TALK ABOUT UNFORTUNATE timing.
Jack Carty’s parents, Ted and Susan, were in Japan last week and got to watch their son impressing off the bench as Ireland beat Scotland to open their World Cup campaign.
But the Cartys flew back to Ireland on Tuesday, as had been planned for some weeks, unaware as they were that Jack would be getting his second Ireland start against Japan tomorrow in Shizuoka.
“They literally landed at home and I rang them to tell them I’m playing,” explained Carty yesterday after Joe Schmidt had announced him as Ireland’s starting out-half.
His parents are due to fly back out to Japan for Ireland’s final pool fixture against Samoa, so the hope is that they will get another chance to see their son play at the World Cup.
Carty’s father is president of Connacht this season and with the westerners opening their campaign against Scarlets on Saturday, he would likely have had to head home anyway, but there’s no doubt he will be glued to his phone as Jack plays the biggest game of his career so far.
A year ago, the prospect of Carty starting for Ireland at the World Cup looked slim.
“It wouldn’t have been something that I would have had in the pipeline or foreseen,” said Carty yesterday, commenting that he might only have felt it possibly if Ireland were decimated by injuries.
The last time Ireland toured Japan in 2017, the disappointment of missing out on any involvement – even with 11 players absent due to the Lions tours – left him hugely disappointed.
“I was on standby. I was in Spain because I remember Joey [Carbery] got injured in one of the Tests and I thought I might have got a call-up, but I didn’t.
“I was actually out for dinner with my sisters and girlfriend. I think Joey went off and I had thought I might be coming over and then I wasn’t. I was all moody for two or three days and my missus was fired up with me. I probably was expecting a call the next day.”
While the call didn’t come, Carty didn’t give up all hope and his improvement with Connacht in the past two seasons has seen him earn his place in Japan.
The biggest thing that has changed in Carty’s approach in that time has been his mentality.
“Probably just my overall mindset,” said Carty. “I think Friendy [Andy Friend] coming into Connacht has been a breath of fresh air, the way he has allowed me to dictate the game and just see space, whether through hand or feet and not to be so regimented in how we would have played over other years.
“I think that’s given me confidence and given the lads outside of me confidence as well. I think that’s probably the main thing and then, individually, just how I set about my week.
“You can always say you want to have a man-of-the-match performance but it’s what goes into that or what it looks like, so breaking down my week day-by-day with a few things to work on each match and each week.”
Schmidt was among those who yesterday commented on Carty’s “calm” nature, an asset that Ireland believe will help him on Saturday as he wins his ninth cap.
In that sense, Carty has been enjoying Ireland’s incredible team base in the Shizuoka prefecture this week, with an entire traditional Japanese hotel booked out by management to allow the players to relax in between training and analysis sessions.
“There are turtles running around the place and a few of the lads have been using the rice pillows, I think that’s what they are. They’re these rock-hard pillows which are actually phenomenal to sleep on, I’d highly recommend it.”
While Carty has been sleeping well as a result, there was one night of disturbed rest.
“I was worried enough because I was always going to be rooming with Bundee [Aki],” he explained. “He has a history of snoring… I mean really, really loud. The first few nights he was actually quite good but there was one night he came back, I went into the bathroom and he was already asleep when I came back out.
“I had wax earplugs in and he was snoring and I could hear it through those. I got the Beats noise-cancelling headphones, put them over, and I could still hear him through them.
“But bar that night, he’s actually been pretty good. If he does start snoring, I can turn him on his side.”
Of most importance this week is how Carty performs against Japan. A settled, experienced team around him will help and the Athlone man will look to showcase his skillset as part of the collective effort.
His instinctive attacking skills are well-known, so we can expect more of his intelligent passing and short kicking game, where touches like last weekend’s grubber to tee up Chris Farrell have delighted fans.
But defensively, the Connacht playmaker has made great strides in the last year.
“It’s probably a thing initially in my career that I just shied away from. It’s something that I really enjoy now doing, especially off a lineout when you can get off the line and chop down people,” said Carty, who made seven good tackles against Scotland.
“It’s something that I think has become a real strength of mine, especially playing on the edge and closing down space. Hopefully, I can do it again this weekend.”
His place-kicking has also come on leaps and bounds, with Carty crediting regular visits to a focus and awareness coach in Galway, as well as technical work with the Eric Elwood and Richie Murphy, for those improvements.
Now tasked with leading Ireland into a crucial World Cup game, Carty will continue to grow as part of Schmidt’s group.
“It takes a bit of time to find your voice,” said Carty. “I think I am still trying to find that because I have only had the one start. Obviously, there aren’t that many Connacht lads who would be used to the way I speak or how I direct people around the pitch.
“I’m not going to try to be Johnny or Joey. I’m going to try and put my stamp on things and, look, the two lads have things that they’re obviously better at than me, and I’d like to think that I have things I can bring that might be better than them.
“I think it’s just about me doing what I can do to put the team in a better position and obviously trying to keep diesel in the forwards’ legs by putting the ball in front of them.”