CJ Stander banks on ‘tough’ Dan Leavy as injuries mount
To what extent we are about to find out.
Jamie Heaslip and Rhys Ruddock were crocked long before Ireland kicked off their Six Nations campaign with a dramatic win in Paris last weekend and Sean O’Brien is struggling to make it back for the meeting with Wales at the end of the month.
That’s at the earliest.
As for van der Flier, he has now been ruled out for the rest of the season, due to the knee ligament damage he suffered in the French capital, and that moves the likes of Dan Leavy, Jordi Murphy and Jack Conan up the list of contenders.
Stander clams to have no qualms about those shuffling up that particular queue, starting with Leavy, who came on in place of his injured Leinster clubmate in Saint-Denis to earn what was just his fifth Test cap.
“He’s another player that’s driven and he has a tough way that he plays. He knows what he wants in the game and what he has to go out and do. He’s physical, he’s very strong over the ball and he’s one of those back rows that can fit in anywhere. He can do any job. He’s quick, he brings a lot of energy and is someone great to have alongside you and also to push you in the jersey. He had an exceptional game coming on. He fit in like a glove.”
Murphy has long been a favourite of Joe Schmidt and there would be some degree of serendipity if he was to get a shot this week, due to someone else’s misfortune, given the serious knee injury he shipped when taking down the All Blacks in Chicago.
Like Leavy, Conan has just five senior appearances to his name, but perceptions that he is now something of an out-and-out No 8 were disputed by Stander, who highlighted a skillset designed to slip in seamlessly on the blindside if required. He should know.
Stander can flit between both jerseys himself, usually to good effect.
Schmidt compared him to an aeroplane on the runway prior to the November internationals, but he was typically industrious in Paris, with most carries (24) of any player on view, the third highest Irish tackle count. and a couple of turnovers for good measure.
“It was a good expression, I remember that day. Sometimes you start slow in the season and other times you start quite well. I just needed to look after myself training-wise in the week and recovery-wise from a tough Lions tour. I played a lot of games. I won’t say I was tired coming into the season, but sometimes you don’t do those extras in the week that you used to do, so I just went back and looked at what I did before the tour and made sure I am rested well and that I played the way I wanted to play.”
It was Stander who made the last of those 41 carries, as Ireland bludgeoned their way, barely, to within striking distance for Jonathan Sexton, so he was at the bottom of the ruck when the out-half landed the winning drop goal.
He was somewhat removed, then, from the delirium, as everyone else bar Peter O’Mahony congregated in giddiness half a pitch away, but the challenge now is to park that elation and address the Azzurri.
“You need to celebrate the wins you get and the small battles that you won. Come Sunday morning, you need to look deeper into your game and see what you could have done to put yourself in a better position earlier in the game.
The win in France won’t be entirely forgotten. Steve Hansen spoke about the extra grains of confidence even his All Blacks would have banked back in 2013 when they pipped Ireland in Dublin in similar circumstances, but Ireland shouldn’t be digging too deep into those this week.
Italy were eventually brushed aside by England in Rome on Sunday and Ireland will be disappointed if they don’t push on to the round-three meeting with Wales without a four-try bonus point in their pockets.
“Look, they’ve got a good team,” said Stander. “They showed at some stages that they can punish teams. They scored two good tries and you need to look to yourself and make sure you fix things from the previous week.”
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
