CLONTARF HAVE BEEN benefiting from the prodigious talent of Joey Carbery this season, but the Dublin club don’t think they’ll be seeing too much of the 20-year-old after Sunday’s Ulster Bank League final against Cork Constitution.
The out-half, who also plays at fullback, is still in his first year with the Leinster academy and has already made a senior debut for the province, a cameo off the bench against Glasgow in March.
Clontarf head coach Andy Wood is hoping Carbery can add to his impressive haul of 134 points in the UBL so far this season in the Divison 1A final at the Aviva Stadium this weekend, and believes the youngster is destined for greater things.
“Joey is quite clearly a super talent,” says Wood, whose side overcame UCD in the semi-finals two weekends ago.
“For us, he’s shown a wide range of skills which have been well noticed at Leinster. I’d say he’s got a big, big future. I certainly wish him well because I don’t know how much we’ll see him after this season, to be honest. He’ll graduate on pretty quickly.”
Clontarf’s players have been similarly impressed by New Zealand native Carbery, who played much of his underage rugby with Athy RFC before a move into the schools game with Blackrock College.
Ben Reilly, Clontarf’s captain, has played with and against many professionals during his years with the club and believes Carbery is as talented as any of them.
“He’s a special player,” says Reilly. “Look, I’ve been playing AIL for about 10 years and I’d say he’s up there with the most talented players I’ve played with. He’s a different class.
“He has time on the ball, he’s got an unbelievable step, he reads the game well. It’s changed the way we attack. He takes the ball to the line very well.”
Whether from fullback or his preferred position of out-half, Carbery’s creativity and counter-attacking skills have helped Clontarf to play at a higher tempo this season than in the past.
A Leinster Schools Senior Cup winner in 2014 with Blackrock, Carbery started five games for the Ireland U20s at last year’s Junior World Championship, helping him towards that place in the Leinster academy.
While Carbery is only moving into his second year of the academy next season, there may be further playing opportunities for Leo Cullen’s senior side, given that back-up out-half Ian Madigan is heading to Bordeaux.
“I’ve just got to keep working hard,” says the 20-year-old. “I had a few chances this year, and I’ve felt I’ve done well. Hopefully, next year I get more of a chance, and can try and push on a bit more.”
Carbery has trained extensively with Cullen’s squad since December and benefited from Johnny Sexton and Ian Madigan being away for the Six Nations in that regard. Kicking sessions with and feedback from those senior out-halves have been helpful for the young playmaker.
The training standards with the province have accelerated his development but he stresses that playing for Clontarf in the Ulster Bank League has been equally important.
The experience around him in the shape of Reilly, powerful back rows Michael Noone and Tony Ryan, prolific wing Mick McGrath, former Munster centre Evan Ryan and several others has been particularly useful.
“You learn so much more from playing with the older fellas than you would with the younger guys because obviously they’ve been through a lot more and they’ve seen a lot more games,” says Carbery.
“Even just a bit more of a calming voice. It does get frantic out there, so it is really reassuring and it helps me a lot.”
Carbery stresses that playing games as regularly as possible is vital for him, and the experience of an All-Ireland final on Sunday at 2.30pm in the national stadium will be a particularly important experience.
Wood has been a good influence on Carbery with his positive approach both on and off the pitch, while the presence of Leinster boss Cullen at a number of Ulster Bank League games has been appreciated too.
“It’s good to have Leo down watching the games because then you actually feel you’re being noticed and observed,” says Carbery. “It’s always good to have him there because you can show what you’ve got on a different stage.”
Carbery’s approach at out-half is very often a run-first mentality and he certainly has brought that daring edge into the Clontarf set-up. The attitude has been partly inspired by being coached by his father, a Kiwi, during his years with Athy.
Carbery has found himself in trouble at times for attempting to break out from deep, when others might have kicked, but says neither himself nor his coaches are looking to change his philosophy on attack.
I think a lot of coaches want players to show their instinct and natural ability more,” says Carbery. “They’ll put pathways in for you to follow, but they always want you to do what you see and trust your instinct a bit more.
“If you do something wrong, they’ll be like ‘don’t do that again,’ but they’re always pushing you to show your own ability and your natural talent.
“If it’s on, it’s on, especially in Clontarf where we’ve got great backs like Mick [McGrath] and Mike Brown. We’ve always got attacking flair out wider where they can beat a man one-on-one.
“If there is a chance to give them a one-on-one, we try and do it.”
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