Ireland recall ‘not on my radar’, says Munster's Copeland

By Ciarán Ó Raghallaigh

Robin Copeland says adding to his sole international cap was not on his mind when he decided to join Connacht this summer.

The flanker left Munster after four years with the province, and will replace John Muldoon at The Sportsground, wearing the iconic Galway man’s No 8 shirt.

Copeland won one cap against Georgia in November 2014 just after his arrival at Munster, but he does not expect a second to arrive any time soon.

It’s not even on my radar, to be honest,” he said. “If you think Joe Schmidt is going to blood in a 31-year-old for a World Cup or anything like that... I’m not on his radar.

“I’m not even going to think about that. Because that’s not my goal, what I want to do is take Connacht to the next level, get in the team, start week in week out, prove myself to my peers and the fans that this guy is here and is going to be great for us. When the chips are down, he is going to get us where we need to get to. That’s all I’m looking at.

“If anything else happens after that, I’m always friendly to Joe, he is a very nice guy but it’s not on my radar.

“He is an interesting, intense individual. He has a big plan and I’m not naive to what he is trying to achieve, his long-term goals. He brings in young guys and brings in guys consistently because he has a game plan and a system. A player on form is not necessarily what he looks at and you can’t deny his plan works.”

Copeland has not spoken to Schmidt recently but the pair did have a brief meeting toward the end of last season.

“I did a bit of hosting for the players awards at the end of the season, just some Q&As, light banter between people. He came up to me and I was waiting for him to say, ‘Well done’ but he said, ‘Maybe get somebody else to do it next year’ so that says a lot about mine and Joe’s relationship. I was like, ‘Thanks coach, you are doing a great job.’”

Leaving Munster was a big call, but the flanker insists he’s made the right move.

“Munster is such a quality outfit and there’s so many players there that competition is always massive, to be behind some players and not get picked for some big games, that’s tough to take,” he said.

I know myself that I play my best rugby when I can get a run of games together and that was always going to be tough at Munster with quality international back rows across the board.

“Being able to be in a team, to create something, be a player to turn to week in, week out, I just felt like the opportunity was better up in Connacht. I have to say the first six, seven weeks I’ve loved every second of it. I know this is where I’m meant to be for the next few years.”