Garry Ringrose: Irish rugby stars appreciate 'privileged position to carry out our job'

Garry Ringrose. Picture: INPHO/Dan Sheridan

Garry Ringrose believes Ireland’s return to international rugby can give supporters a lift in troubling times as the national team prepares to resume its 2020 Guinness Six Nations campaign on Saturday.

Ringrose, 25, named Zurich Players’ Player of the Year 2020 at the Rugby Players Ireland Awards on Saturday night, spoke on Monday of the privilege felt by Ireland squad members at being able to get on with their jobs when others may not be so fortunate due to the restrictions imposed on everyday life amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Ireland are due to welcome Italy to the Aviva Stadium on Saturday for a fourth-round Six Nations encounter that was originally scheduled for March 7 before the coronavirus took a grip on Europe and forced the championship to be suspended.

Head coach Andy Farrell welcomed a 35-man squad into the team’s hotel at Carton House last Wednesday on the first day of a seven-week camp that will keep players in a self-contained bubble for the duration of the extended Test window, encompassing the closing two rounds of this year’s Six Nations and an eight-team Autumn Nations Cup to be played off across November.

"We definitely spoke about it and we have an appreciation that people are going through incredibly tough times and we're lucky to be able to come in and do our jobs together,” Ringrose said. 

“We're being given an opportunity to give a lift to some people who might be going through a tough time.

"I know that when I'm watching sport, very little else matters so I know some of our supporters around the country get behind us through thick and thin, so we have an opportunity to provide a lift for some of them. There's an opportunity for us to do everything we can to do that.

We're in a very privileged position to be able to carry out our job because I know some people aren't as fortunate. There's huge motivation and excitement within training because everyone wants to get out on the pitch on Saturday."

Ringrose admitted adjusting to the rigidly-applied health and safety processes within camp at both the hotel and the IRFU’s High Performance Centre at Abbotstown had taken a little getting used to while buying into an evolving gameplan on the training field was less of an ordeal.

"We had to take on a few new procedures that we weren't used to being in camp but after a day or two of that, it's almost become habit and it's what we need to do. We're excited to be in together, a change of scenery and change of environment and obviously there's a lot at stake, so there's no shortage of excitement. It's been a really good first few days.

"There's a few different things, not necessarily from a rugby perspective but from our day-to-day protocols. The protocols that are being encouraged by the Government, we're adhering to here so we have masks on pretty much all the time, handwashing, social distancing… so it's all very quick-moving and you're never beside one person for too long. There's all the social distancing measures in place as well.

"Getting past that, rugby-wise, it's about trying to play a brand that we all love. That might look different at different times because it's not necessarily about being the Harlem Globetrotters but it's about playing to space when that's the right thing to do but then if you're coming up against a defence that's set, it's looking at where else the space is, maybe through a kick.

"It's not necessarily one style of play we're being encouraged to implement, but it's the right thing at the right time to take advantage of whatever opportunities there are. Training has been tough but it's up to us to recognise the right thing to do at the right times and then act upon that, so we obviously put ourselves under pressure and don't get it right all the time. That's why there is a lot of learning coming out of training that hopefully will make us at our best and ready to go come Saturday.”