WHILE ULSTER AND Connacht both launch their Heineken Cup campaigns at home at 8pm this evening, across the Irish sea at the Madejski there will be another Irish international launching himself into a European season.
Jamie Hagan makes his first start for London Irish in their Amlin Challenge Cup tie against Italian outfit I Cavalieri Prato, having recovered fully from the ankle injury he sustained in a pre-season friendly against Munster in August.
The 26-year-old has been limited to two substitute appearances for the Exiles in the Premiership, one of which saw him yellow carded for collapsing a scrum. It hasn’t been the best of starts for the former Leinster and Connacht tight head, but he remains focused on achieving what he has set out to do in England, namely playing games.
“I want to start every game, first of all. I didn’t really get that at home and playing in the Premiership is big. You look at a guy like Johnny O’Connor who went over and then came back to Ireland a better player.
Not that I necessarily want to come back. I just wanted a different challenge, a new experience. I’m just trying to get more game time. That’s massive for me.”
Two seasons with his native province Leinster saw Hagan start just 17 times, and he admits to frustration at the lack of chances in bigger games. The previous two years had been spent out west with Connacht, where he made a total of 42 starts, and showed real signs of promise.
The desire to push his game to the next level by working with the likes of Greg Feek brought him home to Dublin. While the move ended up putting the brakes on his progress for a year or so, their was irony in the fact that Hagan’s form improved vastly only after he had once again decided to leave Leinster.
“I kind of only got my teeth into it after I’d decided to leave. It was in February that I decided to go and I was sort of in and out of the team. When I ended up arranging to leave I started to get games and started playing well.
“But I’m happy I’m here. I’m happy I left and I think it’s going to be a great experience here for the next two and a half years.”
Injury problems aside, Hagan has been enjoying his experience in England so far, working alongside compatriots such as Tomás O’Leary, Ian Humphreys and Eamonn Sheridan every day. Hagan has been impressed with the standard of the Premiership and feels it is a step up from where he was before.
“London Irish are competing against big teams every week and so far the quality has been unbelievable. The props you play against week-in-week-out are all top quality props. There are no easy ‘gimme’ games. It’s all very tough, very physical. It’s a lot more physical than the Pro12, not to take away from that league.”
The Exiles have won only two of their five league games so far this season, but performances have been encouraging as new faces settle into the team. In Marland Yarde, they have one of the most exciting players in England, and he helped them to a superb 18-13 win over Conor O’Shea’s Harlequins last weekend. Hagan played 20 minutes off the bench and was happy with the outcome.
It was great to get the win and great to be on the pitch.We played really well and for me, it’s just about trying to get back to full fitness. A massive win at home for us. I think that it shows that we can put up with anyone on our day. So it’s just abut getting that consistency week-on-week. We need to make the Madejski a bit of a fortress this year.”
Hagan’s first cap for Ireland came in June, when his excellent end-of-season form was rewarded with 25 minutes against the US in the closely-fought 15-12 win. Having had that taste of international action, the Dublin man is now focused on earning more caps and says it’s “definitely my goal to play for Ireland again.”
An Amlin Challenge Cup game against Cavalieri may seem eons away from lining out for his country, but Hagan is focusing on the short term and getting into the London Irish first team on the regular basis he had hoped for when he left Leinster. Every game counts, even the unglamorous ones.
“We’ve got to try and bring the momentum from the Harlequins game into the Challenge Cup and then win there and bring the momentum back into the Premiership. At the moment, I’m just looking for fitness! It’s been a bit frustrating because I’d done all the pre-season and then got injured, so I’m just trying to get back.”
And if he gets back with a bang and makes himself one of the leading props in the Premiership over the next three seasons? Is it his goal to return to Ireland in the long-term and link up with his home province for a third time?
“My ambition at the moment, obviously, is to play for Ireland so whether that happens back in Ireland or here, as long as I get game time, that is what matters.”
