THE LAST TIME James Ryan started a game, he delivered a phenomenal performance.
Tadhg Beirne grabbed more of the headlines after Ireland’s third Test victory over the All Blacks and he deserved them – his highlight reel moments were off the charts. But Ryan’s display alongside Beirne in the Irish second row was nothing short of world-class.
He carried and tackled ferociously, hammered rucks, won lineouts, stole a Kiwi throw, and didn’t give away a single penalty in what was a highly effective and disciplined showing that reminded everyone of just how excellent a rugby player he is.
Ryan was good in the second Test win too, which was timely after questions had been raised about his status as a first-choice player in the wake of Ireland’s first Test defeat. Those questions weren’t exactly new on the tour of New Zealand.
26-year-old Ryan is not a glamorous player. Apart from the lineout steals, virtually nothing he does on the pitch is fodder for a viral TikTok. That doesn’t make it any less valuable, but it does mean he doesn’t seem as obviously good as other players. Ryan is not the kind of person who wants public attention anyway.
But even while acknowledging that he is undervalued and underappreciated at times, it is fair to say that Ryan’s form has dipped at times over the past two seasons. The sporting sphere we live in usually demands harsh criticism when players go through those spells, but it’s worth highlighting what Ryan has had going on.
His concussion issues have been well publicised. In the last 13 months alone, he has been forced off for head injury assessments four times – with each of those four resulting in Ryan spending several weeks on the sidelines.
Clearly, Ryan has had lots of stop-and-start over the last couple of seasons. There have been other injuries thrown in there too and he has been denied rhythm and momentum with his rugby.
It has surely been deeply frustrating at times but Ryan would have been thrilled to come through the run-in of last season with Leinster unscathed and gone on to start and finish all three Ireland Tests in New Zealand. When he’s fit, Ryan is a true 80-minute player.
Coming into this season, there would have been plenty of hope about avoiding injury. He was due to be on the bench for the second-round clash with Benetton in the URC but withdrew as a precaution due to a tight hamstring, both he and Leinster determined not to let a small niggle develop into something serious.
Instead, he made his seasonal bow as a second-half replacement against Ulster three weekends ago. Ryan’s introduction coincided with the Leinster pack losing momentum to their Ulster counterparts and parallels were rather unfairly drawn in some quarters. One player can’t stop a maul on his own.
There was also the fact that South African lock Jason Jenkins had made way for Ryan after another excellent outing. This is perhaps more pertinent. Jenkins has come in and made an instant impact. He’s a heavyweight tighthead lock who loves to scrummage and maul but has a few more strings to his bow too.
It’s Jenkins who Ryan replaces in the starting XV for this evening’s URC clash with Connacht [KO 7.35pm, RTÉ] in Galway, teaming up with Ross Molony – rated as the best lineout leader at Leinster – in the second row.
There’s also a return to the matchday 23 for the highly-regarded Joe McCarthy, who is just back from impressing on the Emerging Ireland tour. Like Jenkins, the 21-year-old McCarthy looks like a natural fit in the tighthead lock role.
That’s where Ryan has spent the majority of his senior career with Ireland and Leinster, even if he doesn’t look like the archetypal fit there. Indeed, one still wonders whether Ryan was typecast as the workhorse, set-piece-focused tighthead lock too early in his career. The sense that he could be even better in a different role persists.
Perhaps the arrival of Jenkins and the continued emergence of McCarthy will free Ryan of some of the more heavy-duty demands he has had, allowing him to focus further on leading the lineout, his ever-improving ball-handling, and rest of his usual work rate.
That said, the importance of Molony to Leinster shouldn’t be understated either. He is an elite lineout operator and one of the best passing forwards in Irish rugby.
It’s clear that there is competition for Ryan in Leinster, and the same is true with Ireland. Iain Henderson and Tadhg Beirne remain top-class options in the second row at Test level, while McCarthy and Tom Ahern look like they will be in World Cup contention too.
The reality is that Leinster and Ireland have virtually always picked Ryan when he has been available. The likes of Leo Cullen, Stuart Lancaster, Joe Schmidt, and Andy Farrell are no fools. Ryan only turned 26 back in July and already has 46 Ireland caps, just 14 fewer than he has for Leinster.
Ryan famously made his Test debut at the age of 20 before he had even played a senior game for Leinster. He’s well on the way to becoming a centurion for Ireland. He has already won a Grand Slam, captained his country, beaten the All Blacks three times, and enjoyed wins over South Africa, Australia, England, and France.
There have been a few troughs more recently but Ryan is a brilliant rugby player. All the talk recently has been about new man Jenkins, so Ryan will be aiming to pick up tonight with the kind of performance he left off with in New Zealand.
Connacht:
- 15. Conor Fitzgerald
- 14. John Porch
- 13. Byron Ralston
- 12. David Hawkshaw
- 11. Mack Hansen
- 10. Jack Carty (captain)
- 9. Colm Reilly
- 1. Peter Dooley
- 2. Dave Heffernan
- 3. Finlay Bealham
- 4. Niall Murray
- 5. Gavin Thornbury
- 6. Josh Murphy
- 7. Shamus Hurley-Langton
- 8. Paul Boyle
Replacements:
- 16. Grant Stewart
- 17. Denis Buckley
- 18. Jack Aungier
- 19. Oisín Dowling
- 20. Conor Oliver
- 21. Caolin Blade
- 22. Tom Daly
- 23. Ciaran Booth
Leinster:
- 15. Jimmy O’Brien
- 14. Liam Turner
- 13. Garry Ringrose (captain)
- 12. Charlie Ngatai
- 11. Rob Russell
- 10. Ross Byrne
- 9. Cormac Foley
- 1. Ed Byrne
- 2. Dan Sheehan
- 3. Tadhg Furlong
- 4. Ross Molony
- 5. James Ryan
- 6. Caelan Doris
- 7. Josh van der Flier
- 8. Jack Conan
Replacements:
- 16. John McKee
- 17. Andrew Porter
- 18. Michael Ala’alatoa
- 19. Joe McCarthy
- 20. Martin Moloney
- 21. Nick McCarthy
- 22. Ciarán Frawley
- 23. Robbie Henshaw
Referee: Frank Murphy [IRFU].
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