IF YOU WANT to get an idea of just how highly Andy Farrell rates Andrew Conway, all you have to do is look at the Munster wing’s record since the Englishman took over.
The last time Conway was named on the bench for Ireland was against Samoa at the 2019 Rugby World Cup. Today’s clash against England will be Conway’s 12th cap since Farrell stepped into the top job. All have come in the starting team. Under Joe Schmidt, Conway won 18 caps, starting 11 times.
Now, the 30-year-old is established as a key man in Farrell’s plans, even though the back three competition appears as strong as it’s ever been, with James Lowe and Mack Hansen the latest challengers for the shirt. Today Conway is back with the 14 on his back as Lowe lines out at 11, with Hansen – the find of the Six Nations – not even making the matchday squad.
“Do you know what, the competition is always fierce and then it seems to get more fierce,” Conway says.
“It’s one of those things. You’re not exactly sure what way the coaches will go with selection and when you get the nod, being grateful for the opportunities is the thing that stands out.
It certainly took me a while to get my foot in the door, and I understand that I won’t be here forever so it’s something that has probably stood to me in the past, having that gratitude, that feeling every time I put on the jersey. It doesn’t guarantee anything but it does make you feel like I want to make it count every time. It’s a special thing to be selected for your country and I don’t take it for granted.”
He’s earned his run in the team, the winger’s attention to detail and appetite to improve his game paying huge dividends over the last couple of seasons. With Lowe operating under a more roving, wide-ranging attacking license, Conway brings a certain level of security on the opposite flank – strong in the air, solid in defence and an eye for the tryline, crossing twice in the opening round win over Wales.
“I don’t think we are being given two different directives but James has got some extremely good strengths and a lot of know-how about how we want to play the game and how he can add value to the team,” Conway continues.
“Mine are probably a small bit different but it is trying to get the balance right, always. Sometimes you want to go roaming but it is about a feel for the game as well. At times when the game is tight, say if I am on the blindside and I can feel that they have got good defensive structure on both sides, it’s trying to decide where can I add value.
Sometimes that’s holding where I am, other times if I see they might have overloaded defensively where I am, then there could be opportunities on the open side and getting on a support line. It’s about getting the best way to get in there and add value. So there is a multitude of ways you can go about it and each game is going to be different.
“You have to get a feel for each game. Sometimes it’s like you’re a magnet for the ball and other times you got to work that bit harder or smarter. It always changes. We have to keep adapting and learning and the more we understand the game the more value we can add as we go.”
Playing England stirs up special memories for Conway. He was 25 when he made his Test debut against Eddie Jones’ men back in 2017, a 13-9 win in Dublin. “Probably the best day of my career,” he reckons.
He’s lined out against them twice since, the 57-15 World Cup warm-up defeat at Twickenham in 2019 and the bruising 24-12 loss at the same venue in the 2020 Six Nations.
“Each game is very different I suppose, I certainly don’t want to be going back to 2017 to look at that and see why we beat them. I suppose it’s just matching and trying to out-energise them, bringing a variety to our game, that we’re not predictable in what our attack is to them, we’re predictable to what we want to do for us, aggressive defence, owning the air.
“There’s a multitude of things. You don’t have to win them all but you want to be getting the upper hand in as many of those key areas as you can and then obviously big players on big days win big matches.”
Up to this point of the championship, the focus has primarily been on Ireland’s attack, but Jones seems locked in on making this another physical challenge.
“They’re a tough team to play against,” Conway adds.
“It is what it is. These are the days we need to be moving on and going over and getting the performance, first. If we perform where we want to be, come what may. You can detach from the outcome a bit and get your process right and bring your performance. We back ourselves against anyone when we can do that.”
Gavan Casey and Murray Kinsella look ahead to Twickenham and two big URC games involving three of the provinces
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