Cronin seizes the day
Like the eight other new faces selected by Declan Kidney for the Ireland team this week, there is plenty at stake, both for player and country, but especially country.
There is no after the Lord Mayor’s Show mentality about tomorrow’s match, even if the wider perception is that a quarter-final place is a done deal following that memorable victory over Australia last Saturday. Far from it. Cronin would not be the first player to point out that the Eden Park performance will count for nought if the squad does not deliver two further wins in Pool C.
As one of three hookers in the 30-man Ireland party alongside Rory Best and Damien Varley, the emphasis on squad is especially important.
The rest of the squad helps the starting XV prepare for that weekend’s Test match each week and should anything happen to a selected starter, they have to be on call at a minute’s notice to step into the breach. And when Jerry Flannery was the unfortunate victim of yet another calf injury, Cronin was ready to take his place on the bench.
“It’s happened a good few times in the past, like when Rory was gone [last November], and I’ve had to step up, so I’m well used to it now,” Cronin said.
“You can’t really clock off. You don’t have time to take a back seat and take it easy because anything could happen. You just have to prepare as if you’re starting, let alone on the bench. Now I’m really looking forward to stepping up again.”
Cronin will start against Russia in Rotorua, as part of a team charged with building on the momentum started last weekend in Auckland with that 15-6 win.
“The win over Australia at the weekend was massive in terms of progression in the World Cup and there is a spring in the step of the squad this week. Declan and the coaching staff have been stressing, you know, we had a day after the game to bask in the glory, but then again it won’t be worth anything if we can’t get a performance and everyone isn’t tuned in for this weekend. It’s another massive game.”
Kidney talks a lot about the necessity of the whole squad buying into the cause if Ireland are to be successful but when you’re one of three hookers for the same starting position, just as the scrum-halves are, it requires quite a lot of effort.
“It is tough,” Cronin told the Irish Examiner, “but you’re a professional sportsperson that has to get your head around certain things. You have to realise that sometimes it’s not about the individual, it’s about the collective and if there’s one fella stepping outside of that and not keeping things going, off sulking or whatever, it’s going to do no-one any good.
“So it’s more players taking that upon themselves and making sure that everyone’s bought in. And everyone has. I think it’s worked out tremendously and that win against Australia is testament to that.
“You can see from the talk off the lads that the atmosphere in the squad is good. It’s always been good but it’s especially good after a win like that.”
As someone who spent the previous week pretending to be the Australian front row in training, Cronin was performing what might appear to have been a thankless task, particularly having replaced Flannery on the bench.
“To be honest, there was just a great sense of the squad coming together and the result that the lads got on the weekend was huge. Declan has been stressing that it’s a 30-man effort and you need everyone to row in during the week and put in as best preparation as they can. Everything went right during the week.
“It’s always tough to sit in the stand, you always want to be out there, but I think everyone played their part, it was a massive result and it’s really set us up well.”
Cronin’s reward is a World Cup debut against Russia.
“It’s exciting. It is my first World Cup and I’ve been building for this since pre-season when we first all came together. It’s a massive opportunity to be getting a run-out on Sunday for a few of the lads coming onto the team so it’s all about getting your preparation right and trying to put Australia behind us. It was a massive win but it won’t count for anything if we don’t get a win against Russia on Sunday.”
On a personal level, the World Cup start is just the start of a new chapter in Cronin’s professional career, coinciding with a close-season move from Connacht to European champions Leinster.
“It’s gearing up, hopefully, to be a big year for me. I made the move during the summer from Connacht. I had three great years there and I’ve had a small bit of interaction with Joe [Schmidt] and Jono Gibbes at Leinster, so I’m really looking forward to working with them when I get back.
“Getting selected for the World Cup was another massive thing and when you put it all in perspective it has been a massive few months. Hopefully there’s a few more exciting months to come, especially here in New Zealand for the Irish team. This is really exciting.”
Leaving behind a province for whom he was first-choice hooker to join another with an established hooker in Richardt Strauss may seem a gamble but Cronin’s belief in his own ability and his track record, leaving Munster to join Connacht straight out of the academy, means the decision was not seen that way by the player himself.
“The way I look at it is every top European team, which Leinster are having won the European Cup twice, have at least two quality players in every position. Having competition like that is a good thing, I don’t see it as a bad thing. It drives me on, makes me want to be a better player — you know if you’re not playing up to your potential that there’s someone there snapping at your heels. I’m looking forward to battling it out with Straussy when I get back.
“To be honest it was a bigger decision for me to leave Munster a few years back because I was really going into the unknown at the time. That was a big move and I had three great years there working with good coaches. They helped me develop and I just thought the time was right to move on and the European champions were looking for me to join, so how could you say no to that?”
It is all about taking chances, professional sport and Cronin is proving a great example of making bold decisions pay off. Next in line is breaking through as Ireland’s first-choice hooker, starting with his 14th cap tomorrow against the Russians.
“I’ve been around the squad now, this is my third year. You’d always like to have a few more caps under your belt but I’ve got my opportunity now. I’ve had a few starts, come on in a few games but every professional athlete wants to be number one in whatever they do so that’s what I’m striving for.
“I’m not saying I’m the finished article yet but I’m striving to get there and hopefully I can make an impression with the coaching staff on Sunday. This is a Rugby World Cup, it doesn’t get any bigger than this, so it’s great for me, my family and I’m really looking forward to getting a chance.”
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