COVER STORY
Joey Carbery talks to Cian Tracey about staying goal-focused
Four years ago, Joey Carbery took a moment to himself, assessed his options and then wrote down some goals.
As a bright-eyed 17-year old heading into sixth year at Blackrock College, endless possibilities lay ahead but Carbery’s mind was already fixated on one career path.
By the end of that school year, he had successfully completed his Leaving Cert and won a Leinster schools Senior Cup medal with Blackrock alongside the likes of Jeremy Loughman, Caelan Doris and Hugo Keenan – all of whom are currently in the Leinster Academy.
What followed was beyond the wildest dreams of one of the country’s most exciting young talents, who was always destined for the top.
“One of my goals was to be in the Blackrock starting team and do well in the Cup, that was my short-term aim,” he recalls.
“My medium-term goal was to get into the Leinster Academy. My long-term goal was to become a full-time professional athlete and play for Ireland.”
Rarely has a player breezed through the ranks with such coolness but in three short years, Carbery has managed to achieve every one of his goals.
A place in the Leinster Academy naturally followed after a stunning schools campaign and in March of last year, he made his Leinster debut when he came off the bench in the latter stages of Leinster’s 12-6 defeat in Glasgow.
Things were happening very quickly for Carbery, who was born in Auckland, to Irish parents Joey and Amanda, before they made the move back to their original homeland in Athy when he was 11, along with his brother Culann and sister Ciara.
He was, however, taking everything in his stride. Joe Schmidt then came calling last November. Carbery later came off the bench to replace the injured Johnny Sexton with 21 minutes remaining in Chicago and converted Robbie Henshaw’s crucial try to help steer Ireland to a historic first victory over New Zealand as they ran out 40-14 winners.
As international debuts go, it was quite special and it topped what was a memorable weekend as he also turned 21.
“Looking back on it now, everything went my way,” Carbery smiles.
“To be part of something that big, I was so fortunate and lucky to be there. I pinch myself just thinking about it. I want to try and make more memories like that in my career.
“We ended up going out for a steak dinner with the whole team. I think it was in Michael Jordan’s restaurant, which was pretty cool.
“When I got home to Ireland, we went out for a family dinner. My dad was the only one who was in Chicago. My mum’s passport was out of date in six month (realised at the last minute) so she couldn’t go. That was pretty disappointing for her but at least my dad was there.”
Carbery’s father Joey has been a huge influence throughout his life. A wellrespected coach in his own regard, Joey Snr coached his son throughout his underage days with Athy RFC.
Having that kind of help at home is crucial to his development and given that his dad was recently appointed as a Community Rugby Officer, responsible for promoting and developing the game in the North Midlands area, the pair are in constant discussion with each other.
“He would always have a comment or an input to how I play,” Carbery explains.
“Then again, he’s my biggest supporter. He’s always there for me. He goes to all of my games that he can.
“He is always trying to get me to improve. He’s great at spotting things that I could have done better and passing on advice. It’s always good to have someone like that to keep you grounded and humble.”
Despite all of his remarkable achievements in such a short space of time, Carbery’s feet are firmly planted on the ground. He may have been the first player born in 1995 to play for Ireland but in his
eyes, it is all about looking forward to the next goal.
In last year’s All-Ireland League, Carbery was instrumental in Clontarf ’s march to the final and he typically didn’t let his performance level dip when his side beat Cork Con at the Aviva Stadium last May.
He put in a sensational man-of-thematch display that saw him score a magnificent individual try as well as kicking four conversions en route to a pulsating 28-25 victory.
Now, with two years left of his three-year degree in sport and exercise management in UCD, his hands are full both on and off the pitch.
While the targets he set four years ago were dominated by the oval ball, he knows the importance of already planning for life after rugby. “Rugby is a short career,” he maintains. “By the time I’m 35, I will probably have the boots hung up. Touch wood, but you could get a career-ending injury so you always need something to fall back on.
“While I’m young I can get through that
To be part of something that big, I was so fortunate and lucky to be there. I pinch myself just thinking about it. Iwantto try and make more memories like that in my career
(degree), it will be great to have it. And also, it looks good on your CV that you have completed a degree.
“It’s tough to get to lectures with the busy schedule but a lot of the content is online so you pick it up in the evenings. You can get your assignments done that way. The lecturers are quite helpful. A lot of the lads are in the same boat. The head of the course is very helpful as well. If you ever need anything, you can call him and ask questions.
“It’s half business, half sport. A lot of the sports modules are about strength and conditioning and how the body works which would coincide with what we do in Leinster.
“A lot of the stuff that we cover in the modules, you might have heard the S&C guys say it before. You can always ask them for a hand with assignments as well. The business side is very interesting is well.
“It’s good because it’s another way to take your mind off rugby.”
The bubble that rugby players live in has a tendency to grab hold of some, particularly the younger ones, but Carbery is mature enough to understand the importance of switching off.
“Outside of rugby, I like to be as chilled as I can – hang out with friends, maybe play a bit of golf or just chill and watch some TV at the house,” he says.
“If you get too caught up in rugby and think about it all the time, it will affect your game in a negative way because you’re
so uptight about it.
“A full day of rugby is three or four meetings and training. It’s mentally draining as well as physically. You’ve got to go home and unwind and take your mind off it. You definitely need a good life balance outside of rugby.
“I watch a bit of basketball, golf, cricket occasionally. I would have played it back in New Zealand. We played it in school and on the beach. It’s a summer sport over there so when rugby was over, people would play a bit of cricket.”
A typical day in Leinster would see Carbery clock off at 4pm. Living with team-mates Luke McGrath and brothers Bryan and Ed Byrne means that his focus is always maintained.
That said, the four house-mates also know how to switch off and when it comes to their weekly cook-offs, the competitive edge is in full flow. “We take turns cooking,” Carbery says. “Me and Ed cook for the four of us. We do two nights and Bryan and Luke will do two nights.
“Me and Ed are the best. We make a good Caribbean chicken curry. We nailed it the other night. Lukey and Bryan love a good steak and sweet potato chips.
“We do a few cooking classes in DIT. They are set up so anyone in the squad can sign up for it. That’s good fun. You normally can set them up with people you live with so the four of us are in that so we go to the classes.
“It’s so helpful to know about certain dishes and once you know, they are actually really easy to make.
“Cooking does take a bit of time in the evenings, especially when you’re in Leinster from about seven in the morning until four in the afternoon.
“You come home and you’re wrecked but it’s the main part of your recovery. I need to put on weight so it’s very helpful to have the lads there. They help me and cook extra food and say ‘Have this.’
“Cooking with someone else is good fun and it helps you unwind. Rather than just watching TV, we tend to cook and just chat while we are doing it.”
It’s all part of the daily grind but finding ways to make it easier is helped by living with friends who are on the same page.
A summer holiday to the Greek islands with his girlfriend Robyn following Ireland’s summer tour, during which Carbery injured his ankle, is a now distant memory as the fit-again out-half switches his focus back to the season ahead.
But for a player who has already reached so many goals in his fledgling career, how does he reassess those targets?
“If anything it drives me even more,” Carbery adds.
“It means I can be more ambitious. I’m not saying it was easy to accomplish, I was very fortunate to get where I am but it just gives me that bit of confidence in myself that I can achieve my full potential and whatever I put my mind to.
“One of the main goals is to win something as a team. I think it’s on everyone’s mind. We want to prove to ourselves and other people that we are the best.”
Judging by the rate that Carbery achieves what he sets out to do, don’t be surprised to see another set of goals being ticked off the list sooner rather than later.