LAUNCH THIS DEBATE over a few pints and the conversation is likely to revolve around Brian O’Driscoll, Paul O’Connell, Johnny Sexton, and Ronan O’Gara.
It’s not often that you hear Cian Healy mentioned in this context even though he is on course to become Ireland’s most capped player of all time.
Healy is set for his 128th Ireland cap this weekend against England in the Six Nations, bringing him level with O’Gara in second place on the all-time list. O’Driscoll’s record of 133 caps is within reach.
Healy turned 36 last October but he feels in good condition physically and mentally. While Andrew Porter is Ireland’s first-choice loosehead prop, Healy hasn’t come under much pressure for the back-up slot.
And the Leinster man is hoping to keep doing what he does on into next season at least.
“Yeah, working on it at the moment,” says Healy when asked about that prospect.
His desire to keep playing for Ireland is partly down to how enjoyable he finds life under Andy Farrell. In fact, this is the most enjoyable Ireland set-up he has ever been part of.
“Pretty easily,” says Healy, “for many reasons.”
Such as?
“There is the right kind of stress in the environment where everyone is pushing everyone properly and everyone understands that it’s OK to have a down day in here, to have a bad day, and people will look after each other in that way.
“It touches into human emotion that you can’t be bubbly and have a pep in your step every day. You just time it right and everyone looks after each other.
“It’s a simple thing, having coffee with people, chatting and picking each other up. It’s day-to-day, isn’t it?
“To have a support system of 30/40 people around you is such a good lean on to pick up your mood. You can go to John Fogarty [Ireland's scrum coach] if you’re feeling down and five minutes later you’re happy.
“It’s a great structure and a great environment. It’s just fun to be a part of and we are playing well, so that helps.”
If Healy keeps ploughing on, he will also soon be in the top 10 most-capped rugby players of all time from all nations.
And it’s not just about the number of appearances. He hopes to be part of a third Grand Slam in the coming weeks, having also been in the wider squad in 2009 without playing.
He broke onto the Test scene later that year like a raging bull, with his explosive ball-carrying and scrummaging helping to change the mould in terms of prop play.
The game was very different back when he was first capped.
“At the very start there was less tactics, less emphasis on defence, attack was just ‘go for it,’” says Healy.
He is still very powerful now despite his age but there’s not as much room for rampaging runs. Defences are watertight and space is at a premium. The set-piece is more structured and everything requires the utmost accuracy.
Healy delivers that. His role with Ireland now is usually off the bench and he does it well. Against Wales last time out, he made an impressive 11 tackles and four carries in just eight minutes.
“I don’t know what happened,” he says with a smile. “It never happens like that.”
He even found himself on the right wing in the build-up to Tadhg Beirne’s bonus-point try.
“That was accidental!” says Healy.
It’s also handy that Healy covers tighthead prop and hooker in the event of emergencies, as was the case in Murrayfield last year. He scrummaged strongly at hooker against the Scots that day and was on top of the rest of the detail involved in the position.
There’s no doubt that missing last year’s World Cup is making it even more enjoyable for Healy now. He was named in the squad before suffering an ankle injury in the final warm-up game against Samoa.
That Healy got himself fit quickly enough to be on standby before the end of the tournament says it all about his determination, even if it came as little surprise.
Who could forget that Healy was close to retiring before the 2015 World Cup when nerve damage left him temporarily without the use of his right hand? He even had the insurance claim forms filled out but decided to keep going and battled his way back to the top of Irish rugby.
So while it was devastating to miss out on the World Cup, Healy went to work the only way he knows.
“The missus was slagging me off a bit and saying she’s never seen me so selfish, but that’s what had to happen at that time and weirdly enough it was a wildly enjoyable period that I got to put in a lot of hard work and I got a result personally that I got myself available,” he says.
“Yeah, I wasn’t needed but there was a small win for me in that.”
The new chapter launched for Ireland in this Six Nations but Healy remains a reassuring and valued presence in the squad.
He is also still an important figure in Leinster and will be aiming to help them towards URC and Champions Cup glory this season. Healy has already been part of four European Cup successes, seven URC/Pro14/Pro12 titles, and a Challenge Cup victory.
The end is not in sight yet but Healy is cherishing all of this more than ever. Making it more special is the fact that he gets to enjoy it all with his kids, Beau and Russell, these days.
Funnily enough, he has changed his mind on that side of things. He admits that when he was younger, he used to struggle to understand why his team-mates brought their kids onto the pitch or into the changing room.
“I thought it was very much the workplace,” says Healy. “But it’s good, you understand it more when the team is built around family and the importance of that, the role they play.
“It’s fun, it’s something you can give them.
“They came down the tunnel with a couple of minutes to go [at the end of the Wales game] and they were all there for the end of it.
“Laura was giving out now because she missed my couple of minutes playing, but we got to watch it on the TV when we got home.”
It seems that Beau and Russell might be watching their dad play for Ireland for a while longer. Healy will only be adding to his already great legacy.
