Jack Conan continues to ride crest of the wave

Jack Conan. Picture: INPHO/Ben Brady

Skip back a year and Jack Conan wasn’t next or near to the Ireland team. Let alone the British and Irish Lions. Haunted by injury ever since he fractured a foot in the build-up to the 2019 World Cup, he was back playing about a month later and rediscovering his feet with Leinster when Wales hosted Ireland in a Six Nations opener.

Andy Farrell had called him the night before the squad announcement — never a good sign — and told him how it was: that it was great to see him back, others in his position were doing well and he needed some more game time under his belt.

Fair enough.

His first game in that Six Nations window would be memorable in its own right as Leinster travelled to Rodney Parade in mid-February and captain Luke McGrath ordered him to trot out alone in front of an empty stadium to mark his 100th appearance for the province.

“I said, ‘Lukey, what are you on about? There’s no-one in the stadium’. There was the lads on the bench, the coaches and the Dragons fellas. There was no-one there and he was just, ‘yeah, it’s your hundredth cap, you have to run out’.

“So I felt like a bit of a mug. I think the lads played up to it a bit and stayed in the sheds a bit longer than you normally would, so I was out on that pitch by myself for a few minutes. Then after that, I came into camp for the France week.”

His foot back in the door, he made a first appearance in a green jersey in 15 months in round three when coming off the bench in the 38-point defeat of Italy in Rome. Another cameo was recorded in Murrayfield a fortnight later.

It was at that point that things took off.

Conan had been in and around the Irish squad since 2015 without ever truly catching fire but when Farrell handed him the No.8 jersey for England’s visit to Dublin the choice was rewarded with a stunning performance that delivered one try and an assist for another.

“It was hugely important and hugely enjoyable. I’d never played against England and I’d only started, I think, once at home in the Six Nations so to start against them was massive.

“It was a good springboard for everything else that came after that with Leinster and whatever happened over the summer so I am very fortunate and grateful to the coaches for giving me that faith and giving me the nod.

“Rugby is a landscape that is ever-changing so I won’t be resting on my laurels anyway. I’ll be looking forward to bringing plenty more to the table.” If the hunger is as great as ever then it isn’t difficult to understand why.

This will be the first time he starts for his country in a Six Nations opener and only his fourth ever in the tournament. It’s also his first chance to take the opening bell against the Welsh. He’s 29 now but still only has 22 caps. There is plenty more to be done.

If his three Test starts with the Lions last summer propelled him onto a higher plane as a player then it is one he found again last November when playing all 160 minutes of the wins against Japan and New Zealand before injury forced him out of the Argentina tie.

Conan’s ability to pick up where he had left off in South Africa was mirrored by Ireland as a collective, of course, and it has fostered a giddy expectation among fans as another Championship gets underway.

As was seen when 2018 turned into 2019, there is no guarantee that form will hold over the New Year. If a repeat of Ireland’s dramatic demise back then is unlikely, then there is an acceptance from Conan that it is not just a case of flicking a light switch again.

“Look, it is difficult to snap back into Irish mode when you first come into camp. Things are done differently. The important elements of the game might be different from what you do at your club so there’s always an upskilling, no matter whether you have one cap for Ireland or 100 caps for Ireland.

“The first few days are always difficult and you have to get as much information as you can onboard and hit the ground running to put yourself in the best possible position to be picked and then perform. That’s something we did really, really well over in Portugal for the last seven or eight days. We trained incredibly hard. We had a great time but we pushed ourselves. It was definitely the most intensive and physical training I’ve ever done with Ireland.”

Now to push on.