Relaxed Jordan Larmour ‘going with the flow’ at Leinster
It’s hard to know quite where to begin with Jordan Larmour when it comes to dissecting the calendar year just ended.
The Ireland debut? The grand slam victory? A Champions Cup title? The PRO14 title? The series win in Australia? Hat-trick against Italy? Victory over New Zealand?
If the paradox of choice is, indeed, a thing, then the 21-year-old would struggle to pick a highlight from so many worthy options, but Larmour refuses to get caught up in such trivial, barstool discussions. Looking back is not a productive task, particularly when there’s so much happening right now.
“I don’t think I am reflecting on it, I am kinda in the thick of it, I am not over-thinking it, I just stick to the process, stay in the present, I’m taking everyday as it comes, really,” he said.
“It is such a busy time of the year, I don’t really have any time to be thinking of all this. You are just going about it, trying to play well, be involved in the big games, I’m going with the flow, I suppose.”
Eventually, he’ll concede that making his debut against Italy could arguably be a highlight, but he quickly notes that coming off the bench in the slam decider in Twickenham and November’s historic win over New Zealand feels “so long ago” now. Time flies when you’re making history.
“I haven’t really had the chance to look back and reflect, but just thinking about it, it was a pretty special year,” he says, mastering the power of understatement.
Is he aware he may never have a year like it again?
“I am, but I haven’t thought about that, because in my mind I just want to win, I just want to go out and win trophies and to be involved in big games,” he said. “Last year was a pretty special year, but hopefully this one can be even better.”
With a Six Nations around the corner and a World Cup nine months away, there’s potential for that to be the case.
Rob Kearney looks to have the No 15 shirt nailed down for now, while Jacob Stockdale and Keith Earls may have the edge on the wings, but there’s still time for Larmour to push his case as a starter.
He’s played every minute of Leinster’s Champions Cup campaign so far, and will start against Toulouse next week and Wasps the following week, if fit. He’s a cert to be named in Joe Schmidt’s upcoming Six Nations squad, too.
Consistency of performance is key to forcing his way into Schmidt’s starting XV, and to do that Larmour thinks he must improve further still.
“I want to keep growing as a player and getting better, honing in on some skills and just be a student of the game,” he said, “I’ve started watching a lot more rugby, just trying to learn and see why teams play a certain way.”
He’s working on his kicking and his aerial skills, and nobody would be surprised if his name appears once more on the World Rugby Breakthrough Player of the Year shortlist, as it did last October. Springbok flyer Aphiwe Dyantyi lifted the trophy, ahead of Larmour and All Blacks prop Karl Tu’inukuafe, but the Dubliner has greater targets in his sights.
“If we are lucky enough to go to the World Cup, it will be the same mindset: Just try and play our best and win every game,” he said.
“From my point of view, I’m as hungry as ever. I think everyone else’s mindset is they want to win and it’s a good mindset to have. It keeps driving standards, pushing you as a player to get better.
“Once you get that taste of success and winning, you just want more and more.
“[I want] to keep growing as a player and to get better, to be involved in the big games and to be in the teams on match-days, to grow my knowledge of the game, watch more rugby. Those are the goals I’ve set myself this year.”
Larmour admits Leinster must learn to “channel their emotions” better after conceding 14 penalties in defeat to Munster.
“We’ve addressed that. We’ve had our review on Monday and we talked about where we need to get better and improve on, and then just kind of channeling our emotions and our discipline.
“We conceded about eight or 10 penalties in the first half. You are just putting yourself on the back foot. They get field position and momentum. We let ourselves down just giving away that many penalties, you give away many penalties to a team like Munster and they’ll rip you apart.
“All those incidents that happened were accidents. No one actually intentionally tried to hurt them, so they were all accidents. I don’t think there was a need for an apology [to the squad].”
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