We were too concerned about Vunipola, not the scrum – Doris
PRIOR TO lockdown, Caelan Doris’ only real experience of playing blindside was for the Leinster U-18s under Noel McNamara.
In fact, up until two months ago, he had never started a professional game on the flank, yet in Doris’ last four appearances he has slotted in at blindside – moving from his more natural No 8 position.
Doris may have been happy to make the switch, but he makes no secret of the fact that he told the coaches he would rather be looked at as a No 8 who can play blindside, rather than vice versa.
By his own admission, the 22-year-old was handed a harsh lesson in back-row play against Saracens as Doris and Will Connors became too fixated by the threat of Billy Vunipola at the base of the scrum, which meant they didn’t lend all of their power to the struggling set-piece.
“He is such a threat off the back of the scrum, you want to get on him early, you don’t want him to build up a bit of pace,” Doris said.
“So, myself and Will were probably pretty concerned about that. We probably didn’t give the front-row all we could have, which probably contributed a little bit.
“It’s tough. Your job at the time is to scrum, you have to do that first. ‘Scrum and scan’ is what we say.
“You are trying to look through the scrum to see him grab the ball or see the ball, but it’s not always possible.
“He is pretty good at grabbing it with his big hands, just one hand, he grabs it and he’s away.
“I think having our inside foot up and being ready to go straight away is important, but it’s almost too tempting to come off a little bit and get your eyes on the back of him, so you can see him coming straight away. But yeah, an important lesson was to scrum first.”
Thankfully for Doris, the Leinster coaches have afforded him the freedom to play as a second No 8,
even if he has No 6 on his back.
“Some sixes almost play as a third second-row and are pretty set-piece orientated, but yeah I’ve always played that No 8 role,” he said.
“Carrying is my favourite thing to do, so I want to be involved as much as I can around the park.
“It’s not too different really other than the bigger involvement in the lineout, which is something I wanted to work on anyway and it’s something that I didn’t get too much exposure to in my under-age years.”
Doris is expected to be named in the Ireland squad, which is set to be announced this morning, as the Mayo native targets a third international cap.
“It was class to be involved in those two games pre-lockdown,” he added.
“I think that probably gave me an extra motivation to train that bit harder during lockdown, because it is addictive.
“It’s a special feeling putting on a green jersey and representing your friends, family and your country ultimately, and it’s something that I want to do again and again and again.
“So, I think getting that little bit of exposure to it pre-lockdown probably spurred me on a little bit more and it’s something that I’m definitely chasing again.”