Rhys Ruddock longs to face Wales

He’s a mummy’s boy. Rhys Ruddock admits it.

Not something you would expect from a man built like the proverbial outhouse and someone whose recent performances with Leinster have propelled him into the reckoning for a place in an Irish back row spoilt rotten for choice as the Six Nations approaches next weekend.

He laughs as he says it.

The joke is a reference to his divided loyalties and the fact his mother’s side of the family eventually won out and he may yet get the first chance to face the country of his father’s birth when Wales arrive in Dublin on Sunday afternoon.

His earliest memories of games between the nations is of his parents, Mike and Bernie, battling to kit both him and brother Ciarán out in their favoured red or green. In truth, his loyalties have wavered depending on time and circumstances.

Though born in Dublin, Ruddock grew up in Swansea and his allegiance to the Principality seemed secure when his old man coached the national team to what was at the time a rare Grand Slam, in 2005. And yet here he is now, wearing green.

“Yeah, I am a mummy’s boy,” he laughs, “and also with the Welsh name I was the one born in Ireland. Ciarán, Irish name born in Wales, so I don’t know where they got that one from. There’s some logic there apparently.” It was only when he followed Ciarán in swapping the Ospreys academy for Leinster’s his colours were finally decided but he remains in touch with a clutch of his old mates from across the Irish Sea. Dan Biggar, Toby Faletau and Justin Tipuric are among them.

He came across Faletau during his schools days and tells a superb story about the day he faced the current Wales No.8 and his three Vunipola cousins, two of whom have gone on to similarly notable things in, and with, England.

“I actually played U11 West Wales against East Wales and on the East Wales team you had Mako Vunipola, Billy Vunipola, Toby Faletau and another cousin (Tony) Maka .... The four of them were absolute monsters.

“I remember running down the touchline thinking I was going to score a try and Billy managed to jump on my back. I landed on top of the ball and it took me about 10 minutes to get up I was so badly winded.

“Yeah, I had plenty of run-ins with those boys.”

Sounds painful. And the scoreline? “We won actually.” Ruddock has been no stranger to the physical toll which rugby takes ever since. Injuries have restricted his progression and restricted him to a belated call-up for the Rugby World Cup when he was parachuted in for the quarter-final loss to Argentina. All that baggage has been catalogued and quarantined now. Wales demand their attention now. It is a fixture that has assumed a harsher edge in recent years due to the fallout from Warren Gatland’s dismissal by the IRFU all those years ago, the rising tide of both sides and the fact they have both been prime suppliers for the British and Irish Lions.

Nowhere is that rivalry keener than in the respective back rows. Ruddock speaks glowingly of Faletau, Tipuric, Dan Lydiate and Sam Warburton but priority number one for him is securing a place in the 23 to face the Welsh next Sunday and Joe Schmidt has an unenviable task in picking three to start and cover on the bench.

Jordi Murphy failed to earn a pass into the squad on the back of an underwhelming spell with Leinster even though Peter O’Mahony, Chris Henry and Iain Henderson are all injured: the emergence of CJ Stander and Josh van der Flier has obviously had something to do with that.

Van der Flier is the blueprint of a modern seven but Stander offers options at six and eight and is therefore a much more obvious challenger for the game time that Ruddock will hope to bank over the two months to come.

“He is a very strong, physical ball carrier,” he says of Stander. “He has been leading the Munster team in a difficult period and he has been playing very well. He is a quality player. What position he is playing we’ll see.”