Joe McCarthy is back from injury to help Leinster, and maybe Ireland

The Blackrock grad went four months without a game until a cameo against the Sharks last Saturday.

BACK FROM INJURY: Joe McCarthy during Leinster rugby squad training at UCD in Dublin. Photo by Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile

Joe McCarthy must have been counting the hours down to 2023. Still only 21 at the time, he wasn’t long off his Ireland senior debut, against Australia the month before, and he’d faced the Maoris in New Zealand that summer.

St Stephen’s Day had been spent toughing out a win against Munster in Thomond Park. It was his first 80-minute shift of the season and he had Leo Cullen’s praise ringing in his ears as the New Year broke dawn.