down more lucrative offers to sign with the Blues, the former Wallaby weighed up the chances of success and felt the scales tipped towards joining the province.
Despite a long career, his only trophy success to date is a Rugby Championship title in 2015.
Two games away from Champions Cup glory, the 33-year-old admitted he’s keen to add extra gloss to his CV.
‘That’s what you play for. You come here to try and win trophies, and you shouldn’t be playing unless you want to do that,’ he said.
‘It’s what motivates you to get in here and get working, it’s something you want to do, year-in, yearout, you should be competing for trophies and I’ve been close on a number of occasions.
‘I think I played finals in Super Rugby every year except one where we lost the last game. I’ve been close a number of times. Obviously close is not good enough.’
It’s that attitude that made the province swoop for the 39-cap exWallaby, who was signed as a second row despite having played the majority of his rugby at blindside flanker before swapping the Brumbies for Leinster.
That versatility came in handy for the quarter-final defeat of Saracens, where the Sydney native shifted into the back row where injuries were mounting up.
This weekend the challenge is Scarlets, with Fardy one of the few likely Leinster starters not to have been involved in last season’s Pro12 semi-final defeat to the same opposition, a few weeks after the Blues crashed out of Europe at the same stage.
This time around, anything other than winning both competitions will be considered a failure, and while Fardy signed a two-year deal with the province, he is well aware that time isn’t exactly on his side — he needs to strike now.
‘I definitely won’t be here for ever,’ he continued.
‘I’m getting a bit long in the tooth according to a lot of people here. But I think it’s trying to make that shelf life as long as possible and they’ve been doing a pretty good job of that here. Look at the guys coming into the squad now, there are a number of guys in their early 20s who are out-andout starters in the team.’
As for the visit of Scarlets, Fardy admitted that, weather permitting, fans should be treated to a Super Rugby-style game, with both sides capable of playing open, attacking rugby.
‘We played a game against Scarlets in March and the weather was awful and it changed the way the whole game was played. I think it’s due to be dry and nice and sunny on Saturday so I think you’ll see a very quick game. The way the Scarlets play, like a Kiwi side, they play with a lot of width. It will be a very entertaining game, I think.
‘They play such an entertaining brand of rugby, always on the edge of everything they do, at the ruck... set pieces, they go hard at everything.’
For Fardy, this is the stage of the season where Leinster need to see value for their investment.