Garry Ringrose: 'I've been in losing groups probably more than winning groups'

BACK IN ACTION: Garry Ringrose feels fortunate to be in South Africa with Ireland and looking forward to a titanic Test series with the Springboks. He is also grateful for the opportunity to rebound from the disappointment of another trophyless season with Leinster. Pic: ©INPHO/Laszlo Geczo

With just 92 minutes of rugby under his belt since January, Garry Ringrose feels fortunate to be in South Africa with Ireland and looking forward to a titanic Test series with the Springboks. He is also grateful for the opportunity to rebound from the disappointment of another trophyless season with Leinster.

Ireland’s outside centre managed only 24 minutes of game time in the successful Guinness Six Nations title defence, coming off the bench in the final game at home to Scotland on March 16 following a shoulder injury, only to then sustain a small fracture in the same area. Leinster’s co-captain could continue to train without contact but as his province marched towards the Champions Cup final and the URC play-offs the expected return kept being delayed.

Ringrose, 29, was restricted to water-carrying duties as his team-mates fell short to Toulouse in a cliffhanger of a European decider, succumbing to a third final defeat in a row. When he finally did get the green light it was straight into a URC semi-final as Leinster travelled to Pretoria to play the Bulls and Ringrose’s reintroduction was a lung-busting 68 minutes in the thin air of Loftus Versfeld. More painful, though, was the loss.

Speaking on Monday, before Andy Farrell’s 35-man squad broke camp and flew to Johannesburg the following day to prepare for the July 6 series opener back in Pretoria, Ringrose said: "It's really tough, getting so close.

“It's just that weird dichotomy of doing so well for so many different games, so many different challenges and hurdles throughout the year and then just to fall one game short, and two games short in the URC, I don't know it, it just builds up an element of resilience along the way. I think everyone, even in Ireland, in the last two years of the Six Nations, being successful but I've been in losing groups probably more than winning groups so it makes you appreciate the good days.

"It's just always that fight or challenge to keep going, to keep driving on. I know it's such a cliché but it's so week to week with how you operate anyway because it's so competitive in Leinster and so competitive here, injuries, selection, and that's before you start looking at the opposition and what they can do. It's just the nature of the beast I guess and the challenge is to stay motivated which I think everyone is and to keep striving to try and win big games.” 

The next big game is a week on Saturday, back at Loftus Versfeld as Ringrose and the majority of the likely Test team revisit the scene of their URC semi-final defeat of three weeks before.

Just being given the chance to break up the championship-winning centre partnership of Bundee Aki and Robbie Henshaw is significant for Ringrose. He combined with Aki at the World Cup as they went toe-to-toe with Damian de Allende and Jesse Kriel in Ireland’s 13-8 pool victory, the aftermath of which provided fuel for Springbok lock Eben Etzebeth to claim the majority of the Irish players he shook hands with told him they’d meet again in the decider. Etzebeth thought that a trifle arrogant, considering they were still to face New Zealand in the quarter-finals but Ringrose does not recall that or any other post-match conversation on his part and like the rest of the Ireland camp is not prepared to be dragged into the war of words sought by their adversaries.

"I can't remember what I said. I wouldn't have a clue or be able to remember. Usually everyone is pretty respectful after the game.” 

As for the recent trash talk from Etzebeth, de Allende and Cheslin Kolbe, all of whom were named yesterday in Rassie Erasmus’s squad for the two-Test series, the Ireland centre said he has better things to be focusing on.

"I kind of have it that I don't really see anything on my phone. Obviously you hear bits but from my perspective I keep to the main thing, which would be the match and the opportunity to play in Pretoria, kicking things off, is pretty special.

"Being down there two weeks ago we were staying beside the stadium. We're obviously in a different spot next week, I think in Johannesburg, but it's an iconic stadium. I remember watching Super Rugby and Tri-Nations games there and to get the chance to be there for us is pretty cool. They're obviously an unbelievably proud nation and back-to-back world champions so what a challenge and opportunity for us.

"That's the only thing I or certainly anyone I know would be focusing on.” 

Ringrose was impressed by the Boks’ 41-13 win over Wales at Twickenham last Saturday, their first outing since their World Cup final win over the All Blacks last October and with Erasmus having retaken the reins as head coach from Jacques Nienaber, now Ringrose’s senior coach at Leinster.

The change of leadership will not alter the challenge facing Ireland in both Pretoria and at sea level in Durban the following week.

"You just have to be on it. They're unbelievable physical but that's almost a given, so you just have to be physically ready for the fight at every sort of contact, battle, but the intricacies to how they defend.

“Even talking to Jacques it's funny preparing for them loads and trying to understand what they're doing and then maybe speaking to their coach and understanding their philosophy a little bit more in what they're trying to do is kind of cool because you compare the kind of thinking, the perception, to the reality of it.

"And, then, on attack you see last week how dangerous they are and the individuals they have and even for how cohesive they looked at times in that Welsh game, even with a few new faces, the group seems to be pretty consistent, or a pretty consistent core, over the last eight years so you just need to be just on it, across anything, to try to beat them.”