JOHN RYAN FINISHED a marathon season last summer which would have the most liberal strength and conditioning coach going crazy, but the 35-year Cork native said he’s full of energy for the campaign ahead with Munster.
The tighthead has featured in all four games for Munster this season and is looking forward to locking horns with the Stormers on Saturday as the URC champions of the past two seasons battle it out at Thomond Park.
Ryan went through a remarkable season, playing 34 games for four sides in two hemispheres and has come through it with a spring in his step.
Some of those matches were pre-season friendlies and for the Barbarians, but he scrummed down for 29 competitive matches — four for Wasps, eight for Munster, and 17 for the Chiefs — having started in 17 of those matches.
In total he chalked up 1,324 minutes of competitive playing time — averaging around 46 minutes per game — in a season that started with his new club in the Premiership but Munster brought him back on a three-month contract when Wasps went into administration in October last year.
His outings with the Baabaas also proved productive as Chiefs coach Clayton McMillan was part of their coaching team and he brought Ryan to New Zealand, putting him straight into the squad for their trip to the Crusaders six days after he arrived in Hamilton with his wife and three children, the youngest of which was just a few weeks old.
By then he had played four Premiership games, four URC and four Champions Cup matches, but ahead lay 17 outings in 18 weeks with the Chiefs which ended with a Super Rugby final defeat to the Crusaders on 24 June.
- Wake-up call -
He watched, along with new Munster teammate Alex Nankivell, at 3am in the morning in Canberra as his native province lifted the URC title in Cape Town and while he would have loved to be there as they ended their 12-year trophy famine, he has no regrets and believes he is now a better player from his travels.
“When I was with Munster, I was probably a bit comfortable but definitely heading over to England took me out of my comfort zone.
“You have to fight for your position all over again, a new squad where you have to earn the respect of your team, and that definitely let me know that maybe I was a little bit comfortable in my position in Munster, and then going down to New Zealand added to that again,” said Ryan.
“My mindset has changed a lot about how I approach the game. I definitely think I have added to my game and I’m a smarter rugby player for it.
“In my first game for the Chiefs, I think it was the Crusaders, the ball was in play for 44 minutes, which is quite high, and at the meeting the week after they said that was ok but that we want to keep going and not have ball going into touch.
“And I thought this was mental. It was a big wake-up call to me and I realised I needed to get way fitter here.
“They don’t kick the ball out, they don’t do box kicks. I don’t think I was in a single caterpillar ruck down in Chiefs last year, which is mental.
“The experience was brilliant. My wife and kids came down as well and they loved it. And the rugby was quite busy. I was down there 18 weeks and we had 17 games. There wasn’t a whole lot of down-time as there was a lot of rugby. We came quite close in the end but just fell at the last hurdle. They were a good side.”
- Leader -
He believes that centre Nankivell is a very good signing from the Chiefs, having seen at first-hand what the 27-year-old can produce.
“He is a very good player, people have seen that already. He’s good in attack and defence,” added Ryan.
“He’s relatively young but with the Chiefs, he stepped up as defensive leader in the group.
“When you are in a team with like Anton Lienert-Brown and Damian McKenzie and all them and you are defensive leader, that says something about a player.
“He’s well able in defence and takes a lot of pride in that and he’s equally capable in attack.”
- Competition -
Ryan, who last year became the 13th player to top 200 games for Munster, said his appetite for the game is as strong as ever and he’s excited by Munster’s potential.
“There is a lot of competition in the squad, a lot of belief. There are a lot of younger lads coming through; they are coming through younger and younger every year. There are lads there 18, sure I’m nearly twice their age!
“They are very confident and there is a lot of competition in the squad.”
