14 YEARS ON from his Munster debut, John Ryan remains an important player for the province.
The Cork man turned 37 in August, but he says his body feels good. He’ll need to be in top form tomorrow as he starts at tighthead for Munster against Leinster at Croke Park.
An elbow issue delayed his start to the season and after coming off the bench in the first half of last weekend’s win over Edinburgh, when Oli Jager suffered the head injury that keeps him out of the Leinster game, Ryan will wear the number three shirt tomorrow.
He admits there were a few “cobwebs coughed up” in Cork last time out but Ryan, in his typically understated fashion, is confident that he’s good to go against Leinster.
While he’s a relaxed figure, Ryan obviously has huge drive. Those 14 years with Munster haven’t been unbroken and one of his spells away meant missing out on a special day.
He had a loan stint at London Irish in 2012. 10 years later, Ryan decided to join Wasps but the English club soon entered administration, so he ended up back at Munster for a few months in the 2022/23 season, leaving again before they won the URC.
He had moved on to the Chiefs in New Zealand, where his strong form in helping them to the Super Rugby final convinced Munster to re-sign Ryan for the 2023/24 season. They’ve extended his contract twice since.
And Ryan is delighted to be playing on even as so many of his close friends have hung up their boots.
“It’s very different for me now because I’m out on my own,” says Ryan, who has 245 caps for Munster.
“I think everything just got stripped away around me, like Peter O’Mahony is gone, Archer’s gone, Murray, Killer, they’re gone and I’m just very naked at the top of the age bracket!
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Ryan at Munster training this week. Tom O’Hanlon / INPHO
Tom O’Hanlon / INPHO / INPHO
“I think Tadhg Beirne is next in line and he’s 33, he’s pushing 34, so there’s a bit of an age gap there, but I’m enjoying it.
“I think the young lads are brilliant, there are really good fellas there. It’s a seriously good squad. I think the squad is exciting and that’s what keeps me going.
“I’m after silverware. I’ve been after silverware my whole career and I left the club for about six months and they won a URC. I’m hungry for silverware and that’s what drives me and as long as I can do it, I’ll do it, I think.
“I won’t overstay my welcome but I’ll definitely do it as long as I can, you know, because I need to win something, to be fair.”
Ryan did actually get a medal for that URC success because he played eight games that season, but he underlines that he was gone when they claimed the title. It doesn’t feel like his success.
Ryan is enjoying working with Clayton McMillan again, who was the Chiefs boss when the Irish tighthead spent that season in New Zealand.
Funnily enough, Ryan wasn’t sure McMillan liked him at first when he arrived at the Chiefs.
“At the start, I was like, ‘This guy is kind of like very stand-offish,’ but at the end of the season in a meeting he kind of said, ‘Look, thanks very much to John Ryan for coming across the world, but I did keep my distance because I hadn’t a clue what you were saying.’
“He never understood what I was saying. So he was, I think, more intimidated by my accent than he didn’t like me, you know. He’s getting good, though. He would have to be good now that he’s here.
“There’s a few lads he’s struggling with. Niall Scannell is a very quick chatter, like, very quick. And Alex Codling, different accent but very quick speaker, so they’re the guys that he needs to watch out for.”
Ryan played under Clayton McMillan with the Chiefs. Photosport / Chris Symes/INPHO
Photosport / Chris Symes/INPHO / Chris Symes/INPHO
Jokes aside, Ryan is certain McMillan is the man to lead Munster in the right direction, with the coaching team of Mike Prendergast, Denis Leamy, and Mossy Lawler around him.
“He’s been excellent,” says Ryan. “I had that experience of him down in New Zealand and he’s brought a lot of that stuff up here, so that’s really refreshing.
“He’s kind of left Mossy, Leams, and Prendy to do what they do and he’s bringing his edge to it as well.
“There’s a lot of energy there and it’s nice because obviously, look, we had a change in the middle of last season [when Graham Rowntree left]. It wasn’t ideal by any means. We had a real up-and-down season last year, in-house and on the field.
“It’s great to have that stability now and there’s a good vibe and people know Clayton’s the head coach, he’s the guy to go to. He’s quite clear in what he wants and everything flows after that.”
Although Ryan still wants to play as often as possible, he was delighted to see his fellow tighthead prop Roman Salanoa make a return to action with Nenagh in the AIL last weekend.
Ryan was one of the many Munster players who were in Nenagh for the game against Cork Con, while Salanoa’s father and brother were also there to watch him make his comeback after nearly two-and-a-half years out of action with knee issues.
Salanoa is 10 years his junior, so Ryan hopes to see him kick on now. He may well be watching him from the stands in Thomond Park in years to come.
“I live in Limerick at the moment,” says Ryan when asked about the future.
“I don’t see myself right now moving back to Cork. I see myself being a season ticket holder with my kids and going to the Munster games.”
But Ryan is not finished on the pitch for his province yet.
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'I'm after silverware' - Munster man Ryan still driven at the age of 37
14 YEARS ON from his Munster debut, John Ryan remains an important player for the province.
The Cork man turned 37 in August, but he says his body feels good. He’ll need to be in top form tomorrow as he starts at tighthead for Munster against Leinster at Croke Park.
An elbow issue delayed his start to the season and after coming off the bench in the first half of last weekend’s win over Edinburgh, when Oli Jager suffered the head injury that keeps him out of the Leinster game, Ryan will wear the number three shirt tomorrow.
He admits there were a few “cobwebs coughed up” in Cork last time out but Ryan, in his typically understated fashion, is confident that he’s good to go against Leinster.
While he’s a relaxed figure, Ryan obviously has huge drive. Those 14 years with Munster haven’t been unbroken and one of his spells away meant missing out on a special day.
He had a loan stint at London Irish in 2012. 10 years later, Ryan decided to join Wasps but the English club soon entered administration, so he ended up back at Munster for a few months in the 2022/23 season, leaving again before they won the URC.
He had moved on to the Chiefs in New Zealand, where his strong form in helping them to the Super Rugby final convinced Munster to re-sign Ryan for the 2023/24 season. They’ve extended his contract twice since.
And Ryan is delighted to be playing on even as so many of his close friends have hung up their boots.
“It’s very different for me now because I’m out on my own,” says Ryan, who has 245 caps for Munster.
“I think everything just got stripped away around me, like Peter O’Mahony is gone, Archer’s gone, Murray, Killer, they’re gone and I’m just very naked at the top of the age bracket!
“I think Tadhg Beirne is next in line and he’s 33, he’s pushing 34, so there’s a bit of an age gap there, but I’m enjoying it.
“I think the young lads are brilliant, there are really good fellas there. It’s a seriously good squad. I think the squad is exciting and that’s what keeps me going.
“I’m after silverware. I’ve been after silverware my whole career and I left the club for about six months and they won a URC. I’m hungry for silverware and that’s what drives me and as long as I can do it, I’ll do it, I think.
“I won’t overstay my welcome but I’ll definitely do it as long as I can, you know, because I need to win something, to be fair.”
Ryan did actually get a medal for that URC success because he played eight games that season, but he underlines that he was gone when they claimed the title. It doesn’t feel like his success.
Ryan is enjoying working with Clayton McMillan again, who was the Chiefs boss when the Irish tighthead spent that season in New Zealand.
Funnily enough, Ryan wasn’t sure McMillan liked him at first when he arrived at the Chiefs.
“At the start, I was like, ‘This guy is kind of like very stand-offish,’ but at the end of the season in a meeting he kind of said, ‘Look, thanks very much to John Ryan for coming across the world, but I did keep my distance because I hadn’t a clue what you were saying.’
“He never understood what I was saying. So he was, I think, more intimidated by my accent than he didn’t like me, you know. He’s getting good, though. He would have to be good now that he’s here.
“There’s a few lads he’s struggling with. Niall Scannell is a very quick chatter, like, very quick. And Alex Codling, different accent but very quick speaker, so they’re the guys that he needs to watch out for.”
Jokes aside, Ryan is certain McMillan is the man to lead Munster in the right direction, with the coaching team of Mike Prendergast, Denis Leamy, and Mossy Lawler around him.
“He’s been excellent,” says Ryan. “I had that experience of him down in New Zealand and he’s brought a lot of that stuff up here, so that’s really refreshing.
“He’s kind of left Mossy, Leams, and Prendy to do what they do and he’s bringing his edge to it as well.
“There’s a lot of energy there and it’s nice because obviously, look, we had a change in the middle of last season [when Graham Rowntree left]. It wasn’t ideal by any means. We had a real up-and-down season last year, in-house and on the field.
“It’s great to have that stability now and there’s a good vibe and people know Clayton’s the head coach, he’s the guy to go to. He’s quite clear in what he wants and everything flows after that.”
Although Ryan still wants to play as often as possible, he was delighted to see his fellow tighthead prop Roman Salanoa make a return to action with Nenagh in the AIL last weekend.
Ryan was one of the many Munster players who were in Nenagh for the game against Cork Con, while Salanoa’s father and brother were also there to watch him make his comeback after nearly two-and-a-half years out of action with knee issues.
Salanoa is 10 years his junior, so Ryan hopes to see him kick on now. He may well be watching him from the stands in Thomond Park in years to come.
“I live in Limerick at the moment,” says Ryan when asked about the future.
“I don’t see myself right now moving back to Cork. I see myself being a season ticket holder with my kids and going to the Munster games.”
But Ryan is not finished on the pitch for his province yet.
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experience John Ryan Leinster Munster