Attitudes abroad towards the IRFU’s relatively sensitive player management can be more than a little sniffy, as if carefully overseeing their game time affords their provinces an unfair advantage over English and French clubs.
Indeed, whenever Ireland win the Six Nations it’s usually cited as a key factor as well whereas, according to Eddie Jones and others, the World Cup offers a more level playing field.
Well, maybe, but it’s not the IRFU’s fault that all their players are centrally contracted, nor that they maximise the system. As usual, nothing illustrates the differing approach more than the fall-out from a World Cup.
Whereas some Premiership and Top 14 players were hauled back into their clubs with little or no respite, the Irish players were all given three weeks’ holidays.
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“We are looked after very, very well,” admits Caelan Doris, having made his return in last Saturday’s 54-5 win over the Scarlets before facing several of his former Irish team-mates in next Saturday’s Leinster-Munster game, for which 45,000 tickets have been sold.
“I think it’s important given the length of the season that we had that break. I know some of the French teams and the Saracens players were back in straight away. Physically, you can kind of muscle up and get through it, but psychologically you need to have the break to have the comedown and get your motivation back.”
“I needed all three weeks. It was a bit of a rollercoaster from the initial few days thinking ‘How am I going to play again?’ Just complete and utter disappointment. We had so much belief in the team and achieving our ultimate goal but falling short was devastating.”
Doris hasn’t forced himself to re-watch the quarter-final defeat by the All Blacks’ yet. “It still feels a little bit raw going back looking at it. I will at some stage.”
“I flicked through little bits for the nights and days after. You’re ruminating on bits that you could have done better. You’re just seeing them a thousand times in your head, so there are some bits I went back to straight away just to get a clear view of what actually happened, which sometimes helps,” he added, before adding wryly: “Sometimes makes it worse!”
Helpfully, he went to Los Angeles in week one.
“No one cares about rugby over there. It was nice to completely forget about it. My cousin and brother were there, a nice bit of family time. Just a completely different surrounding, so that was a good way for me to forget about it and process it myself and do a little bit of training and build back up for the rest of the season. I feel like I am in a pretty good place.”
A few low days gave way, after a week or so, to contemplating a return to training. This receded as the prospect of returning loomed closer. But no sooner had he returned than he was glad to be back.
“I think the best way to overcome a disappointment like that is to get back to play again and start improving and start getting better performances.”
“So, I am excited to do that. I have obviously been watching the team keenly over the last while and some of the young guys who have stepped up, James Culhane, obviously in my position. I am setting new goals and trying to improve because if I don’t do that, then he is going to take my position.”
With that in mind, while New Zealand lost in the final, Ardie Savea was a deserving World Player of the Year, and at 25 it’s not unreasonable for Doris to target emulating the 30-year-old.
“Definitely. There are elements of his game that I would like to get better at for sure. I have been pretty happy with my defensive game over the last while. A few sloppy penalties here and there, but generally being more of a nuisance, slowing a bit of ball down and getting a few turnovers here and there.
“But I want to put more attention back into my attack, get my carries up and bring back a few offloads here and there, and just be a little bit more dominant in that side of things. That’s a big focus for me over the next while.”
If ever a line can be drawn through the World Cup it’s surely this week, as Leinster renew their rivalry with Munster for the first time since last May’s 16-15 semi-final defeat courtesy of Jack Crowley’s late drop goal.
“It’s pretty vivid, that memory. I wasn’t playing that day but sitting in the stands, the Munster fans and the Munster team going crazy in the Aviva, which we kind of feel is our home...one of our homes! That’s replaying a little bit this week. Genuinely, any time we play Munster, there is extra excitement to it.
“It’s a funny one. I think it was the Thursday after we got back from the World Cup, there was a mix of Munster, Ulster and Leinster lads having a coffee. We were discussing with some of the younger Munster lads how it would be bizarre going from seeing each other every day for the guts of five or six months, to the next time seeing each other being on the pitch at the Aviva.
“But all friendships and everything will be put to the side for the few hours, for sure.”
Smiling broadly, Doris added: “I’m looking forward to getting stuck into Craig Casey and Jack Crowley in particular!”
