THE VERY FIRST ruck of the game in London. Henry Pollock has tackled Stuart McCloskey from England’s kick-off and he tries to make a mess of the ruck as Ireland set up for a kick.
Pollock grabs at Joe McCarthy’s collar and the Irish lock reacts by pushing his forearm down onto the English back row’s neck area.
The ball is kicked clear by Ireland but as McCarthy gets up to chase, Pollock grabs hold of him and refuses to let go.
James Ryan is caught underneath all of this and as Pollock grapples with McCarthy, the experienced Irish second row intervenes. He ends up on top of Pollock, giving the 21-year-old’s head a good shove into the Twickenham ground before they all move on.
“No, no, he wasn’t someone I was looking for,” says 29-year-old Ryan of that early dust-up.
“That was just a bit of a scuffle at the start of the game. There wasn’t much in that, in fairness to Henry Pollock. It was a bit of craic.
“He’s someone that can give it and take it. There’s no hard feelings there at all and we were having a laugh after the game. So that was it, really.”
Ryan, McCarthy, and Pollock know each other from last summer’s Lions tour, when the lively Englishman proved to be popular with the Irish players despite any of their pre-conceived ideas about him.
And scuffles like that one with Pollock are par for the course for a player like 79-times capped Ryan, whose job is to bring physicality.
The Leinster man has been in strong form for Ireland in this Six Nations, coming off the bench to notable effect away to France before impressive starts against Italy and England.
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Ryan has been in flying form for Ireland. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
This has been an obvious return to peak form for Ryan, who was gutted with himself after being red-carded for a dangerous clearout on South Africa’s Malcolm Marx last November.
“He’s getting better and better,” says Ireland forwards coach Paul O’Connell of Ryan.
“He’s had a lot of experiences, whether they’re big wins, big losses, getting picked, not getting picked and getting the feedback that goes around that.
“I think he’s moving really well. He’s moving the best I’ve seen him move since I’ve been involved with Ireland at the moment. When you get an injury-free run, that can tend to happen.
“He’s obviously had the Lions experience as well where he probably learned a little bit and maybe took some confidence from that. He’s done an awful lot of work on his tackle and on the back of that, he’s really confident and is able to lead that part of the game in terms of being physical in the tackle.
“He’s an excellent rucker for us. I know he clipped Malcolm Marx in the autumn, but his ruck stuff, his physicality at the breakdown, his technique, is excellent as well. His ball carry has improved.
“I think for some of these guys, getting an injury-free run and accumulating game on game on game, getting a break, accumulating game on game, it puts them in a very good place to perform.
“We ask a lot of the players from a fitness point of view in terms of how we want them to run and how we want them to move and how quickly we want them to move there. I think he’s doing that better than he’s ever done since I’ve been involved.
“He’s got great experience now as well. His lineout calling has improved massively. He’s always been an excellent lineout defender.
“It’s a real sweet spot he’s in at the moment, and it’s been great to watch him.”
Ryan works closely with Paul O'Connell. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
Ryan himself says that competition for places means he can’t stand still with his game.
He hasn’t reinvented the wheel, but the aggressive lock – who has started working with ex-Ireland international Andrew Conway on the mental side of the game – feels good at the moment.
O’Connell urges the Irish forwards to “corner the market” when it comes to doubling down on the things they’re good at. Defence is an example of that in Ryan’s game. He was a superb tackler from the start in Test rugby and he has continued to focus on making it a superstrength.
Last summer on the Lions tour, Andy Farrell praised Ryan for finding “his niche” and doing lots of the graft work, the less visible stuff, with venom.
Ryan is certainly enjoying his rugby and you wonder if not being a captain anymore has helped him to focus more on what makes him a good rugby player.
He has previously captained Ireland and was Leinster’s co-captain for a season, but both teams have moved in a different direction as Caelan Doris has taken over as skipper.
Yet Ryan continues to lead through his actions. Ireland will look for him to do the same tomorrow night against Wales at the Aviva Stadium.
“I think that’s what leadership is,” says Ryan. “It’s doing what you say you’re going to do and it’s leading by actions. It is a cliché but I think that’s what it comes down to. I think the same goes for all of us.
“We’ve had a great plan going into the last three games. Probably the first game over in Paris, we had a nice plan but we talked a lot about it and we didn’t deliver it, whereas that’s the piece we’ve got right now in the last two rounds.
“We’ve delivered what we said we were going to do. It’s the same for this week. The England game was great, had a lot of aspects that were pleasing.
“But the message coming into Friday night is that we can’t be complacent. We’ve got to get better again, so we’re excited.”
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'It was a bit of craic. Henry Pollock can give it and take it'
THE VERY FIRST ruck of the game in London. Henry Pollock has tackled Stuart McCloskey from England’s kick-off and he tries to make a mess of the ruck as Ireland set up for a kick.
Pollock grabs at Joe McCarthy’s collar and the Irish lock reacts by pushing his forearm down onto the English back row’s neck area.
The ball is kicked clear by Ireland but as McCarthy gets up to chase, Pollock grabs hold of him and refuses to let go.
James Ryan is caught underneath all of this and as Pollock grapples with McCarthy, the experienced Irish second row intervenes. He ends up on top of Pollock, giving the 21-year-old’s head a good shove into the Twickenham ground before they all move on.
“No, no, he wasn’t someone I was looking for,” says 29-year-old Ryan of that early dust-up.
“That was just a bit of a scuffle at the start of the game. There wasn’t much in that, in fairness to Henry Pollock. It was a bit of craic.
“He’s someone that can give it and take it. There’s no hard feelings there at all and we were having a laugh after the game. So that was it, really.”
Ryan, McCarthy, and Pollock know each other from last summer’s Lions tour, when the lively Englishman proved to be popular with the Irish players despite any of their pre-conceived ideas about him.
And scuffles like that one with Pollock are par for the course for a player like 79-times capped Ryan, whose job is to bring physicality.
The Leinster man has been in strong form for Ireland in this Six Nations, coming off the bench to notable effect away to France before impressive starts against Italy and England.
This has been an obvious return to peak form for Ryan, who was gutted with himself after being red-carded for a dangerous clearout on South Africa’s Malcolm Marx last November.
“He’s getting better and better,” says Ireland forwards coach Paul O’Connell of Ryan.
“He’s had a lot of experiences, whether they’re big wins, big losses, getting picked, not getting picked and getting the feedback that goes around that.
“I think he’s moving really well. He’s moving the best I’ve seen him move since I’ve been involved with Ireland at the moment. When you get an injury-free run, that can tend to happen.
“He’s obviously had the Lions experience as well where he probably learned a little bit and maybe took some confidence from that. He’s done an awful lot of work on his tackle and on the back of that, he’s really confident and is able to lead that part of the game in terms of being physical in the tackle.
“He’s an excellent rucker for us. I know he clipped Malcolm Marx in the autumn, but his ruck stuff, his physicality at the breakdown, his technique, is excellent as well. His ball carry has improved.
“I think for some of these guys, getting an injury-free run and accumulating game on game on game, getting a break, accumulating game on game, it puts them in a very good place to perform.
“We ask a lot of the players from a fitness point of view in terms of how we want them to run and how we want them to move and how quickly we want them to move there. I think he’s doing that better than he’s ever done since I’ve been involved.
“He’s got great experience now as well. His lineout calling has improved massively. He’s always been an excellent lineout defender.
“It’s a real sweet spot he’s in at the moment, and it’s been great to watch him.”
Ryan himself says that competition for places means he can’t stand still with his game.
He hasn’t reinvented the wheel, but the aggressive lock – who has started working with ex-Ireland international Andrew Conway on the mental side of the game – feels good at the moment.
O’Connell urges the Irish forwards to “corner the market” when it comes to doubling down on the things they’re good at. Defence is an example of that in Ryan’s game. He was a superb tackler from the start in Test rugby and he has continued to focus on making it a superstrength.
Last summer on the Lions tour, Andy Farrell praised Ryan for finding “his niche” and doing lots of the graft work, the less visible stuff, with venom.
Ryan is certainly enjoying his rugby and you wonder if not being a captain anymore has helped him to focus more on what makes him a good rugby player.
He has previously captained Ireland and was Leinster’s co-captain for a season, but both teams have moved in a different direction as Caelan Doris has taken over as skipper.
Yet Ryan continues to lead through his actions. Ireland will look for him to do the same tomorrow night against Wales at the Aviva Stadium.
“I think that’s what leadership is,” says Ryan. “It’s doing what you say you’re going to do and it’s leading by actions. It is a cliché but I think that’s what it comes down to. I think the same goes for all of us.
“We’ve had a great plan going into the last three games. Probably the first game over in Paris, we had a nice plan but we talked a lot about it and we didn’t deliver it, whereas that’s the piece we’ve got right now in the last two rounds.
“We’ve delivered what we said we were going to do. It’s the same for this week. The England game was great, had a lot of aspects that were pleasing.
“But the message coming into Friday night is that we can’t be complacent. We’ve got to get better again, so we’re excited.”
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Six Nations England Ireland james ryan Physicality scuffle venom Wales