Eager Josh Van der Flier ready to spring into action in Paris

Josh van der Flier sat through the frustration of missing the November internationals through injury but the experience has given even more hunger to make the most of his Six Nations opportunity against France in Paris today.

The 24-year-old Leinster flanker saw off his Leinster back-row team-mates Jordi Murphy and Dan Leavy to earn his place at openside in today’s championship opener at Stade de France as Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt seeks to fill the vacuum created by Sean O’Brien’s hip injury.

The chance comes having missed the Guinness Series Tests against South Africa, Fiji, and Argentina as he recovered from surgery for a high ankle sprain (syndesmosis). Not that van der Flier got the chance to ignore Ireland getting along without him, the involvement of housemate and Leinster wing Adam Byrne winning his first cap against the Pumas meant there was no escape.

“You obviously miss out on a few things and then you come back in and there’s a few tweaks here and there that are different but I suppose it probably made me hungrier to get into the squad,” van der Flier said.

“Obviously you’re always really keen to get into the Irish squad but when you miss out...

“I’m living with Adam Byrne and he was obviously in the squad.

“It was tough watching on but it almost makes you hungrier to try to get into the squad. It’s been great to be back in.”

Van der Flier is enjoying his rugby. He was in peak form for Leinster before his ankle injury, in October’s Champions Cup victory at Glasgow Warriors, forced the flanker to go under the knife.

There have been no lingering effects since his return to the Leinster side in early December, van der Flier playing a part in all four Champions Cup rounds and two of the Christmas PRO14 derbies.

It was Connacht on New Year’s Day, that his performance really made people sit up and take notice, van der Flier putting in a competition record 34 tackles, none of which were missed.

The player, though, is doubtful that the astonishing statistic is what got him the nod for Ireland over Leavy and Murphy.

“Maybe it did, maybe it didn’t. It’s very hard to know. I was very happy. I had made a good few tackles before but never really come close to that amount of tackles.

“It was just the way the game panned out, it wasn’t like I was doing anything special. I think if anyone else was in the same position, where a seven is positioned on the field, I just ended up making a lot of tackles.

“If someone else was in that position, they would have made a good few tackles as well. One of the lads made five less tackles than me, Ross Molony in the second row. I’m sure if Dan was playing, he might have made 40, so you just never know.”

Yet it is van der Flier who gets to face the French and win his 10th Test cap into the bargain. “I’ve never even been to Paris either so everything is new. I’m really excited.

“The French have broken my heart a few times when I was younger — same as any Ireland supporter.

“‘I’m really excited to play at the Stade de France. It’s one of those stadiums everyone wants to play in. Paris is meant to be a cool place as well so there are a lot of new things this weekend.”