Holding Court on selection politics

Tom Court doesn’t do loud but his words yesterday, though delivered in hushed tones, spoke volumes for the frustration the Ulster prop still feels at being omitted from the Ireland squad last November.

For three years he had been the first reserve on both sides of the front row. Then match day squads were bumped up from 22 to 23 to allow two replacement props and the 32-year old found his dual qualities weren’t deemed quite so essential.

In came Michael Bent from New Zealand — another man who has packed down at loosehead and tight — as well as Munster’s Dave Kilcoyne whose form allied with youth and long-term potential to earn him the second slot on the bench.

The Brisbane-born Ulsterman was not oblivious to the role of others when discussing his own omission. Kilcoyne, Cian Healy and Connacht’s Denis Buckley were all given their dues and more but Court alluded to other conspiring factors besides.

“Obviously, there is all sorts of politics and things people talk about,” he explained, somewhat vaguely, when discussing selection matters. “You are never going to know all the ins and outs so it is just up to me to play well and the rest is up to them.”

That wasn’t all.

“There are a lot of things that go on. Irish rugby is a brand now and you have certain guys that they want to push and they want to portray a certain image and bringing in younger or maybe exciting players — however you want to put it — as well.”

Both observances, open to interpretation as they are, will no doubt generate some comment but the general impression was one of a player who would appear to feel as if his face just doesn’t fit anymore.

None of it was delivered in anything other than a measured manner but his sense of displacement was furthered by a suspicion that his Aussie accent hasn’t endeared him to some sections of the Irish rugby community.

“Not being a born and bred Irishman, whether that sticks in people’s minds or not I’m not really sure,” he reasoned, “but I have been eligible to play for Ireland since the day I was born.”

For most, it isn’t Court’s origins but his performances which are of interest and he admitted Ireland’s reliance on him as a back-up tighthead for so long was far from ideal for either party but that he was hardly likely to spurn caps.

He has earned 29 of them to date, all bar six off the bench, but his last came back in March of 2012 when he replaced Mike Ross in an Irish pack that was vaporised by England at Twickenham at the end of the Six Nations.

A thumb fracture suffered at the same venue against Leinster two months later thwarted any hopes of personal redemption in New Zealand but he remains determined to make his case for an international return.

He spoke of not “walking away with my hands up” and has been as good as his word with a series of standout displays for his province at his favoured loosehead slot, most notably over Christmas when he minced Bent in the scrum at Ravenhill.

His performances haven’t been the only thing to catch the eye: theemotion with which Court has been playing has been just as obvious and he admitted that it has stemmed from those same doubts about his age and his Irishness.

Some of it, too, is simply sheer “relief” at spending all his working hours on one side of the scrum and he will get another opportunity to display just what that consistency of selection can do for him this Friday evening.

Healy et al will have their own stages on which to shine this weekend but Court may be the only one among them in a position to avail of such a spotlight beyond January if the other three provinces fail to extricate themselves from their pools’ binds.

That would hardly do the Ulster prop’s international ambitions any harm but he can see the bigger picture, too.

“You can talk about luck or circumstances or who was in which pool but it would be very disappointing for Irish rugby if Munster and Leinster were both knocked out. They are both still in with a chance, one maybe with more of an outside chance than the other, but they are good enough teams to deserve to go through.

“Connacht have shown that they want to get stuck in and get better and better as well. We can continue winning as many games as we can but I don’t think you’d find too many Ulster supporters who would be happy to see the other Irish provinces knocked out. It wouldn’t be good for Irish rugby.”