Malcolm O’Kelly: James Ryan can be the new Paulie
O’Kelly battled in the trenches for years alongside the former Munster legend, so knows more than most what he had to offer for club and country.
While he was somewhat surprised to see Ryan make a first Six Nations start in Paris, of all places, O’Kelly was blown away by the 21-year-old who repaid Joe Schmidt’s faith in buckets.
“I thought it was a big call to play him in the first place,” said O’Kelly. “I thought Dev Toner would start, he’s been playing well.
“I’ve been watching James with a keen interest, I’m such a big fan of his, so for him to get a start in France was a big call — but he was superb, superb.
“His lines of running were like watching a senior player. I wouldn’t say he ‘came of age’ because it was his first Six Nations game, but the guy showed remarkable seniority and leadership to take so many balls on, he took 16 or 17, for a second rower... a big guy who has a big target on him, he’s done incredibly well to find so many soft shoulders when there really wasn’t so many. It was a tight blue line and there wasn’t too much space but he seemed to find it — it reminded me a bit of Paul O’Connell, in the way he took on balls, finds soft shoulders consistently.”
Comparing such a young player to an icon like O’Connell could heap unnecessary pressure on Ryan’s shoulders, but O’Kelly believes there’s no risk involved.
Sometimes, he argues, you just know a player is set for the top — and he’s happy to admit he’s been proved right before.
“There are certain guys that went through Leinster in my time there that you would see and just say, ‘he’s going to be superb’,” said O’Kelly.
“Luke Fitzgerald, Rob Kearney, these guys were just gifted... Cian Healy would be another, and you’re literally just trying to put the reins on them. They have everything, and they come in at 100%.”
Ryan has reportedly added 5kg of bulk over the past six months as he adapts to life at the very top, having dominated all before him at underage level.
One of the only things stopping him from making it are injuries — which have already had a toll on his career, ending his 2016/17 season before it even began.
That delay had a somewhat unique influence on his career, when he made his Ireland debut ahead of his Leinster debut last summer, but O’Kelly hopes the dreaded injuries do not hamper him too often.
“He has quite a narrow frame, but I believe he’s well built, a real solid lad for 21,” he said.
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“He’ll pick up knocks as he goes along, it takes a while to get hardy. He needs to be minded, but he’s lucky, he’s in Ireland, they’ll look after him.
“He’s got everything going for him, he just needs to stay on the pitch. He’s already captain material, he’s captained so many times before. The path is there for him — injuries are the main concern. Lots of second rows, myself and Devin included, were more about secondary carrying, but James makes the early incisions, he’s prepared to find those incisions.
“It depends what opportunity comes his way but he has all the attributes.”
Mike McCarthy, another former Ireland lock, is not afraid to heap praise on Ryan’s growing shoulders.
The retired Leinster star has watched from a distance as Ryan pushes through to the starting XV for club and country, and laughs at the contrast between Ryan’s 15 carries on Saturday — a stark contrast to McCarthy’s two in Paris in 2016.
“Looking at the pipeline of players coming through Leinster, I definitely got out at the right time,” he said, laughing. “I remember being injured in the gym, because I didn’t play much last season with injuries, and James Ryan was injured with a hamstring injury and he had a big frame. 6ft 8ins, similar height to Mal O’Kelly, but he needed to bulk up a bit.
“Speaking to Greg Feek last week, he’s put on like 5kg in the last year and he looks really big. He really wants to learn. Whatever I could offer him, I’m not sure what it was, but I remember him asking me about sacking mauls once and maybe that’s one area I was not too bad at.
“He asks questions, he’s always looking to improve, and he led the U20s to second place in the world, so he’s got those leadership qualities. People are talking about ‘is he the next Paul O’Connell?’ and you can see he’s got the leadership there as well.
“I think he’ll learn about the dark arts,” said McCarthy, pointing to the only remaining element missing from his armoury.
“You learn what you can do and what you can get away with, whether that’s small things like lines of running, trying to block people, and create space for someone else.
“When I think back to when I was a young fella, I didn’t have a clue about some of the stuff. It’s frightening to think that he’s only going to get that experience. He’s 21, inexperienced, but he’ll probably be playing on the next Lions tour.”
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