Josh van der Flier staying grounded
He may be his country’s newest openside flanker and judging by his debut performance against England at Twickenham a fortnight ago there will be plenty more opportunities in green for the Leinster back-row.
Yet aside from the competition for the number seven jersey that would keep anyone’s ambitions in perspective, there was another quite different reality check for the 22-year-old.
When van der Flier returned, cap in hand you might say, to the house he shares with provincial and UCD team-mates including former academy comrades Peter Dooley, Tom Daly and Adam Byrne he found his shelf in the communal fridge had been taken over and a handicap imposed in the games room.
No special treatment then, for the new international on the weekend before his second Test appearance, a home debut against Italy at Aviva Stadium this afternoon.
“Not at all, if anything it’s worse,” van der Flier told the Irish Examiner. “We have darts in the house and now I have a handicap because I’m an international! I have to score more points than the rest but I’m having none of it.
“The lads have been very encouraging and they’re also very keen to keep my feet on the ground and make sure I don’t get too big for my boots. It’s good having that around you. When you’re back at the house you’re just one of the lads again, so there’s nothing different, no special treatment.
“I went back at the weekend and one of my shelves had been taken up in the fridge, which wasn’t on, but there’s not much I can do about it when I’m not there.”
It is fair to say that van der Flier will not lose too much sleep over his domestic arrangements while he continues to settle into life in the Ireland camp. Last December’s squad get-together at Carton House was his first taste of life in the national team set-up, coming as it did following an impressive, try-scoring Champions Cup debut against Bath and similarly eye-catching performances in both Europe and the Pro12 in what is still just his first senior season since graduation from the Leinster academy.
The step up from there to Test rugby has come rapidly and an extended stay in camp during this Six Nations campaign has been another new experience.
“It’s gone incredibly quick since then and it’s been going well. I am really enjoying camp. It’s completely new to me. (Ireland) Under-20s, I had some experience of camp like this but it’s quite a lot of pressure, very intense training and kind of an intense atmosphere, but that’s needed to fuel performance. I’ve been really enjoying it.
“Favourite bits, apart from the food? In fairness the food has to be up there. I enjoy the training, all aspects of it really. The unbelievable thing is getting my laundry done. The laundry and the food, all the small things you really appreciate being in camp.
“But the training, I feel I’ve improved as a player just doing the trainings, never mind playing the games.”
His performance against England got Irish supporters excited. Replacing the injured Sean O’Brien for a first start at Twickenham, van der Flier held his own against an in-form English side, giving hope of a bright future as he charged upfield alongside fellow debutant Ultan Dillane as Ireland chased the game and then getting over the line only to have his score harshly disallowed with no clear evidence of grounding with tackler Elliot Daly’s body obscuring the view for the TMO.
It is in van der Flier’s nature, though, to seek out areas for improvement and his post-match self criticism at failing to halt a rampant Billy Vunipola has not been tempered with the passage of time.
“Not really,” he said with a loud laugh. “There were things I knew I’d done wrong or could have done better at but then the video review picked up all the stragglers as well. I think it’s good.
“If I was sitting down saying I was really happy and wouldn’t change anything about my performance it doesn’t leave you with many places to go, really. You want to try to keep improving and I want to improve on my performance against England this weekend.
“There are positives to take and I was ecstatic after the game just because having played for Ireland it was very surreal and I was happy just to have done some good things in the game.”
As van der Flier is only too aware, there are not many second chances in Test rugby and when opportunities do come your way you have no choice but to take them.
“I’m very conscious of it. There’s isn’t really any let up. It’s constant. I wouldn’t say there’s no room for error but there’s no room for not putting in the effort.
“Every training, every match, you’ve got to be doing everything you can to try and get the win. I guess that’s what I’m learning. It’s Test rugby, you give your all, every game.
“I’ve a long way to go with the likes of Sean O’Brien out. He’s as good as it gets in terms of flankers around the world. I’ve just got to take the opportunities I have and try to do as well as I can with them.”
A good performance today against Sergio Parisse and company will hopefully lead to another chance against Scotland next week and then it will be back to Leinster to try and maintain his form in the lead up to the squad announcement for this summer’s tour to South Africa.
“I want to play as much as I can. Play this weekend and then try and be involved, and play against Scotland, do as well as I can and then from there we’ll see how it goes. Play as well as I can back at Leinster and hopefully try and stay involved in the international set-up. That’s the goal.
“If I can perform well there could be a chance I’m on the flight to South Africa but that’s a long way away and I’m just focused on Italy.”
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
