DYNAMIC DUO
Baird insists he is enjoying powerhouse partnership
RYAN Baird and Joe McCarthy could well be described, typecast even, as Big and Bigger at Leinster.
Both are moving towards higher planes, establishing themselves as Ireland internationals through the 2024 Six Nations, important in the recent, considered, ‘over-powering’ of La Rochelle.
If there is a sense this is the shape of things to come at both domestic and international level, part of the turning of the page in the RWC 2027 cycle. Then the current question is can it be part of the story that sees Leinster reclaim the Champions Cup for the first time, after far too many near misses, since 2018? “I love playing with Joe,” says Baird of the growing dynamic. “There is an incredible individuality about his play in terms of how he puts his statement onto the pitch. He is so unique in how he plays.
“Me and him would be on the phone talking about line-outs for 40 or 50 minutes a couple of times a week, making sure that we have a plan in place, where we’re seeing the same pictures, we’re all on the same page.
“I think he’s an incredible player. I always say it to him, that it’s an absolute honour to play with him every time.
“I think he’s absolutely phenomenal.”
Debut
He’s not wrong, it was only last February when, making his Six Nations debut, McCarthy picked up the Man of the Match award following a barnstorming display against France in Marseilles.
“What is he, 125kg, of just pure muscle? He is a battering ram but, also, you look at that try in the Aviva where he’s galloping and then gives it back to Jamo on the inside.
“He is as much a power forward running at people as well as having the ability to dance around people, offload in contact.
“He has an incredible skill set, I wouldn’t put him into one category, I’d say he is multiskilled in many facets.”
One of those facets is ‘size’, which is now central to Leinster’s overarching strategy and which is going to be further adjusted to encompass the arrival of man-monster RG Snyman at the RDS next season.
Continues Baird of the current campaign: “The front-row are really happy with the back five at the moment.
“They’re really happy with our energy, the weight we’re giving them, so that’s probably where I see it most, or where I get the feedback.
“They are really happy with the intent we’re bringing and they obviously feel that weight and are complimenting us, making sure we just keep bringing it because they fight bloody hard upfront so the least we can do is push as far as we can.”
Right now Leinster are anxious to flick the switch and it is not so much to get minds off Europe the Champions Cup final with Toulouse but to switch on to URC needs.
Losing both games in South Africa meant losing out on a potential 10 points and leaving them trailing Glasgow by four, minimising the room for error in the last three games.
“We’re second in the table, we need to push to get back up top, there’s a hell of a lot on the line,” accepts Baird and of the need to re-calibrate for this weekend’s visit of Ospreys.
Warnings
“People might be distracted by the Champions Cup but there’s a hell of a lot on the line for us in the URC to get that top seed — let’s face it, the warnings are there from the previous two campaigns
“Yeah, coming away trophyless for the last two years is no bueno as they say in Spanish. Who doesn’t want to achieve the double?
“That’s our objective, we are in a League and we are in a Cup and we want to win both.
“Losing the final of the Champions Cup or losing in the semi-final of the URC, both hurt as much because you put as much time into both competitions. One is perceived to be bigger but the work that goes into both is equal. Therefore you want the same output which is a trophy.”