IF LAST SEASON felt like something of a breakthrough campaign for Leinster’s Scott Penny, this season has been a frustrating test of the flanker’s patience.
Penny has been around the Leinster senior team for some time now – he made his debut back in November 2018 – but last season he emerged as a key player in their run to a fourth successive league title.
The former St Michael’s man played 15 times for the province across the 2020/21 campaign, his nine tries in the Pro14 seeing him join former Ulster back row Marcell Coetzee and Connacht’s Alex Wootton in a three-way tie for try-scorer in the competition, while he also was named Guinness Pro14 Next-Gen Star of the Season.
It was a promising campaign that left him well placed to kick on in a competitive Leinster back row, but Penny has barely had a chance to build on those performances this year, largely due to the covid disruption which saw the province go five weeks without a game across the Christmas period.
Penny’s stats for this season currently amount to just three outings scattered across October, November and January.
“I’ve been happy enough with my performances but obviously it’s hard to tell with only three performances, and they were kind of all spread out as well,” Penny says.
“It was difficult being in and out and not being able to get a game in for five weeks. Obviously it’s frustrating, but look, we’re living through a pandemic and you have to get over it and see the bigger picture.
It was a frustrating period. We had a few games cancelled during that bloc as well but, as I said, it’s a pandemic and you have to see the bigger picture. I was probably in line to make my Champions Cup debut (v Montpellier in December) but it motivates me to work even harder in training and get that chance again hopefully towards the end of the season.”
Penny has also been proactive in ensuring he does what he can to stay match-fit. Last month the 22-year-old returned to All-Ireland League duty with UCD, lining out alongside Leinster teammate Tommy O’Brien in a 32-27 win over Lansdowne.
“If you want to play club you go ask,” Penny explains.
“Everyone here, if you’re not going to be involved you would much rather be playing club and getting some minutes under your belt try and work on what you have been doing in training. It’s really good for your development as a player.
“It’s great. I love going back to play with UCD. My family would be heavily involved with UCD so I always go down to watch the games anyway. It was great to get down there and play with a few mates from school that I hadn’t played with in a while.
“It was great to get that game time with everything called off because I hadn’t played in what, two or three months? So it was great to get some contact under my belt before I played for Leinster against Cardiff there last week.
You get a few people calling your name who want to put in a big shot and things like that but I found it really enjoyable. I’ve only played with UCD twice but it’s been really enjoyable both times. AIL is still very physical and it’s still a great test.”
Leinster host Edinburgh at the RDS tomorrow, and having featured in the surprise defeat to Cardiff last time out, Penny is hoping to finally put together a steady run of games over the coming weeks.
Despite playing most of his rugby at openside, Penny started at number eight in the Arms Park, but adds that he still sees his long-term future in the seven shirt.
“I see myself as an out and out seven. Obviously I can cover eight, as I did at the weekend, but seven is my preferred position. I’ve played there pretty much all my life, but I enjoy playing eight as well.
“As an eight you’re required to be a big ball carrier, at seven you probably need to be a big breakdown threat and chop tackler, but I find when I play as an eight, I kind of play as a seven/eight at the same time. I don’t find them that much different, bar the lineout obviously, you have a lot more roles and responsibility as an eight, but I don’t find them that different.”
