Family work ethic paying off for the impressive van der Flier

The 28-year-old is a lynchpin in a balanced trio that also boasts Caelan Doris and Jack Conan

Fri, 04 Feb, 2022 - 07:00

Brendan O'Brien

Dirk van der Flier never played for Leinster or Ireland. He did turn out for the province’s U21s and Wicklow RFC and the apple didn’t fall far from the tree when it came to his boy Josh.

The old man played in an environment where gatherings in the bar were as integral to the experience as rucks on the field but Dirk had the habit of abstaining from the beers so he might have the edge on the others in training.

"So that's probably in the blood a bit,” Josh laughed. “My grandad (George Strong) on my mum's side, he used to cycle from Waterford to Kilkenny to play for Kilkenny Rugby Club. He won the Towns Cup with them. So I suppose he's a hard-working man as well so it has always been in the family.”

If the 28-year old rocked up at Leinster with a strong work ethic then it was only cemented in that professional environment.

Shane Jennings would go through match videos with him when he was still an academy lad, Jamie Heaslip and Sean O’Brien acted as mentors, and he always remembers the extras the injury-jinxed Kevin McLaughlin would do to be the best he could be.

That back row union has always been a thing, so much so that O’Brien gave him a call the last time he was struggling for starts. There have been plenty of texts offering congratulations from old friends besides, not least in more recent times.

Van der Flier’s improvement has been sensational. A respected player ever since he emerged onto the club scene, there was a sense that he had a ceiling in the game because of a lack of physicality and maybe a limit to his work with ball in hand.

Both perceptions have been shredded.

There isn’t an area of the pitch where Andy Farrell has more options than in the back row and yet van der Flier’s name is stitched in at No. 7. He is a lynchpin in a balanced trio that also boasts Caelan Doris and Jack Conan and with Peter O’Mahony in reserve.

If there is a clear order of merit for now then form and fitness can and will change it. Go back four years and van der Flier was the starting openside as the Six Nations kicked off away to France. Within 35 minutes his season was over with injury.

That was the day Dan Leavy, whose career has been haunted by injury, came on in his stead and gave a jaw-dropping display and it ended with Johnny Sexton kicking that famous drop goal to launch a campaign that ended with a Grand Slam.

Van der Flier got a medal for his troubles four years ago while Joe Schmidt invited all those who had played however small a part to rejoin the squad as they closed out the tournament with that devastating defeat of England in Twickenham.

“It would obviously have been nice to have been involved more, but hopefully we can create some new memories in this Six Nations. That's the plan.”