THE WALLABIES HOLD special memories for Joe McCarthy. It was against Australia two years ago that the young lock won his first cap for Ireland, coming off the bench for the closing 21 minutes of a gritty 13-10 win.
Today he wins his 16th cap, with the November closer against Joe Schmidt’s Australia representing his 13th start at Test level. Eleven of those have come in 2024, with McCarthy starting all of Ireland’s Test games this year. Caelan Doris and Andrew Porter are the only two other players to match that feat (Josh van der Flier has featured in every game but came off the bench in the Six Nations win against Italy).
At just 23 years of age McCarthy has become a cornerstone of Andy Farrell’s team, despite being the least experienced member of a competitive second row battle. The selection decisions move around him.
While McCarthy has locked in his position, Tadhg Beirne (32), James Ryan (28) and Ryan Baird (25) have rotated in and out of the Ireland second row. Iain Henderson has also been available as a bench option, with injuries limiting his contributions.
Beirne has been McCarthy’s preferred second row partner, starting alongside the Leinster man on six occasions. Ryan, who had injury struggles earlier this year, has been selected alongside McCarthy three times, while Baird was his second row partner for the Six Nations win against Italy.
Farrell has at times been accused of showing too much loyalty to the old guard but McCarthy’s prominence in the team is an example of the Ireland boss getting fully behind a promising young player.
McCarthy with Ireland captain Caelan Doris. Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
McCarthy is not the finished product but Farrell’s consistency in selected him has allowed the lock learn the demands of Test rugby by quickly gathering experience.
It’s easy to see why Farrell is such a fan. At 6’5″ McCarthy is a physical specimen and offers the aggressive ball-carrying ability that Irish sides have often lacked. His knack for gaining yards in contact is a point of difference, but there was a rawness to him as he pushed into the international scene.
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“I think when he first came into Leinster, you could see his athleticism,” says Ireland captain Caelan Doris.
“His physical prowess obviously, and his love for the game. He’s so enthusiastic, he’s so exuberant around the place.
Probably initially when he came in, he was a little bit raw and his discipline wasn’t quite where it needed to be. He was over-eager at times, but I think he has learnt a tonne around that and has improved that a lot.
“He’s a pretty polished player now. He has been class for us this year and he’s a good guy to have on our side.”
The year could hardly have got off to a better start for McCarthy. He was outstanding on his Six Nations debut as Ireland kicked-off their campaign with a memorable win against France in Marseille. It would prove to be Ireland’s – and McCarthy’s – best performance of the tournament.
At the Stade Vélodrome the former Trinity College man showcased that hard ball-carrying, smart lineout skills and raw physicality, all complimented by a massive workrate off the ball.
The only blot was the concession of some needless penalties – something that would become a major focus for McCarthy this year.
McCarthy gets some work in in the gym. Billy Stickland / INPHO
Billy Stickland / INPHO / INPHO
A week after his statement showing in France McCarthy was at his destructive best in a home win against Italy, delivering a series of crunching tackles as Ireland nilled their visitors.
Against Wales he delivered another physical display but was guilty for three penalties across his 55 minutes on the pitch. McCarthy was then well contained as England won a tight battle in Twickenham and he closed out the campaign with another hard-working, if less impactful, game against Scotland.
Still, that debut Six Nations showed enough to keep him in pole position heading into the summer tour to South Africa.
He lasted just 50 minutes of the first Test but revelled in the physical battle as Ireland won the second, the highlight being a crucial turnover penalty – although discipline errors again crept in across both games.
It’s been a mixed bag for McCarthy this month and he’ll feel he can go up a level against the Wallabies.
He brought bite against New Zealand but Ireland’s pack couldn’t get on top of their visitors. There was a well-taken try in a player-of-the-match display against Argentina but also a yellow card – McCarthy caught offside while Ireland were under a penalty warning. As Ireland dominated Fiji, McCarthy stood up well in defence and produced another strong turnover.
Paul O'Connell does some maul work with McCarthy. Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
Overall it’s been a highly encouraging year for a player who will be an important part of this team’s development towards the 2027 World Cup.
“He’s maturing all the time,” says Ireland forwards coach Paul O’Connell.
“He’s playing in big games, he’s being reviewed after big games, he has excellent coaches in Leinster, plays with really good players, he’s a very curious guy. So he gets better and better week on week without taking away the physical part of his game, which he brings so well. Even the work he’s doing in his prep for recent games I’ve seen is just incredible.
So you’ve got this fantastic rugby player that’s full of energy, full of enthusiasm, he’s a big guy, physicality comes easy to him, but I think all the time now he’s layering a lot of smarts onto what he does and his discipline is getting better and better.
“He’s one of those guys that doesn’t just go out and train, he goes out and he trains and he learns and he gets better and then he plays and he learns and he gets better.
“It’s been a real joy to watch and I think he’s getting better and better and the ceiling is even higher.”
Today’s game provides an opportunity to end a strong start to Test life on a high.
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Joe McCarthy has quickly become a cornerstone of Andy Farrell's Ireland team
THE WALLABIES HOLD special memories for Joe McCarthy. It was against Australia two years ago that the young lock won his first cap for Ireland, coming off the bench for the closing 21 minutes of a gritty 13-10 win.
Today he wins his 16th cap, with the November closer against Joe Schmidt’s Australia representing his 13th start at Test level. Eleven of those have come in 2024, with McCarthy starting all of Ireland’s Test games this year. Caelan Doris and Andrew Porter are the only two other players to match that feat (Josh van der Flier has featured in every game but came off the bench in the Six Nations win against Italy).
At just 23 years of age McCarthy has become a cornerstone of Andy Farrell’s team, despite being the least experienced member of a competitive second row battle. The selection decisions move around him.
While McCarthy has locked in his position, Tadhg Beirne (32), James Ryan (28) and Ryan Baird (25) have rotated in and out of the Ireland second row. Iain Henderson has also been available as a bench option, with injuries limiting his contributions.
Beirne has been McCarthy’s preferred second row partner, starting alongside the Leinster man on six occasions. Ryan, who had injury struggles earlier this year, has been selected alongside McCarthy three times, while Baird was his second row partner for the Six Nations win against Italy.
Farrell has at times been accused of showing too much loyalty to the old guard but McCarthy’s prominence in the team is an example of the Ireland boss getting fully behind a promising young player.
McCarthy is not the finished product but Farrell’s consistency in selected him has allowed the lock learn the demands of Test rugby by quickly gathering experience.
It’s easy to see why Farrell is such a fan. At 6’5″ McCarthy is a physical specimen and offers the aggressive ball-carrying ability that Irish sides have often lacked. His knack for gaining yards in contact is a point of difference, but there was a rawness to him as he pushed into the international scene.
“I think when he first came into Leinster, you could see his athleticism,” says Ireland captain Caelan Doris.
“His physical prowess obviously, and his love for the game. He’s so enthusiastic, he’s so exuberant around the place.
“He’s a pretty polished player now. He has been class for us this year and he’s a good guy to have on our side.”
The year could hardly have got off to a better start for McCarthy. He was outstanding on his Six Nations debut as Ireland kicked-off their campaign with a memorable win against France in Marseille. It would prove to be Ireland’s – and McCarthy’s – best performance of the tournament.
At the Stade Vélodrome the former Trinity College man showcased that hard ball-carrying, smart lineout skills and raw physicality, all complimented by a massive workrate off the ball.
The only blot was the concession of some needless penalties – something that would become a major focus for McCarthy this year.
A week after his statement showing in France McCarthy was at his destructive best in a home win against Italy, delivering a series of crunching tackles as Ireland nilled their visitors.
Against Wales he delivered another physical display but was guilty for three penalties across his 55 minutes on the pitch. McCarthy was then well contained as England won a tight battle in Twickenham and he closed out the campaign with another hard-working, if less impactful, game against Scotland.
Still, that debut Six Nations showed enough to keep him in pole position heading into the summer tour to South Africa.
He lasted just 50 minutes of the first Test but revelled in the physical battle as Ireland won the second, the highlight being a crucial turnover penalty – although discipline errors again crept in across both games.
It’s been a mixed bag for McCarthy this month and he’ll feel he can go up a level against the Wallabies.
He brought bite against New Zealand but Ireland’s pack couldn’t get on top of their visitors. There was a well-taken try in a player-of-the-match display against Argentina but also a yellow card – McCarthy caught offside while Ireland were under a penalty warning. As Ireland dominated Fiji, McCarthy stood up well in defence and produced another strong turnover.
Overall it’s been a highly encouraging year for a player who will be an important part of this team’s development towards the 2027 World Cup.
“He’s maturing all the time,” says Ireland forwards coach Paul O’Connell.
“He’s playing in big games, he’s being reviewed after big games, he has excellent coaches in Leinster, plays with really good players, he’s a very curious guy. So he gets better and better week on week without taking away the physical part of his game, which he brings so well. Even the work he’s doing in his prep for recent games I’ve seen is just incredible.
“He’s one of those guys that doesn’t just go out and train, he goes out and he trains and he learns and he gets better and then he plays and he learns and he gets better.
“It’s been a real joy to watch and I think he’s getting better and better and the ceiling is even higher.”
Today’s game provides an opportunity to end a strong start to Test life on a high.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Ireland Joe McCarthy locked in Rugby