Joe McCarthy: 'I feel like I've gone up another level'

GONE UP A LEVEL: Leinster's Joe McCarthy in training.

There was no mistaking the message sent by Andy Farrell’s choice of squad and captain for the upcoming Six Nations. Even the corralling of the only three uncapped players into a seperate ‘development’ group spoke for the head coach’s short-term focus.

This is about retaining a Six Nations title in the coming months, maybe even claiming a first ever back-to-back Grand Slam for Ireland. The next World Cup? Well, four years may as well be a lifetime away for all the relevance it has before an opening night in Marseille.

If there was disappointment for some in the lack of anything truly shiny and new to catch the eye, then Farrell and his assistants will be looking to a number of the panel’s younger brigade to do just that with clear evidence of progress made.

Ryan Baird has pulled up some trees for Leinster since his bit-part role at the World Cup, Craig Casey was sublime for Munster in their sacking of Toulon’s Stade Felix Mayol last week, and Jack Crowley knows what’s expected of him as heir to Johnny Sexton’s throne.

The Ulster pair of Tom O’Toole and Tom Stewart will surely see this is a time to make greater inroads on the Test stage than managed so far, and then there is Joe McCarthy, the youngest of this sextet, who seems primed to take off.

Still only 22, the Leinster lock has been singled out as a special asset for years now due to his irregular size and bulk and he is looking to merge a love of the setpiece with a growing presence on his own and the opposition’s lineout and with ball in hand.

“I’ve definitely improved as a player,” he explained this week. “I feel like I’ve gone up another level. Just taking a lot of learnings and trained a lot. I’ve got a good run of games, so it has definitely helped me anyway.” You forget how raw this guy is still.

His senior Test career amounts to just five caps and he has yet to start a game against one of the ‘top’ sides. The tally with Leinster amounts to just 27 appearances but he has played eight of the province’s last nine games and is clearly benefiting from the regular exposure.

Such is the expectation on McCarthy that he is being touted as a live option to start that Six Nations opener away to France at the Stade Velodrome in a couple of weeks’ time with his emergence asking questions of none other than James Ryan already.

Add in the arrival of (a hopefully fit) RG Snyman in the summer and the competition for places in that Leinster second row come the big games will be red-hot and who knows where McCarthy will be in the national pecking order by then.

He already feels comfortable at that highest of altitudes.

“I feel like every game you play in is always tough. The Leinster games, when you play a La Rochelle and teams like that, it’s all pretty close to test standard. Most of the Champions Cup games would be up there at that. Every game I suppose is different, but I feel good in the games I’m playing at the moment anyway. I feel to a good level.” Last Saturday’s training run against a weak and disinterested Stade Francais side was far removed from the type of game that tests every sinew, breath and decision but this weekend’s trip to face the Leicester Tigers should be more taxing.

McCarthy actually made his Champions Cup debut at Welford Road when Leinster won a quarter-final there two seasons ago, coming off the bench with four minutes to go and hardly working through the understandable nerves before the game was up.

He’s all too aware of the Tigers and their home patch: the shoe-box dressing-rooms, the vociferous crowd, the proud traditions and roll call of trophies and Leo Cullen’s couple of years spent over there back in the day now.

Dan McKellar’s side went down to a heavy loss away to La Rochelle in round three having rested a number of established players and they will be missing lock George Martin, wing Anthony Watson and scrum-half Jack van Poortvliet through injury this time.

Even still, McCarthy and the rest of Leinster’s Pool D leaders will be wary of a Leicester team that sits third and could find itself celebrating a home round of 16 berth or rueing the failure to make the tournament’s knockout stages depending on the result.

“Jacques [Nienaber] was talking about when he was with Munster and they beat them well at home, like 38-0, and they lost the next time they played. They are a team that is very proud of their history in their club. I’m sure they will be coming over all guns blazing on us.”