There was no doubting the warmth in the huge ovation afforded Edwin Edogbo as he ran purposefully on to the pitch for his Ireland debut in the 70th minute of Saturday’s win over Italy.
It meant a huge amount to him.
“It was similar to early in the season, playing my first game in whatever it was, two years, against Edinburgh,” said Edogbo in reference to his comeback for Munster last October after recovering from a second Achilles injury. “Having that roar and that support from the crowd was something special and something I don’t take for granted.”
Ideally, perhaps, Andy Farrell would have liked to introduce Edogbo in a less pressurised stage. Yet it tells us much about the faith Farrell has in the 23-year-old that Edogbo rumbled on to the pitch within three minutes of Paolo Garbisi making it a one-score game.
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“Yeah, definitely it’s a different, added pressure but I suppose the training we did during the week prepped us for that moment and coming into it of course it’s going to be challenging and the lungs are going from moment go. I think we were pretty confident – we were not comfortable – but we knew what we needed to do to get the victory.”
Edogbo’s first act was to pack down on the tighthead side of the second row and immediately contribute to Ireland’s strongest scrum of the match, but thereafter Ireland were in defensive mode, and Edogbo contributed to that well-connected endgame defensive effort with nine tackles.
In the 80th minute Edogbo went for one of his trademark jackals after Caelan Doris had tackled Manuel Zuliani, quite legitimately it seemed, as the first man in. Referee Hollie Davidson shouted “no”, at which pint Edogbo pulled his hands away, but the referee signalled a penalty anyway, saying both “second man in” and “ruck formed”, neither of which looked an accurate interpretation.
“It’s frustrating,” said Farrell of that call, which led to a 12-phase Italian attack from the ensuing penalty to the corner. “He was told to get off the ball and he did and he still got penalised. So, I don’t know what he’s supposed to do, but anyway, we’ll look at that.”
Thankfully, that decision did not ruin his unforgettable day, the highlight of which came even before the team coach pulled up in the Aviva.
“I think the main one would be leaving the Shelbourne on the way to the bus [to the stadium] and just seeing the support in the hotel. People chanting, people saying good luck and all that, and just the amount of people that was there. I think it’s something rare that you get to experience so, yeah, it was definitely a nice feeling.”
Reflecting on the prematch anthems, Edogbo said: “It was an unbelievable experience. I was talking to one of my coaches back home [Cathal Sheridan] during the week, and he was like ‘make sure you take a moment to plan for that’.
“I tried my best but there’s nothing quite like it, singing the national anthem. It was a pretty special moment.”
His mother Patience, older brother Moses, older sister Favour and younger brother Sean had surprised him by arriving in the Shelbourne Hotel on Thursday evening when he was presented with his jersey by Craig Casey.
They were all in the Aviva Stadium for what must have been a hugely proud and emotional day for all of them, although Edogbo couldn’t make them out in the crowd.
“I actually didn’t. I found them after, but I was looking around and couldn’t see them.”
Asked how many supporters from Cobh were in the Aviva, Edogbo quipped “Oh, about 8,000!”. Then he admitted: “Honestly, I haven’t a clue. Your guess is as good as mine.”
Reflecting the pride felt in Cobh at Edogbo becoming their first rugby international, the town’s landmark Belvelly Castle had a good-luck message projected on to the outside of the huge 80ft stone tower for all to see on arrival to the Great Island.
“Yeah, that was unreal wasn’t it?” said Edogbo, positively beaming. “That was amazing. I didn’t know they were going to do that, so that was pretty special as well. I’ve done a lot of these interviews, and you know how much Cobh means to me. So for them to give me that little tribute was extra special.”
Following his appearance in the media mixed zone a couple of hours after the game, Edogbo still had another duty to perform, namely the traditional song in front of the squad to mark his debut.
“I’d say I might go with Halo from Beyoncé. I was able to learn the lyrics.”
Was he fazed by the prospect?
“It’s just a bit of singing. Never hurt anyone.”
