Rugby:DAMIEN VARLEY was having breakfast at home on the Thursday before Ireland played Australia 12,000 miles away and getting ready to go training with Munster when he received a phone call from Declan Kidney. Two days later he was watching Ireland's historic win in Eden Park as a late call-up to the squad.
In what must have been a surreal few days for Varley, he went to Dublin the next morning, Friday, to acquire all his training gear and flew out that evening, arriving in time to see Ireland’s 15-6 win.
“The amount of Irish support there was unbelievable. I think it was an unbelievable match from my point of view as a first experience of a World Cup, to witness that and to be involved in the team afterwards.
“I think I was in shock being here,” he admitted, “and I was wrecked throughout the game from the jetlag. But I think the way the forwards played and their dominance up front is one thing I took from the game, and how they bullied the Australians.”
As there then followed two days of rest after travelling to Taupo the next day. “It was a very anxious wait. I didn’t know what the schedule was when I arrived over. It was only the following morning when we were travelling to Taupo I realised there were two days of waiting for me. Obviously everyone else was delighted with the rest and I was there for two days with my training kit on, waiting to go.”
This, he says, is the pinnacle of his career so far. “Winning the Magners League was my first professional trophy and being called into the initial training squad for the World Cup was unbelievable and then to finally get out here is the pinnacle.
“ I want to go on a bit further and get on the team and push myself forward and keep growing like that. Hopefully it’s not ‘the’ pinnacle. But it’s an unbelievable experience. You’re surrounded by the world’s best players and you can’t but learn from them.”
His mixture of sadness for Jerry Flannery and delight at being at the World Cup has given way now to pushing for a place in the match-day 22.
“You get to a certain stage and you want to keep progressing. I was disappointed initially when I didn’t make the squad, I was delighted when I got called up and now you’re here you know you have to forget all that stuff. You’re in the environment and you have to push on. Certainly I would like to be pushing for a spot in the 22.”
It will be very difficult for him, given not only how well Rory Best is going in all departments, but also how Seán Cronin’s darts not only held up against Russia, but his ball-carrying and support play added to Ireland’s running game and highlighted his potential as an impact replacement when a game loosens up.
Cronin’s scrummaging was also given credit by scrum coach Greg Feek, although this is also a forte of Varley. “I think you have to keep your head down and train hard, train no differently than you do in a normal week, to put yourself in a position to get out here in the first place. The last thing you need to do is start panicking and do something stupid in training. The Italians have a strong scrum and we’ll do a lot of work on scrummaging this week, and when I get in there hopefully I’ll be able to stake a claim.”
With all four props fit since the opening game, Varley confirmed the forwards can do live scrummaging, be it eight v eight, five v five or three v three, if more so at the start of a match week and less so as match day nears.
Last summer, Varley was also a late call-up to the Irish squad and actually trained with the New Zealand Barbarians with a view to playing for them against the Maoris only to get injured in the warm-up. “It was a great experience meeting a lot of the guys trying to push for spots in the New Zealand 22 and great to be training with those guys and be in the mix. Not many Irish people have that opportunity.”
He was selected on the bench against the Maoris and Australia, making his Test debut as a 70th-minute replacement for Cronin in Brisbane, and adding another cap by the same route in the win over Argentina at the Aviva Stadium last November.
On arrival at Rotorua Airport for Monday’s flight to Dunedin, the squad were treated to farewell songs from a Maori woman in full regalia. Varley’s famed musical skills were called upon when she handed him a guitar (presumably having been prompted to do so). Varley trained in classical violin for 14 years, following which he taught himself the piano and guitar.
“That was a very impromptu thing . . . Obviously with the Maori culture, they’re very big into their music and celebrations. So, the minute we had a bit of a wait in the airport it was thrown at me to sing. The first song I sang was North and South Of The River, a Christy Moore song, and then Ordinary Man. Yea, very impromptu. I wasn’t really expecting it, but it was good fun.”
