WITH THE TASTE of international rugby still relatively fresh on his palate, missing out on the Ireland squad for November wasn’t an easy pill to swallow for Rory O’Loughlin.
Not that it was a surprise. Getting in the Leinster starting centre slots is tough enough going as he has to compete with the men who, arguably, represent Ireland’s first-choice midfield pairing.
The message from Joe Schmidt to O’Loughlin at the beginning of the season was to get on the field for the big games.
“When I didn’t play against Wasps, I was hoping to play against Toulouse at least and that might give me a bit of a chance,” O’Loughlin said this week as he moved beyond the disappointment.
“When I didn’t feature in that game I had a feeling what was coming, so it wasn’t the biggest shock to me once it was announced and I was told I wasn’t in it.
“It is a setback for me in this season, but you can’t really do anything about it. There is another opportunity for me now to get a good few games with Leinster.”
So Ireland go on with alternative midfield solutions in Sam Arnold, Bundee Aki, Will Addison and Stuart McCloskey alongside the Leinster axis.
Among the areas both Schmidt and provincial coaches are asking O’Loughlin to improve is his outward leadership. The former St Michael’s man brought himself to the professional ranks by leading through example, but senior coach Stuart Lancaster has been driving him to improve the other method.
“I don’t think my personality is like that,” admits the centre, “that’s been a challenge for me and it is something that Stu identified early on with me in my first year with the team; forcing me to accept leadership roles, speaking in front of everyone and being more comfortable amongst the squad.
“It’s the same with Garry (Ringrose) who is not the loudest person in the room either. He has had to work on it as well. He makes himself say stuff in front of the squad and makes himself push that role as a leader; it probably didn’t come naturally for him and it hasn’t been natural for me but it is something that you have to work on. Everyone can be a leader even if it doesn’t come naturally.”
With so many front-line internationals otherwise engaged in this window, this weekend marks a major opportunity for O’Loughlin to show his credentials. He takes a place as the key cog in a back-line alongside 22-year-old Conor O’Brien, with fellow internationals Noel Reid and Adam Byrne hardly detracting from the youthful look to the side.
As the 13, O’Loughlin is acutely aware of the inherent disconnect that comes when a group or unit has limited big-game experience.
“I’ve tried to sit down with the backline — Robbie (Henshaw) is the same. Garry (Ringrose) is the same — you sit down and go through the moves they’ve been playing and what we’ve been doing and talk through the scenarios as they play out in training.
“If there are mistakes in training, you review it and get on the same page in D… even if it’s not the right decision, if everyone is doing the same thing, it puts pressure on the attack.
“That is the challenge that has been put to me this year and it is what I’m still working on: to get more vocal, to get more clarity in our defence, no matter who’s playing where.”
A Sunday afternoon kick-off (12.45, eir Sport) overshadowed by a Saturday night Ireland Test may feel well out of the limelight for some, but the pressure of Leinster’s demanding coaching ticket remains cranked up high and a lack of familiarity with a team-mate is not an acceptable excuse.
“It’s the challenge Stu has put out to us, he said that halfway through last season when there were dips in our performance (that conceding soft scores) wasn’t going to be acceptable. People were not going to be selected for big games based on their defensive performances…
Because the squad does change from week-to-week, you have to sit down early in the week with whoever has been selected and get on the same page as quickly as possible or else, it’s going to look bad on the weekend.
“It happened a few games last season and a few games this season we’ve been off the page.”
He adds: “It has gotten a bit easier — there is a base of outside backs that have been playing, even if it is different combinations that have been running together in training and games this season, and we have gotten better.
“There are probably going to be new backs coming in this week and the next few weeks so we are going to have to get everyone on the same page. It’s a challenge and that’s why it is tough to play that position but I have to keep working on it.”
And work on it he will, while staking his claim to be retained in the 13 shirt even after Ringrose and Henshaw return for early December and the European back-to-backs against Bath.
“There is another opportunity for me now to get a good few games with Leinster. The majority of them will be while the lads will be away.
“And I can get a run of form going into what will be the next block of European games, which is the next chance for me to my foot forward for Ireland.”
Southern Kings:
15. Banda Masixole
14. Makase Michael
13. Klaasen Harlon
12. Kruger Tertius
11. Penxe Yaw
10. Du Toit Martin
9. Ungerer Stefan
1. Ferreira Schalk
2. Van Rooyen Alandre
3. Forwood Justin
4. Greeff Stephan
5. Astle John-Charles Captain
6. De Wit Stephan
7. Burger Martinus
8. Lerm Ruaan.
Replacements:
16. Balekile Tango
17. Mguca Lupumlo
18. Oosthuizen Nicolaas
19. Van Schalkwyk Andries
20. Velleman Cyril-John
21. Masimla Godlen
22. Klaasen Berton
23. Rokoua Meli
Leinster:
15. Dave Kearney
14. Adam Byrne
13. Rory O’Loughlin
12. Conor O’Brien
11. Joe Tomane
10. Noel Reid
9. Jamison Gibson-Park
1. Ed Byrne
2. James Tracy
3. Michael Bent
4. Ross Molony
5. Scott Fardy Captain
6. Josh Murphy
7. Dan Leavy
8. Max Deegan
Replacements
16. Bryan Byrne
17. Peter Dooley
18. Vakh Abdaladze
19. Mick Kearney
20. Caelan Doris
21. Hugh O’Sullivan
22. Ciarán Frawley
23. Tom Daly
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