Loughney desperate for another huge Test

So who is Ronan Loughney? The Connacht prop emerged from relative obscurity this season and has anchored the Westerners’ scrum in what has arguably been the province’s most consistent season since rugby went professional.

The Galway native received the call from Declan Kidney to join Ireland’s end of season tour and won his first cap from the bench last weekend when he came on for the injured Declan Fitzpatrick in the second half.

Loughney’s first task was to lock out the Irish scrum from the tight head position on his own goal-line against 88-cap All Black loose head Tony Woodcock. Calling it a baptism of fire would be an understatement.

“It’s tough coming straight on to a scrum but the lads really pulled in behind me,” said Loughney on his first Irish Test appearance.

“We obviously did a lot of ‘prep’ during the week and talked a lot about him but I would have watched him playing for years since I was younger. He’s been there a long time and that’s how you test yourself, against the best. And he’s certainly up there.”

“I suppose they would have been aware it was my first cap and I’d imagine they thought I was nervous but it was a great experience to scrummage against him [Woodcock].

“Now that I’ve a taste for it I just want more and improve on what we did last week. Obviously there’s a lot of room for improvement all around the park.”

Growing up in Barna in Galway, Loughney began his rugby career at local club Corinthians. He flirted with a few different positions before an influential coach advised him to concentrate his efforts in the front row.

“There was a guy called Mike McGrath at Corinthians who put me in there,” Loughney explained.

“Since then I’ve been learning. We are lucky in Connacht, we have Dan McFarland as forwards coach, he is excellent from that point of view, technically with the scrum and, in particular, with me moving to tight head, he spent a lot of time working with me.”

Jamie Hagan’s departure to Leinster last summer and a spate of injuries in the propping department during the league campaign opened the door for Loughney to assert himself as Connacht’s leading tight head and, since making the move across, he hasn’t looked back.

“I played tight head when I was younger but when I got to Celtic League level, at the time I was a lot lighter and younger as well and I struggled so I switched [across to loose head],” he said.

“This year, we had a bit of an injury crisis and they asked me to go in there [tight head]. So, it was just about doing a lot of work with Dan and trying to improve with every game. I suppose it opened up the opportunity to come over here.”

The 27-year-old certainly obtained a good grounding in the dark arts during this development. Loughney describes learning his trade during his three-year stint with UL Bohemians earlier in his career.

“Even as far back as Limerick, I remember scrummaging sessions against St Mary’s, a junior team down in the city,” he explained. “It was a great experience, particularly with tight head, the more tricks you get the better.”

From the Sportsground to Eden Park, it’s been some promotion for Loughney.