BENT back in SHAPE
Leinster’s much-maligned Kiwi prop has f inally found his feet and is targeting an Ireland recall
MICHAEL BENT swings open the door to his Milltown apartment and it’s straight to business. No preliminaries. No coffee. No time to switch his television off. He wants to handle the hot potato, his aborted career with Ireland and the reasons why he isn’t giving up rekindling it. ‘I didn’t want to leave. I still feel I’ve unfinished business,’ he insists, confirming he has enlisted for another two years at Leinster.
‘I’ve really enjoyed my time in Ireland, so I’m happy to stay. It wasn’t too hard a decision. I’d a bit of an offer to go back to New Zealand but I thought I’d carry on.
‘Part of the reason why I signed again was to prove I can play at that [Test] level rather than finish up and go home with my tail between my legs. I’m really keen to get back up and prove I’m good enough.
‘It would be pretty brilliant. When I first came over I wasn’t expecting it but to get there [Ireland team] and then fall right off, was very disappointing. If I can work my way back up I’ll be happy. I’m pretty focused, pretty confident I can do it.’
You can only admire Bent’s pluck to determinedly hang around. Others would cut and run after a difficult 20 months.
Aside from falling off Ireland’s radar, all 15 Leinster starts have been in the PRO12. None in Europe. But he hasn’t lost the faith even though Jack McGrath and Martin Moore now provide back-up to Cian Healy and Mike Ross both at international and provincial levels.
‘Opportunities always come and it’s just about taking them,’ he reasons, confidence buoyed by emerging unscathed five weeks ago against Munster at sold-out Aviva Stadium and by a season that has seen a marked improvement in form and confidence, helped by being used predominantly as a loosehead.
‘To walk off knowing I’d thrown everything into it and had a good performance was quite pleasing.’
The Aviva was where it started for Bent in November 2012, less than a fortnight after stepping off a plane from New Zealand. His hat-trick of cameos from the bench for established tighthead Ross [Test caps against South Africa and Argentina either side of the non-Test spin in Limerick versus Fiji] were adequate, but there was no escaping the howls of derision accompanying his inclusion.
He never expected a fuss. He’d started just twice for Hurricanes in Super Rugby and, having agreed terms in April 2012 on Greg Feek’s recommendation, the plan was to hook up with Leinster after ITM Cup duty with Taranaki. Nothing else.
HOWEVER an October call from Declan Kidney meant Carton House, not UCD, became the Irish passport-carrying prop’s immediate port of call. Cue public out- rage.
‘It took me by surprise because it wasn’t a call I was expecting. I was blown away,’ recalls Bent, who is proud of his 51 minutes off the bench. ‘I played really well, was really happy with how everything went.
‘I knew there was a lot of [critical] talk. It didn’t bother me too much. I just concentrated on what I was doing, learning the calls and worrying what my performance was going to be. I knew people thought it was a bit unfair I’d come straight from New Zealand into the team, but that wasn’t something I could control.
‘People have opinions and they are entitled to it but there was no way I was going to turn that [Ireland caps] down. It was an amazing opportunity and still the highlight of my time here. Just playing in that team was pretty special. I really enjoyed it.’
What bugged, if anything, was the negative spinning of an infamous picture of him holding a hurley.
‘I just walked out onto the training pitch and there were a couple of guys playing. The idea wasn’t to pose and show people how Irish I was. It was just a bit of fun. The fact they took a few photos may have given it that dimension, but there was nothing in it. I was just having a bit of whack around with this ball and stick.’
Two months later, though, Kidney cut him adrift following a troubled scrum effort at tighthead in Galway with the Wolfhounds, the coach then suggested he put Leinster ahead of Ireland’s 2013 Six Nations. He drifted, winding up in the province’s British & Irish Cup side.
‘Scrummaging is a little bit different here,’ he reasons.
‘In New Zealand you just get an angle so you can get the ball out quickly and allow backs to play. Here it’s kept in a bit longer and you’re really just trying to get a penalty or push the other scrum all the way down the paddock.
‘That mentality was a little bit of a change. There were slight technique changes I tried to adapt to. Once I changed one thing I’d fall off on something else and then when I fixed that, something else would slip. Just technique-wise I fell off a wee bit.
‘Sometimes, the harder you try to correct something the worse it gets. You just really need to clear your head and go back to what you know – I struggled to do that.’
Roger Scott, his former Under-20s coach from New Zealand who dabbles in sports psychology, is now a confidant.
‘It’s good to talk with someone from a similar background, a farming lad who played a bit of rugby overseas and has an understanding of what it’s like in a foreign environment.
‘Sometimes you can switch off in training. You need to be able to identify it and tell yourself to focus.’
The idea was not a pose to show how Irish I was, it was just a bit of fun with a ball and stick
Emerging Ireland’s tour to Georgia was a confidence boost. So too an invitation to Joe Schmidt’s initial wider Ireland squad get-together. But then came the pinched nerve that stalled his second season.
HE DIDN’T think much of the August training shunt to the head but woke up the following day in agony. ‘It was really uncomfortable and I spent a couple of weeks sleeping on the couch so that it wasn’t affecting my nerve,’ he says.
‘As well as damaging the nerve and the pain that came with it, I also lost a lot of strength in my right arm. I was struggling to lift anything with that arm and it’s still not 100 per cent now. I’m still building it back up.’
A knee injury followed last winter but even though out of sight, he wasn’t out of mind for Schmidt, who had signed him at Leinster.
‘Joe was in touch and just said “keep pushing hard, we’ve still got an eye on you. Get back playing well and go from there”.’
That’s what the 28-year-old prop has been doing and, though he isn’t likely to feature in the PRO12 run-in if everyone is available, another eastern European tour with Emerging Ireland could be the perfect tonic for next season. Leinster are certainly backing him to succeed.
‘When you’re younger and things don’t go your way you say, “never mind, I’ve got a few more years to develop”. As front row I do have a few more years ahead, but it is pretty important to get things on track.’