HE CLAIMS HE hasn’t paid much attention to goings on down in the front row at Leinster, but you would forgive Tom O’Toole if he was just playing his cards close to his chest in that regard.
With Andrew Porter making the change back over loosehead in the early stages of the United Rugby Championship campaign, the logic would suggest it’s with an eye on doing the same when the blue jersey switches to a green one in a couple of weeks’ time.
Therefore, what used to be a logjam at tighthead for O’Toole starts to open up somewhat.
Named in Andy Farrell’s squad for the upcoming Autumn Internationals, rather than having Porter and Tadhg Furlong – both British and Irish Lions over the summer, even if injury robbed the former of travelling – to contend with, now it appears to only be Furlong in his way.
Of course, Finlay Bealham will have something to say about that, and you imagine Cian Healy will probably come into camp and put his hand up to play on either side having started featuring at tighthead for Leinster, although his inexperience on the right-hand side may factor against him at international level.
And there is always the possibility Farrell still sees Porter as part of a powerful one-two punch at tighthead rather than a potential long-term answer at loosehead. But, no matter how Farrell sees his depth chart shaking out, O’Toole wants to be a prominent part of it.
“I think for me it’s just about doing what the coaches want from me and try not to think about what openings or possibilities there could be. For me it’s about developing that relationship with them and that trust with them,” says the 23-year-old.
“It’s an opportunity, definitely, but I’m not trying to overthink it too much, what could be or what could happen. It’s all about the here and now and being here with Ulster and playing the best I can out on the pitch. Just building day by day.
“If things happen potentially and things shift that way then it’d be incredibly exciting, but for me it’s about focusing on the here and now.”
Certainly he is making the most of his chances with Ulster here and now, a run of three straight starts for the province coming off the back of an injury to Marty Moore, but O’Toole has capitalised by turning in three strong performances for Dan McFarland’s side.
Perhaps more pleasing for the Drogheda man is how those starts have extended in length, from a half against Zebre Parma to 54 minutes against Benetton and then a mammoth shift (by propping standards) of 67 minutes against one of the URC’s biggest front rows in the Emirates Lions.
For a player who has been known as an impact player late in games with his physical carrying and relentless work-rate in defence, proving he can command the lion’s share of minutes is another thing he can tick off the checklist, and the confidence he has gained as a result has O’Toole flying coming into camp.
“Getting to start week in, week out over the last three weeks has been huge for my confidence. We’re lucky in that position that we have some really talented tightheads. But for me, yeah, it is really beneficial,” he admits.
“It’s very encouraging and it’s an opportunity for me to present what I want to do on the field and be robust, to be able to play a game and back it up the next week, put in performances in multiple weeks and put my hand up to do so more often.
“It does help build a bit of momentum and that’s what you want. At the start of the season it does take a few games to build up a bit of rhythm, and hopefully I’m starting to find my rhythm now and be able to really start putting in those performances and get what I want out of the game.”
But with an extended run of starts comes new challenges with them, namely how to prevent yourself from becoming too relaxed when you know the jersey is yours on a week-to-week basis and letting your standards slip.
It seems unlikely that O’Toole will not start when Ulster renew acquaintances with Connacht at the Aviva Stadium tomorrow, making it the first time since the start of the 2019-20 season that he has strung together four straight starts for the province.
As well as being a good lead-in to hopefully being a big part of Farrell’s plans against Japan, the All Blacks and Argentina, he believes he is heading down to Carton House a more mature and prepared player.
“Each week presents a new challenge and, as a tighthead, I always find when you start to get comfortable is when you start to make mistakes,” he reveals, almost as a warning to himself.
“So it’s about taking your learnings from the game, whether it was good or bad, and bringing either those positives into the next week or cleaning up those areas you missed the beat on.
“It is very encouraging, but for me it’s about not getting comfortable with the performances.”
Bernard Jackman, Murray Kinsella, and Gavan Casey discuss Ireland’s squad, women’s rugby reviews, and the Tadhg Beirne incident on The42 Rugby Weekly:
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