A TASTE OF international rugby has left Caelan Doris wanting more and more, and the Mayo rising star is hoping to get just that as he gears up for a busy end to 2020.
Ireland boss Andy Farrell is expected to name his Six Nations squad this week, with 22-year-old Leinster man Doris looking to pick up where he left off on the international scene before the Covid-19 layoff.
A bright start to his Ireland debut against Scotland in February was cruelly brought to an end after just four minutes due to a concussion injury. After missing the Wales clash, he was sprung from the bench against England.
His breakthrough season soon came to a sudden halt, as the coronavirus well and truly took hold across the world. But now Doris is looking forward to getting back into the thick of it with Ireland after an impressive Leinster return.
“Hopefully, yeah, fingers crossed anyway,” said the back row, who was this morning nominated for Zurich Irish Rugby’s Nevin Spence Young Player of the Year award.
“I haven’t heard anything yet but hopefully… I’m looking forward to getting back into the green jersey, fingers crossed. I think getting a taste of it pre-lockdown was pretty special and having that taste spurred me on a little bit throughout lockdown, training that little bit harder.
It’s addictive and it’s a special feeling and I want to want to get back into it as soon as possible.”
The competition for back row selection at the moment is nothing short of fierce, with players from each of the four provinces certainly putting up their hands.
Doris was one of two completely new faces — alongside Leinster team-mate Max Deegan, who may miss out this time through injury, while Munster’s Jack O’Donoghue was also included — to come into Farrell’s set-up in January before the Six Nations, and the head coach was left with some fascinating decisions to make.
While Peter O’Mahony, CJ Stander, and Josh van der Flier were Ireland’s first-choice back row at the 2019 World Cup, there were glimpses of change through the spring and that looks to continue through the restart. Doris points to Leinster where the back row is full of riches particularly with fellow internationals Jack Conan and Dan Leavy recently returning from injury, albeit the latter suffered a further setback.
The Westerner, more than anyone, knows you really have to be at the top of your game to stay in contention — both at international and provincial level.
“Even in Leinster, the competition we have is insane,” he nods. “There’s pretty much two internationally-capped players, two sets of back rows there in the next year alone.
“I think having that competition in training drives the standards. It’s definitely a positive thing. You have to take your opportunity, and you have to be on your game.”
It’s a challenge Doris faces head on. “I’m happy to play wherever, I just want to be in the team and playing games,” he adds, referring to the fact that he’s been playing a lot of his rugby at six rather than eight recently, with Conan taking the latter role.
“Stuart [Lancaster] and Leo [Cullen] kind of both said they’re happy for both of us to sort of play the eight role and to get involved as much as possible in the middle of the park carrying and things like that.
“Obviously six has a bit more of a role in the lineout and restart so getting a little bit of exposure at that is something that has been good for me. It’s an area I need to improve on, but I’m happy to play six or eight.
I’ve kind of said that I’d like to be an eight who can play six rather than a six who can play eight but I’m happy to have that bit of exposure in the lineout, as I said, and grow on that area.”
All Black Kieran Read is someone Doris has admired and watched quite a bit of over the last few years, and has tried to model his game on — “I think the balance of the power game matched with good feet, agility and offload and ball skills, that’s something I want to improve on and that’s the model I want to go for” — as he looks to develop into an “more of an all-rounder”.
Many think Doris is just that already, with Jamie Heaslip saying time and time again over the past few months that the Leinster star is the best number eight in Ireland at the moment.
“That’s good to hear,” he smiles. “He was obviously unbelievable for Ireland over the years and was someone like Read who’s got that balance between the power game, the feet and agility and ball skills as well.
“He’s someone I would have watched closely, and would have learned quite a bit off. Unfortunately, we didn’t have too much time in Leinster together, we got a few training sessions in. He’s a special player.”
Looking away from his own game, Doris is hopeful that his Leinster team-mate James Lowe can soon join him in the Irish set-up, stressing that the star wing would be a big addition.
The New Zealander qualifies for Ireland early in November after three years of residency on these shores and while he’ll miss out on the Six Nations restart, he should be eligible in time for the start of the new ‘Eight Nations’ competition which is due to run from 7 November.
“He’s obviously a world-class finisher,” Doris concluded, conscious not to preach too much about the step up given he’s only played 25 minutes of international rugby himself.
“Even some of the tries he scored there on Friday were top class. I think his work around the park is top-notch as well, so it’d be a nice asset to have for sure.”
Caelan Doris announced the nominees for the 2020 Zurich Irish Rugby Players Awards alongside Louise Galvin today.
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