IT HAS BEEN strange for Harry Byrne not having his brother, Ross, around in Leinster this season.
The brothers had trained alongside each other and competed against each other for Leinster’s number 10 shirt since Harry first broke into the set-up in 2019.
But last year, that close working relationship came to an end. First, Harry went off on loan to Bristol for the second half of the season, then Ross signed for Gloucester on a three-year deal, bringing his time at Leinster to an end.
Harry returned to the province at the beginning of this campaign, revitalised by his time in Bristol, and has put down the busiest season of his life, playing more than 1000 minutes for the first time in his career.
His form has brought him back into the Ireland picture. Byrne was part of this year’s Six Nations group but wasn’t involved on the pitch after getting injured mid-way through the campaign. So he is determined to feature in this Nations Championship window against Australia, Japan and New Zealand.
There have been some tough days recently for Byrne, who says he learned “harsh lessons” in the Champions Cup final against Bordeaux, but this has been a productive season for Harry after the departure of Ross from Leinster.
“He’s my best mate, someone I talk to every day still pretty much,” said Byrne at Ireland’s team hotel in Sydney.
“I talk to him every day, so from that point of view, not going to work with him every day is definitely different.
“It’s been good in a sense as well, because I suppose you get to stand on your own two feet. I can still lean on him from afar, but we’re not in the same meetings, we’re not in the same training sessions, so we’re seeing things slightly differently, which has changed our relationship a little bit.
“I suppose when you’re not competing with each other directly, the conversations are probably a lot more free-flowing. They always have been, to be honest.
“It’s probably the best trait that we have together is how honest we are with each other, and he’s someone you always know is going to give you a straight answer, and I’d say he’d say the same about me on the way back. It’s definitely been strange.”
27-year-old Harry is four years younger than Ross, so he has learned plenty from him.
Byrne enjoys Leinster's URC title celebrations. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
He picks out Ross’ resolve and ability to step up in big moments as the traits he admires most in his brother. Those are important for any out-half, given that the position seems to involve such ebbs and flows.
When a team is playing well, the out-half usually gets disproportionate credit. But when they aren’t playing well, the number 10 often gets disproportionate criticism. So they need to be level-headed.
“I would have said a few years ago, it was something I found harder to balance,” said Byrne.
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“I don’t know, maybe the fact that going away, you’re written off in a sense, you can read stuff about you. I personally don’t, not to disrespect you guys.
“You talk to people who are important to you. You talk to people in your opinion that you value their opinion, if that makes sense.
“That would be something for myself and Ross, I’d say, that we lean on each other in pretty tough moments, similar with my whole family, to be honest.
“They know the score at this stage, the fact that the two of us have had our fair share.”
Having enjoyed a good 2023/24 season that involved getting back into the Ireland set-up and featuring twice off the bench in the 2024 Six Nations success, the following campaign started worryingly for Byrne.
He barely featured for Leinster and eventually took up the chance to go on loan to Bristol for the second half of the season.
As he left Irish rugby for the first time, albeit temporarily, Byrne wondered if this would be the end of his Ireland international career.
“It was definitely a thought like that, maybe I wouldn’t come back, but luckily I got the opportunity to come back to Leinster and then once I got back there, it was just, put the head down, work, see where you go from there.
“So I suppose it gives you a little bit of a sense of when you go to Bristol, you’re a bit more carefree there.
“In terms of you’re not under the watch of people constantly and I’ve kind of tried to maintain that a little bit, that kind of sense of freedom, if you know what I mean.”
Byrne played 11 times for Pat Lam’s side, and the loan had a transformative impact on him.
Byrne during his time with Bristol. Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
“It was brilliant for me for a number of reasons,” he said. “I suppose even just growing up outside of rugby, moving to a new city for the first time, living on my own for the first time, out of home. So even all that stuff was brilliant.
“But even just coming into a new environment altogether and kind of being given the reins, you just have to go for it. It’s either sink or swim.
“And on the back of that, just getting to play, to be honest. Everyone wants to play. And I got lucky in a sense that I got to play under Pat. He’s an excellent coach. And Bristol were an excellent team and are an excellent team. And they were fighting hard to get into the mix, and we managed to get to the semi-final.”
Byrne brought the momentum of that spell, and the fresh outlook it gave him, into the start of this season with Leinster and had soon earned the province’s starting number 10 shirt ahead of previous incumbent Sam Prendergast.
Byrne held that first-choice status all the way through to the Champions Cup final against Bordeaux, but he dropped to the bench after that loss, with Prendergast returning at out-half for the URC title run-in.
“I suppose collectively, firstly, it was a great season in the sense that we managed to get into the big games which we always want to do,” said Byrne.
“Massively disappointing in Europe in the final against Bordeaux. It still hurts talking about it, to be honest.
“For me particularly, it was probably the biggest game in my career in the final and it not to go well was definitely frustrating.
“But then I suppose it just shows the resolve of the group that we were able to bounce back and all attention went on the URC and I was delighted how we finished up with that.”
Byrne had encountered some hiccups in his Champions Cup semi-final performance against Toulon, but he says there wasn’t any great nervousness ahead of the Bordeaux final.
He hopes to learn from the way that game unfolded in Bilbao.
“I actually felt pretty good,” said Byrne. “I probably felt a bit more nervous almost for the semi-final, to be honest, and then I felt pretty settled going into the game.
“And I suppose it’s just unbelievably harsh lessons at the top level when you don’t show up physically, or you don’t take opportunities when they come, big teams punish you and they’re not going to give you a second chance.
“So I suppose they’re the harsh lessons you learn from those games, but yeah, you have to learn them, which I felt the team as a whole learned well. We went into some tough knock-out games off the back of that and delivered.”
Byrne is focused on winning his fifth Ireland cap. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
He was delighted to pick up his URC winner’s medal and help Leinster defend their title, but now Byrne’s focus is solely on Ireland and earning his fifth cap.
With Jack Crowley missing due to injury, Byrne is competing with Prendergast and Ciarán Frawley for game time at out-half on this tour.
This is Byrne’s first time in Australia and he has never played against the Wallabies, so he’d love to feature at Allianz Stadium next weekend.
He always wanted to be back in this environment, and whatever happens in the coming weeks, Byrne believes that his best rugby is very much ahead of him.
“When you get back into Leinster, I suppose the goal is to get back in [with Ireland] and get amongst it as quickly as you can, so it was a nice opportunity to get back in the mix in the Six Nations.
“Obviously frustrating, I was ruled out through injury and didn’t get a chance to really play at all. So, on the back of that, you just go back to Leinster and try to do what you can to get back into the next squad. And yeah, delighted to be here.
“I think particularly as an out-half, it’s obviously the physical side that I felt I’ve developed massively, but also the mental side of the game has improved, and I feel like the game has definitely slowed down a little bit for me and just those bigger moments definitely feel easier when you just get exposure.
“And I suppose going away to a different league altogether, seeing things in a different way, it’s all exposure, and you can only grow from that in my opinion.”
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'Once I got back into Leinster, the goal was to get back into Ireland camp'
IT HAS BEEN strange for Harry Byrne not having his brother, Ross, around in Leinster this season.
The brothers had trained alongside each other and competed against each other for Leinster’s number 10 shirt since Harry first broke into the set-up in 2019.
But last year, that close working relationship came to an end. First, Harry went off on loan to Bristol for the second half of the season, then Ross signed for Gloucester on a three-year deal, bringing his time at Leinster to an end.
Harry returned to the province at the beginning of this campaign, revitalised by his time in Bristol, and has put down the busiest season of his life, playing more than 1000 minutes for the first time in his career.
His form has brought him back into the Ireland picture. Byrne was part of this year’s Six Nations group but wasn’t involved on the pitch after getting injured mid-way through the campaign. So he is determined to feature in this Nations Championship window against Australia, Japan and New Zealand.
There have been some tough days recently for Byrne, who says he learned “harsh lessons” in the Champions Cup final against Bordeaux, but this has been a productive season for Harry after the departure of Ross from Leinster.
“He’s my best mate, someone I talk to every day still pretty much,” said Byrne at Ireland’s team hotel in Sydney.
“I talk to him every day, so from that point of view, not going to work with him every day is definitely different.
“It’s been good in a sense as well, because I suppose you get to stand on your own two feet. I can still lean on him from afar, but we’re not in the same meetings, we’re not in the same training sessions, so we’re seeing things slightly differently, which has changed our relationship a little bit.
“I suppose when you’re not competing with each other directly, the conversations are probably a lot more free-flowing. They always have been, to be honest.
“It’s probably the best trait that we have together is how honest we are with each other, and he’s someone you always know is going to give you a straight answer, and I’d say he’d say the same about me on the way back. It’s definitely been strange.”
27-year-old Harry is four years younger than Ross, so he has learned plenty from him.
He picks out Ross’ resolve and ability to step up in big moments as the traits he admires most in his brother. Those are important for any out-half, given that the position seems to involve such ebbs and flows.
When a team is playing well, the out-half usually gets disproportionate credit. But when they aren’t playing well, the number 10 often gets disproportionate criticism. So they need to be level-headed.
“I would have said a few years ago, it was something I found harder to balance,” said Byrne.
“I don’t know, maybe the fact that going away, you’re written off in a sense, you can read stuff about you. I personally don’t, not to disrespect you guys.
“You talk to people who are important to you. You talk to people in your opinion that you value their opinion, if that makes sense.
“That would be something for myself and Ross, I’d say, that we lean on each other in pretty tough moments, similar with my whole family, to be honest.
“They know the score at this stage, the fact that the two of us have had our fair share.”
Having enjoyed a good 2023/24 season that involved getting back into the Ireland set-up and featuring twice off the bench in the 2024 Six Nations success, the following campaign started worryingly for Byrne.
He barely featured for Leinster and eventually took up the chance to go on loan to Bristol for the second half of the season.
As he left Irish rugby for the first time, albeit temporarily, Byrne wondered if this would be the end of his Ireland international career.
“It was definitely a thought like that, maybe I wouldn’t come back, but luckily I got the opportunity to come back to Leinster and then once I got back there, it was just, put the head down, work, see where you go from there.
“So I suppose it gives you a little bit of a sense of when you go to Bristol, you’re a bit more carefree there.
“In terms of you’re not under the watch of people constantly and I’ve kind of tried to maintain that a little bit, that kind of sense of freedom, if you know what I mean.”
Byrne played 11 times for Pat Lam’s side, and the loan had a transformative impact on him.
“It was brilliant for me for a number of reasons,” he said. “I suppose even just growing up outside of rugby, moving to a new city for the first time, living on my own for the first time, out of home. So even all that stuff was brilliant.
“But even just coming into a new environment altogether and kind of being given the reins, you just have to go for it. It’s either sink or swim.
“And on the back of that, just getting to play, to be honest. Everyone wants to play. And I got lucky in a sense that I got to play under Pat. He’s an excellent coach. And Bristol were an excellent team and are an excellent team. And they were fighting hard to get into the mix, and we managed to get to the semi-final.”
Byrne brought the momentum of that spell, and the fresh outlook it gave him, into the start of this season with Leinster and had soon earned the province’s starting number 10 shirt ahead of previous incumbent Sam Prendergast.
Byrne held that first-choice status all the way through to the Champions Cup final against Bordeaux, but he dropped to the bench after that loss, with Prendergast returning at out-half for the URC title run-in.
“I suppose collectively, firstly, it was a great season in the sense that we managed to get into the big games which we always want to do,” said Byrne.
“Massively disappointing in Europe in the final against Bordeaux. It still hurts talking about it, to be honest.
“For me particularly, it was probably the biggest game in my career in the final and it not to go well was definitely frustrating.
“But then I suppose it just shows the resolve of the group that we were able to bounce back and all attention went on the URC and I was delighted how we finished up with that.”
Byrne had encountered some hiccups in his Champions Cup semi-final performance against Toulon, but he says there wasn’t any great nervousness ahead of the Bordeaux final.
He hopes to learn from the way that game unfolded in Bilbao.
“I actually felt pretty good,” said Byrne. “I probably felt a bit more nervous almost for the semi-final, to be honest, and then I felt pretty settled going into the game.
“And I suppose it’s just unbelievably harsh lessons at the top level when you don’t show up physically, or you don’t take opportunities when they come, big teams punish you and they’re not going to give you a second chance.
“So I suppose they’re the harsh lessons you learn from those games, but yeah, you have to learn them, which I felt the team as a whole learned well. We went into some tough knock-out games off the back of that and delivered.”
He was delighted to pick up his URC winner’s medal and help Leinster defend their title, but now Byrne’s focus is solely on Ireland and earning his fifth cap.
With Jack Crowley missing due to injury, Byrne is competing with Prendergast and Ciarán Frawley for game time at out-half on this tour.
This is Byrne’s first time in Australia and he has never played against the Wallabies, so he’d love to feature at Allianz Stadium next weekend.
He always wanted to be back in this environment, and whatever happens in the coming weeks, Byrne believes that his best rugby is very much ahead of him.
“When you get back into Leinster, I suppose the goal is to get back in [with Ireland] and get amongst it as quickly as you can, so it was a nice opportunity to get back in the mix in the Six Nations.
“Obviously frustrating, I was ruled out through injury and didn’t get a chance to really play at all. So, on the back of that, you just go back to Leinster and try to do what you can to get back into the next squad. And yeah, delighted to be here.
“I think particularly as an out-half, it’s obviously the physical side that I felt I’ve developed massively, but also the mental side of the game has improved, and I feel like the game has definitely slowed down a little bit for me and just those bigger moments definitely feel easier when you just get exposure.
“And I suppose going away to a different league altogether, seeing things in a different way, it’s all exposure, and you can only grow from that in my opinion.”
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Harry Byrne Ireland Leinster Number 10 out-half