Injured Ringrose hoping he can play part in Six Nations finale
The young centre suffered an ankle injury in last month’s defeat of Ulster at the RDS but he was able to report some pleasing progress on the injury yesterday, on the back of the surgery performed by Johnny O’Connor.
Ringrose is hoping to start running again in two to three weeks, which would put him in the frame for his province’s PRO14 game at home to Scarlets on February 17 and, failing that, the visit to Dublin of Southern Kings six days later.
Ireland face Wales in Dublin in February which would seem to be much too soon.
More likely is the next international fixture, at home to Scotland two weeks further down the road, with the away trip to Twickenham following seven days later.
“I’ll be keeping one eye on the Six Nations,” he explained yesterday, “(but) I won’t get too distracted by it. The main thing for me is focus and get back for Leinster. I unfortunately haven’t played that many games this year.
“It’s pretty competitive in the backline in Leinster and certainly in the centre so the next couple of games there is a window. A lot of the guys are at the Six Nations so I’ll be sticking my hand up to get picked then. Anything that happens after that is out of my control.”
It’s been a difficult season for him, all told. Ringrose’s star shone bright at schools and underage levels, not just because of his undoubted talent but an almost complete absence of any injury profile.
And now, as with buses, they’re coming as collectives.
A shoulder injury picked up with Ireland on the last summer tour stalled the start of his season until December. Ulster was just his sixth game back before he shepherded again towards casualty.
Frustrating.
The hope is that he can find his feet that bit faster than last time. He should do given his absence will be much shorter than the previous six-month spell and that’s no bad thing given the time of year and the need to play catch-up.
With Bundee Aki likely to partner Robbie Henshaw in the midfield for Ireland’s trip to Paris, and Chris Farrell making strides in camp under Schmidt’s watchful eye, there is a sense that this may be the worst time possible to find yourself unavailable.
“Yeah, the timing is not great, when you say it like that. There is always going to be competition, certainly in Ireland. That raises the standard of everyone around them so it is a good thing, really, for Ireland.
“From my point of view, even the competition at Leinster is pretty stiff at the moment in the backline. There is a long list of guys there and you could put three or four backlines together there that would be worthy of playing in the big games.”
He takes comfort from guys like Rob Kearney and Isa Nacewa who have shrugged aside injuries to reclaim their places with some imperious form but the fact is that Ringrose is almost an old hand himself compared to the new generation coming through.
Thirteen of Schmidt’s current Six Nations squad — well over a third of the total — have yet to play a Six Nations game.
Andrew Conway and James Tracy have banked mere minutes. Some of those guys will be making a big step up this next two months.
It’s unlikely any will match Ringrose’s feat last year when he made his championship bow and ended up playing every minute of every game. But what exactly awaits his less experienced colleagues as they face into the 2018 edition?
“I’m trying to think back to what it was like the first time I went in. The U20s prepares you so well it’s never actually a massive jump. I got two years at U20s and some of the lads have a year or two at it.
“They are more than well equipped for it, to cope with international level, and the fact they have been playing provincially as well helps. I’m looking forward to seeing them play and I wouldn’t be surprised if they are involved in a couple of the starting teams.”
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