Is it too early to consider Caelan Doris for Irish armband?
CAPTAIN DORIS?: Leinster's Caelan Doris is presented with the Investec Player of the Match Medal. Pic Credit: Ben Brady, Inpho.
Leinster 43 Stade Francais 7
This Champions Cup Pool 4 fixture hadn’t quite conceded the status of contest when Caelan Doris exploded through the middle of the Stade Francais defensive line shortly after six o’clock on Saturday.
Leinster led 7-0 at the time. Their dominance in terms of possession and territory was clearly in danger of bursting through and over the dam that was being propped up by the increasingly desperate visitors. This one surge was the moment the levee broke.
By the evening’s end this colossus of a player had run rampant through the Parisian ranks. His run on the half-hour established the path for his team’s second try and he handled and ran at least three times in the build-up to their next.
The fifth and sixth of the seven tries he claimed himself. All told, Doris had more carries (16) than any of his peers, the second most defenders beaten (7) and third most metres (74). There was an offload, six tackles and three passes in there as well.
Do we have to add that he was man of the match?
“Caelan is outstanding and he is growing all the time as a player and as a leader within the group as well,” said head coach Leo Cullen. “Had a stint as captain of the team against Ulster, and again, he is growing that bit. He is still very young and he’s achieved a hell of a lot already. What is he? 25 or 26, could be wrong.”
He’s not. Doris doesn’t turn 26 for another few months. Common consent would suggest that his prime is only kicking in and he certainly has the bearing of a man who is at, or approaching, the summit of his powers.
This is good timing.
Andy Farrell is poised to name his latest Six Nations squad in two days’ time and the retirement late last year of Johnny Sexton has left a few obvious holes to fill: one is the No.10 jersey, the other concerns the captaincy.
There is no obvious frontrunner. Peter O’Mahony’s stepping down from the Munster role got some adding two and two together, but the Munster warhorse is 34 now. James Ryan has a better age profile, but lost his status as automatic starter in the last World Cup. On it goes.
Doris ticks an awful lot of boxes. He is the right age, his calibre is unquestioned and his place in the side is utterly secure. The man himself acknowledges that the armband would amount to a massive honour, but gives the impression that it may not be his time yet.
“There’s quite a few ahead of me in the pecking order. Myself and Hugo [Keenan] have been in the leadership for the last couple of years and it’s been a good learning curve, and I’m eager to continue to add more and develop my leadership more, but there’s guys there ahead of me would do a great job.”
Modesty is likely at play here, but he did offer context when looking back at his experience in the role for that visit of Ulster to the RDS on New Year’s Day when Ryan had to concede the honour and his place in the team late in the week due to injury.
Doris still got to see for himself the extra work that comes with the job, not just on the day of the game, but during the captain’s run the day before too, and in his communication with the referee and with the team during huddles.
The bottom line for him is that this wider perspective leaves a player unable to focus to the same extent on their own game and that relationships with the match official is in itself a part of the operation that needs fine-tuning all on its own.
His chats with Frank Murphy during the Ulster loss told him that.
“I probably struggled a little bit. I was probably initially eager to talk to Frank after two of their tries … but I was wrong on both and I annoyed him a little bit doing that and struggled a little bit from there. A bit of a learning curve.”
Everything he has done so far suggests that Doris is well able to absorb and make use of that lesson. Whether or not he is to captain Ireland, this is a player whose graph is pointing in one direction and that bodes well for club and country.
And for the British and Irish Lions. The unveiling of Andy Farrell in London last Thursday, while expected, is a massive plus to the Irish players under his charge again in the upcoming Six Nations as they look to book a place on the plane to Australia in 2025.
“Lions is obviously a career goal and a massive thing to do and it’s something I want to do … but there’s a lot of rugby to be played and it’s pretty far down the line. So, yeah, I’ll work on performances and keep growing as a player.”
: H Keenan; J Larmour, G Ringrose, R Henshaw, J Lowe; C Frawley, J Gibson-Park; A Porter, D Sheehan, T Furlong; J McCarthy, J Jenkins; R Baird, J van der Flier, C Doris.
: S Prendergast for Frawley and J Ryan for Jenkins (both 44); L McGrath for Gibson-Park, R Kelleher for Sheehan, C Healy for Porter and M Ala’alatoa for Furlong (all 53); J Conan for Doris (63); T O’Brien for Ringrose (69).
L Monin; P Dakuwaqa, S Ahmed, N Nene, K Hamdaoui ; Z Henry, B Weber; C Castets, L Peyresblanque, H N’Diaye; PH Aazagoh, JJ van der Mescht; M Hirigoyen, R Chapuis, G Habel-Kuffner.
: V Kakovin for Castets (15-32 and 66); PA Emiule for N’Diaye, G Tsutkide for Habel-Kuffner, J Segonds for Nene, P Gabrillagues for van der Mescht, A Timo for Hirigoyen (all 65); M Meite for Peyresblanque, J Gimbert for Weber (all 65).
: C Ridley (Eng).
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