Eager Healy eyes French opportunity

IT’S already been a year of firsts for Cian Healy and the Leinster prop is hoping to add to his list of achievements by making his first competitive appearance on French soil tomorrow.

This time 12 months ago, he made his European bow in the away pool fixture against Edinburgh and he followed that with his first appearance in an Irish squad under Eddie O’Sullivan last January.

Healy also made Declan Kidney’s extended national selection for the autumn internationals while another important staging post was reached when recording his first 80-minute shift for Leinster against the Dragons.

He has played rugby in France before, but only on tour with his school and club, so a call to arms against Castres at the Stade Pierre-Antoine would be another important milestone.

Whether or not he features this time, Healy’s graph is cantering along in the right direction. After all, he is still just 21 and playing in a position where some people don’t reach their playing maturity until their mid-30s.

He agreed: “There is development you go through. You have to learn your trade but I find I’ve become impatient from underage rugby where you just step into the next team, do your trials and get selected or not. It wasn’t a case of it taking a couple of years to get into a team. That impatience is going to help me, I think, and it’s going to make me work an awful lot harder to get in there because that’s where I want to be.”

His focus wasn’t always so linear. Growing up, his heroes were rampaging, beefy backs like Jonah Lomu. He dabbled at centre with Clontarf but played much of his schools rugby with Belvedere at hooker.

Athletics took up his time too and he had All-Ireland javelin, shot-putt and discus medals sitting alongside his Leinster Schools keepsake by the time he entered the provincial academy.

His education has only increased since his school days. Leinster have been blessed with old-school props in recent years, guys like Reggie Corrigan, Will Green, Ollie le Roux and CJ van der Linde who have all imparted their wisdom free of charge.

It was actually by watching John Hayes and Peter Clohessy do their thing that prompted his decision to decide on prop but, if he resembles any current Munster forward, it would probably be Marcus Horan.

Like the St Munchin’s man, Healy is light for a player with his job description and his dynamism and abilities in open play with ball in hand ensure that he gets noticed by more than just those who can discern the intricacies of what is happening in the trenches.

Two tries last season, against Ulster and Glasgow, were examples of his capabilities in the loose and he admits that he gets as much pleasure from the odd side step or touchdown as he does from buttressing a solid scrum.

“I definitely get a lot of pleasure from step moves and scoring, but it doesn’t happen too regularly. It’s a different type of pleasure from a scrum, you get more praise from ‘Cheiks’ if you hold the scrum solid and the lads can do their business.

“Because, at the end of the day, I’m a prop. That’s what I have to learn to do every time. If an opportunity comes to score a try, that’ll happen.”

The dynamic stuff has always taken care of itself. For now his focus is on the technical side of his profession. The dark arts. After all, a ball-carrying prop is an unaffordable luxury if he can’t perform the basics in the scrum. He admits that the technical side isn’t a side of his game that comes naturally.

“My physique doesn’t allow me scrummage too easily because I don’t have huge weight behind me. I’m starting to build that up. I’ve always had a struggle with that but I’m getting heavier and I’m getting a lot more help from the lads. CJ (van der Linde) talks me through a lot of stuff and I’m finally getting a lockdown on it.”

Every little helps because, aside from the former Springbok and Healy, Leinster have Stan Wright, Stephen Knoop and Ronan McCormack all vying for the two propping spots.

Yet, despite his youth, Healy is established as first reserve behind van der Linde and Wright, as his 23rd appearance for the province off the bench against Castres on Saturday attests to.

“There was a tough aspect to their game. They were hard hitters and it was very tough to break their line so I can only expect the same when we go down there,” he said.