Leinster indebted to loyal soldier Mike Ross
Some players were expecting to hear their names, some were long shots, while others were watching on in the knowledge their time had gone.
Mike Ross, the 37-year-old Leinster prop, was in the latter group, but would have celebrated as much as the five players called up from the province, with a special cheer no doubt reserved for first- time tourist, Tadhg Furlong.
As Ross announces his intention to retire at the end of this season, the Cork man’s legacy for club and country is a serious one — and little illustrates it as clearly as Wexford man Furlong’s elevation to the Lions squad.
When players speak of ‘leaving the jersey in a better place’, if often rings hollow.
Not with Ross.
The No3 shirt he wore with such success for Leinster and Ireland; two Six Nations titles, two Heineken Cups, a Challenge Cup and two PRO12 titles — is in good hands, because he has helped make it so.
“He threw me under his wing there when I came into the Academy five or six years ago,” Furlong said, earlier this season.
“The way be brings you lads through is really good for the front row unit because we do a lot of work together. When you look at someone like Rossy who has done it for so long, he’s so consistent in his scrum and coaches have that trust in him.
"They know he’s always going to do a job because he’s done it on the big stage and he’s done it so many times. If I get to his level, I’d have done very well.
“When you look at Rossy, that’s what you have to take — the work he puts into the scrum and the way he brings young lads through.”
It’s perhaps no coincidence that a player who didn’t make an impact in the professional game until his late 20s that he has been so good to the next generation of Irish players.
Jack McGrath, another Lions debutant this summer, has had Ross on call ever since he joined Leinster, and admitted it was a sad day when his retirement was confirmed.
“It’s a tough one, he’s a great character around the group,” McGrath said.
“He’s great for the young lads, because I know for the fact Tadhg [Furlong] has learned a lot from him. He’s always been kind of earwigging in with him, just chatting away. I’ve learned a lot from him, even scrumming against him.
“Everyone has to hang up their boots at some stage, but he’s been a great stalwart for club and country. To come where he came from, I think he started professional rugby at 27, and get to 61 caps for Ireland and plenty of medals for club and country.
"It’s a testament to the man. It’s a sad day to see him go, but he’s left the club in a better place.”
Ross will hope to add to his 151 Leinster appearances and end this season with a third PRO12 title and a dream farewell at Aviva Stadium.
It would compensate for the lack of fanfare when his international career came to an end last year, effectively retired by Joe Schmidt when he left him out of the squad to take on New Zealand.
The ex-Harlequins prop was once undroppable for the Kiwi boss. Time stands still for no one.
Having waited until his 30th year to win his first cap, Ross was typically modest about making his last.
“I think you have to be a bit lucky to get the big send off, the way Brian O’Driscoll went out, I don’t think anyone else got that,” Ross said.
“Not a lot of us get to go out on our own terms. You’ll always push yourself as much as you can, try to get as much out of it as you can, that might mean sacrificing a big farewell.
“I can’t complain. I think I squeezed as much as I possibly could out of it.
“I never dreamed having had such a late start in the professional game that I’d go on to achieve such goals, or win 61 caps for Ireland.
“I’m indebted to my teammates and coaches, my friends, and family.”
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