RG Snyman and All Blacks contributing to the ongoing education of Big Joe McCarthy

“I suppose every player feels like you always have to keep evolving your game,” he explained before Friday’s encounter with the All Blacks in the Aviva Stadium.

STILL LEARNING: Joe McCarthy during an Ireland Rugby squad training session at The Campus in Quinta da Lago, Portugal. Pic: Seb Daly/Sportsfile

Joe McCarthy isn’t the new boy anymore.

He’s 23 now and the addition of five ‘training panellists’ to Andy Farrell’s Ireland squad for this month’s four internationals has moved the Leinster lock another few rungs up the seniority ladder.