DEVIN TONER ENJOYED getting all the pats on the back. Now he wants a shirt on it.
After announcing his decision to retire last month, Toner has discovered the pleasant reality of a sports star’s longevity. As Kevin Kilbane once said memorably of his own career as a soccer international. “I hung around for ages, like a bad smell, but over time people began to think the smell was fragrant. It reaches a stage where you get celebrated for what you can do rather than picked apart for what you can’t.”
Toner’s journey was kind of similar in the sense he has been hanging around the professional scene since 2006 and it took a long time before he was fully appreciated. Success then came regularly, the four Heineken Cups, the wins over the All Blacks, the 2018 grand slam, the 2014 and 2015 Six Nations titles.
Along the way, there were often calls for the newest star to be selected in his stead but it was only when Toner missed out on selection for the 2019 World Cup that an outpouring of affection began. He’d been hard done by and if supporters offered sympathy then, when he made it clear a few weeks back that he was about to hang up his boots, he got something much nicer: respect.
The pleasantries, the good wishes, the texts, it all meant a lot. But then he stopped and thought for a second. It isn’t a lap of honour he wants to embark on. He wants selection for big Leinster games on merit and both Leo Cullen and Stuart Lancaster know that.
“It is a business to them; it is a business to everyone, so they absolutely know (what my ambitions are). It doesn’t happen very often that people get a fairytale ending when it comes to rugby. I am very aware there’s a lot of competition for second row in Leinster these days. I’d love to be involved but I’m not the only one. James Ryan is coming back from injury; Ryan Baird is coming back; young lads like Joe McCarthy are coming through. Ross Molony and Josh Murphy have been playing class; it is one of the most competitive spots in the squad.”
This competitive spirit has fed into Leinster’s relentlessness. They avoid complacency like the plague, winning four Pro14 titles in a row, hungry to make that five.
“It is something we talk about all the time; we desperately want that fifth star on the jersey; we want to win everything we can. Leo, Felipe (Contepomi) and Stu have implemented a culture of winning into the squad. Once you do it, you want to keep doing it.
“It is something we are constantly referencing, not just every month but every week, at our review sessions. We are in a space now where young lads coming into the squad are part of a winning squad and it is a good place to be.”
The place they want to be in May is Marseille for the Champions Cup final but come June there is a chance to say farewell to this season – and for Toner to say goodbye to professional rugby – on home soil after the URC announced that the hosts of this year’s final would be the team with the highest league finish.
“It’s good decision,” said Toner, who was speaking at the launch of Leinster’s Next Big Dish with Official Food Delivery Partners ‘Just Eat’. “You should be able to get a reward for finishing first. Your supporters deserve the reward, too. Really, the idea of moving the final to South Africa made little sense if, for example, two northern hemisphere sides were going to be in the decider. So I’m glad they have made the right decision.”
Just Eat, Official Food Delivery Partner of Leinster Rugby, is giving you the chance to decide Leinster’s Next Big Dish! Vote for your favourite by ordering one of the three signature dishes created by Leinster Rugby Players from Mao at Home, Gourmet Burger Kitchen and Base Wood Fired Pizza before May 11th and be in with a chance to win €1,000 Just Eat credit and Leinster Rugby season tickets. For further information or to place your order visit www.just-eat.ie #BringItHome
