JACK’S THE LAD
Friend backs Carty and his ‘incredible ways’
“His linking with Marmion and Aki was really good”
‘He put us in good areas, he was in control’
THE unforeseen offseason due to the Covid lockdown provided some of Irish rugby’s stars with the welcome chance to reboot after a challenging few months instigated by 2019 World Cup failure.
Marquee names like Conor Murray and Bundee Aki appeared to be particularly regenerated during last weekend’s interpros but it was Jack Carty who looked the most rejuvenated of all.
The No10’s performance made positive viewing for Ireland and Connacht fans alike having watched the talented footballer struggle since Ireland’s premature flight home from Japan in 2019.
Carty has been candid about his difficulties in green, at both club and Test level, something which had seen him deputise at fullback in a bid to rediscover his form before the break.
Spells on the bench — having been passed up in favour of Conor
Fitzgerald — felt many moons ago last Sunday once his crafty handling found John Porch for Connacht’s opening salvo against Ulster.
Andy Friend, who has been highly supportive of the Athlone man throughout his search for form, highlighted the ‘incredible way’ in which Carty guided Connacht to unsuspecting victory.
‘I thought his partnership with Kieran (Marmion) inside him and Bundee (Aki) outside him was really good. You could see all three of them played really well.
‘I liked Jack’s game control. He was always in control.
‘He put us in the right areas to play. He wasn’t perfect but his intentions in what he was thinking was right.
‘He has got this incredible way — he doesn’t look like he is moving quickly... but he is. He makes these little line breaks and gets his offloads away and that is a nice thing to have. ‘It is great to see him back.’ The performance was a strong if not delayed return of serve from Carty to teammate Fitzgerald, whose pre-lockdown showings at the Sportsground had given Carty something to worry about.
And Friend has backed the Munster Academy alumnus to remain competitive in what is turning about to be a healthy battle for the No10 shirt.
‘The message to Conor Fitzgerald is, “Fitzy go and play your game, you are a different rugby player”.
‘Jack has got his game and you just go and play your game and we will back you with what you do because you have got talent too. That’ll be the message for Conor.
‘I know Conor is busting to put his performance out there too so we have this great competition with the 10 jersey and other positions as well,’ added Friend.
‘When you have got good footballers pushing each other and someone laying down a mark and someone trying to overtake it. I am keen to sit back and see what happens.’
The 22-year-old is set to start against Munster on Sunday with a starting XV overhaul anticipated for the Pro14 encounter.
Friend will use the game as an opportunity for his new-look squad to put their hands up and be counted.
The level of depth boasted by the Westerners is a far cry from the personnel deficiency that ultimately derailed their season around the Christmas period.
New acquisitions, including former on-loan Munster man Alex Wootton impressed on debut and Friend noted how the club has used player statistics to help make the right signings.
‘Quite often a lot of recruitment and selection can be very subjective, he said.
‘What we have been looking for is objective data that lays down a couple of markers and says whether the player data is considered to be high class or whether it is considered to be not good enough. ‘We then started to go through our whole squad looking at their data, how that compared to others and what we felt was missing in certain positions.’ Replacements are waiting to deputise for lock Gavin Thornbury, who will miss out after sustaining a concussion yet Friend’s second-row woes pale in comparison to that of Munster.
The Pro14 hopefuls must go without star signing RG Snyman for the long-term after the Springbok damaged his ACL just seven minutes into his debut last Saturday.
‘You never like to see that. RG is a world class rugby player.
‘He has come in and in the seventh minute for Munster he has that injury. All of us are feeling for RG and Munster and Johann — it is not pleasant.’
Munster’s spirited showing in defeat to Leinster impressed the Connacht boss who is anticipating an intense display.
‘They were really good. I loved that game.
‘That was the best game of rugby I had seen for an opening game out of all the competitions and I have watched them all. And I thought our performance and our game with Ulster the next day was a good one, too.
‘Irish rugby is in a good spot. It didn’t look like any of the four provinces had the five months off. ‘I thought the Munster v Leinster game had the intensity you’d always expect.’