James Ryan: He’s 21, played 21 matches and has won them all

Team-mates laud Leinster lock’s ‘jaw-dropping’ rise after he stars in European final

Mon, May 14, 2018, 06:30

Gavin Cummiskey in Bilbao

Leinster’s James Ryan wins the lineout from Racing 92’s Donnacha Ryan. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho

Leinster’s James Ryan wins the lineout from Racing 92’s Donnacha Ryan. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho

The James Ryan story will always include togging out for Munster. Seriously. Stripped in Munster gear from head to toe with the stag over his heart. Leinster had run out of games and Joe Schmidt needed the prodigy to stretch those long limbs so he could be capped in Harrison, New Jersey.

Ireland Under-20s v Munster Development this weekend last year sounds like another one of those decisions Leinster’s most successful captain and now coach just had to swallow.

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