Willing student of front row mysteries

Emmet Byrne walked into the room for a first interview with the then Leinster coach, Mike Ruddock. Conversation strayed to how much Byrne could bench press; Ruddock smiled and said he could press more. When the interview was over the two men shook hands and as Leinster team manager Ken Ging laughs, "the veins were almost popping as they put on the squeeze."

There may be just a touch of poetic licence to the story of the encounter but it encapsulates Byrne's philosophy to rugby: he is impressed by deeds, not words. The 27-year-old inhabits the underworld that is the front row and is acknowledged by his peers as one of the best scrummagers in the country. It is little surprise therefore that Byrne and Leinster's new scrummaging coach Roly Meates are soul-mates.

Byrne, Leinster's first choice tighthead prop, is effusive in his praise. "He shares the same kind of passion about scrummaging that I do. A lot of props don't place a huge emphasis on the scrummaging whereas I do. I see it as your major job and something that can separate you from the rest if you are really good at it.

"In fairness, in a prop's world, you watch out for the guys that are good scrummagers whereas it's not as if you worry about how good your opposing prop is around the pitch. I still have a long way to go. I'm not anywhere near where I want to be but I'm improving. He's (Roly Meates) very good individually as well as with the forward pack as a unit.

"He offers me variations in technique. A loosehead prop is a very basic position. You target one area on the hit in the scrum and that is basically underneath the tighthead prop. If you don't hit that then you are generally in trouble. The natural weight of the scrum is on the loosehead side. As a tighthead you can go inside, outside, pull it down, push it up; there are so many variations.

"Roly helped me with those and my feet positions. That is crucial on my side of the scrum, it comes down to what type of build you are as to how you should play it. I'm tall for a tighthead so I would have to play differently from guys who are short and stocky. The rules have changed for tightheads and it makes it even harder again.

"He provides me with the technique to be able to work the loosehead and prevent him from getting under me so easily. As an eight-man unit, he works on the height of the scrum which is the most important thing. Roly emphasises the sink after the hit, whereas we used to hit and chase (keep driving forward) and he emphasises the quality of the strike.

"It obviously makes sense to manufacture a quick strike with guys like Victor Costello, Brian O'Driscoll and Shane Horgan to give them the space and time to use their talents."

Byrne's introduction to rugby came at King's Hospital but as he admits he didn't take a real interest until after junior cup level. He captained the SCT, played for Leinster Schools and managed a Final Irish trial. He joined Wanderers because their Under19's were very good that year, a fact illustrated by their victory in the McCorry Cup and spent six months in Australia, playing for Queensland University at the behest of the former Wanderers coach, Jake Howard.

He made his senior debut against England international Jeff Probyn in a Wanderers-Wasps match. Having played all his schools rugby at tighthead he switched to loosehead in the senior ranks. A conversation with Ciaran Fitzgerald persuaded him to join St Mary's College and also persuaded him of the importance of being able to play both sides of the front row.

His versatility would not always have a positive impact on his career. After playing for the Combined Provinces against South Africa and also for Ireland A against the same opponents in 1998, Byrne's career ground to a resounding halt. "I had what I suppose you could describe as a difference of opinion with St Mary's. I wanted to play loosehead and they wanted me to play tight."

"We didn't see eye to eye and I ended up not playing at all. I fell out of favour with everyone and that was the season gone basically at that stage. When I look back on it, I should have played tight because I wasted a lot of time, I was too stubborn I suppose." Byrne ruptured a tendon in his foot on a pre-season tour to Wales and having reclaimed his spot, played three games for Leinster only to receive a knee in the back in a club match that sidelined him for the rest of the season.

"At the start of this season I decided to switch back to tighthead even though it is a far more difficult position to play. As a result there are less of them around. If you can master tighthead then you are sought after."

He is enjoying his rugby and would dearly love a senior cap. For now, though, playing in the European Cup with Leinster is a decent substitute.

Junior Charlie returns to the Connacht side for their return European Shield meeting with Montferrand at Ericsson Park tomorrow.

CONNACHT: R Lee; P Duignan, S Stephens, T Allnutt, D Yapp; E Elwood, J Ferris; J Screene, J McVeigh, M Cahill, R Frost, M McConnell, I Dillon, J Charlie, J O'Connor. Replacements - B Shelbourne, M Murphy, C Rigney, G Schoeman, D Browne, P Cleary, D McFarland.

MONTFERRAND: N Nadou; A Rougerie, J Ngauamo, T Marsh, D Bory; G Merceron, A Troncon; A Tolofua, M Caputo, A Galasso, E Lecomte, J Thion, A Audebert, J Machacek, O Magne. Replacements - P Burnell, B Reidy, C Dongieu, D Gabin, K Dalzell, E Nicol, S Viars.