THERE WERE FRESH injury concerns aplenty for Andy Farrell as he watched Leinster’s battle in Bayonne on Saturday, but the Ireland head coach must have been pleased to see loosehead prop Jack Boyle making an excellent return from injury.
With Paddy McCarthy’s season possibly over and Andrew Porter a major doubt for the start of the Six Nations, Boyle’s comeback couldn’t have been more timely.
Boyle is the firm favourite to be wearing Ireland’s number one shirt for the Six Nations opener against France on 5 February so an impressive run-out on French soil was ideal.
Last season, Boyle made big progress with Ireland as he got his Test debut off the bench in the Six Nations win over Wales in Cardiff. He had been playing well for Leinster and he even nudged ahead of Cian Healy for the bench spot behind Porter in Ireland’s closing Six Nations game against Italy.
When Boyle then started the two summer Tests against Georgia and Portugal, he must have felt he was in a good place to kick on again this season.
But the breakthrough from McCarthy – who was sidelined for most of last season – in the first half of this campaign slowed Boyle up.
McCarthy made a good impression for Leinster early this season and then pushed past Boyle in Ireland’s pecking order in the November Tests too, coming off the bench in three games and starting against Australia.
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It must have been frustrating for Boyle, who was an unused member of Ireland’s autumn squad, but he has been in fine form for Leinster since.
He was impressive away to the Dragons in the URC at the end of November, did well off the bench in the two Champions Cup games in December, then had two starts in the URC over the festive period.
He hurt his shoulder against Connacht earlier this month but happily, was fit to make his return on Saturday in Bayonne.
His 71-minute performance was important for Leinster and encouraging for Farrell with the Six Nations looming.
Boyle carries the ball against Bayonne. Ryan Byrne / INPHO
Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
Boyle was part of a strong Leinster scrum effort as they put pressure on the Bayonne pack in that department, although one penalty decision went against the Leinster loosehead.
His ball-carrying was impressive as he made 10 surges at the Bayonne defence, getting his team over the gainline on many of those occasions.
Boyle tackled accurately when called upon and he was busy at the ruck, clearing bodies away when Leinster attacked and coming up with one poach at the breakdown when they were defending.
“I thought he was great,” said Leinster head coach Leo Cullen.
“He carried really strong, he carried a lot early on in the game. Good footwork, fighting through contact, really good. Scrum, very strong.
“Unlucky, I thought, with that one just before halftime with [Luke] Tagi when he went down. Tagi got rewarded, but anyway, I thought he was good.
“But it was pleasing, he played about 70 minutes and Big Jerry [Cahir] comes on again. Another cap for him. It’s great and lads are going good.”
Cahir’s continuing emergence for Leinster is one of the feel-good stories of their season, while Boyle will relish the chance to kick on in the coming months with province and country.
It will be interesting to see who Farrell picks as the other looseheads in his squad with McCarthy and Porter injured, but Boyle appears to be in good form to have a crack at the number one jersey.
“He was great,” said Leinster skipper Caelan Doris of Boyle in Bayonne.
“His footwork in contact is very impressive. Like, he’s getting over the gainline consistently there in the first half, and not many of us are. I certainly wasn’t at times, so he’s putting in a shift, and it’s good to see him going well.”
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Boyle impresses for Leinster as Six Nations shot with Ireland looms
THERE WERE FRESH injury concerns aplenty for Andy Farrell as he watched Leinster’s battle in Bayonne on Saturday, but the Ireland head coach must have been pleased to see loosehead prop Jack Boyle making an excellent return from injury.
With Paddy McCarthy’s season possibly over and Andrew Porter a major doubt for the start of the Six Nations, Boyle’s comeback couldn’t have been more timely.
Boyle is the firm favourite to be wearing Ireland’s number one shirt for the Six Nations opener against France on 5 February so an impressive run-out on French soil was ideal.
Last season, Boyle made big progress with Ireland as he got his Test debut off the bench in the Six Nations win over Wales in Cardiff. He had been playing well for Leinster and he even nudged ahead of Cian Healy for the bench spot behind Porter in Ireland’s closing Six Nations game against Italy.
When Boyle then started the two summer Tests against Georgia and Portugal, he must have felt he was in a good place to kick on again this season.
But the breakthrough from McCarthy – who was sidelined for most of last season – in the first half of this campaign slowed Boyle up.
McCarthy made a good impression for Leinster early this season and then pushed past Boyle in Ireland’s pecking order in the November Tests too, coming off the bench in three games and starting against Australia.
It must have been frustrating for Boyle, who was an unused member of Ireland’s autumn squad, but he has been in fine form for Leinster since.
He was impressive away to the Dragons in the URC at the end of November, did well off the bench in the two Champions Cup games in December, then had two starts in the URC over the festive period.
He hurt his shoulder against Connacht earlier this month but happily, was fit to make his return on Saturday in Bayonne.
His 71-minute performance was important for Leinster and encouraging for Farrell with the Six Nations looming.
Boyle was part of a strong Leinster scrum effort as they put pressure on the Bayonne pack in that department, although one penalty decision went against the Leinster loosehead.
His ball-carrying was impressive as he made 10 surges at the Bayonne defence, getting his team over the gainline on many of those occasions.
Boyle tackled accurately when called upon and he was busy at the ruck, clearing bodies away when Leinster attacked and coming up with one poach at the breakdown when they were defending.
“I thought he was great,” said Leinster head coach Leo Cullen.
“He carried really strong, he carried a lot early on in the game. Good footwork, fighting through contact, really good. Scrum, very strong.
“Unlucky, I thought, with that one just before halftime with [Luke] Tagi when he went down. Tagi got rewarded, but anyway, I thought he was good.
“But it was pleasing, he played about 70 minutes and Big Jerry [Cahir] comes on again. Another cap for him. It’s great and lads are going good.”
Cahir’s continuing emergence for Leinster is one of the feel-good stories of their season, while Boyle will relish the chance to kick on in the coming months with province and country.
It will be interesting to see who Farrell picks as the other looseheads in his squad with McCarthy and Porter injured, but Boyle appears to be in good form to have a crack at the number one jersey.
“He was great,” said Leinster skipper Caelan Doris of Boyle in Bayonne.
“His footwork in contact is very impressive. Like, he’s getting over the gainline consistently there in the first half, and not many of us are. I certainly wasn’t at times, so he’s putting in a shift, and it’s good to see him going well.”
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Six Nations Ireland jack boyle Leinster Loosehead Timely