McCarthy on surprise Ireland bow: 'Any opportunity I get I have to try and take it' 

The 21-year old hooker has made an immdiate impact in Andy Farrell's set-up. 

Ireland's Gus McCarthy is presented with his first cap by IRFU President Declan Madden. Pic: INPHO/Ben Brady

Gus McCarthy was not expecting any of this. Not now. Not so soon. A young man with a big future he may have been, but the 21-year old hooker still seemed to be miles removed from an Ireland Test debut as recently as last Sunday week.

Named as a training panellist at the start of the November window, he’d already climbed a few more unexpected steps up the ladder. Had that been that he would have returned to the day job with Leinster in UCD more than happy with his month’s work.

There was an ‘A’ game against Munster in Terenure on the Friday night after all.

“When Faz named the team on Monday I was incredibly surprised. I only got the call on Sunday evening at around 7pm that I was coming back in on Monday. I thought I was going to be back in Leinster this week.

“So then when I got the call that I was coming in to camp I thought I’d maybe get the chance to be 24th man and experience the match-day experience. Then when I saw Faz put up the team and I was starting I was full of emotions. I was incredibly excited but also nervous.” 

McCarthy is not an emotional guy. He’s very clear on that.

Not normally anyhow. This was different. There were more internal waves engulfing him last weekend when he lined up for the anthems pre-kick-off. Tears streamed down his face as he thought about his journey to that point and his family.

Dad Robert and mum Tara were there in the stadium. So too his sisters Naoise and Millie and brother Hubie. There were cousins and aunts and uncles on hand as he stood there wearing a jersey that had been presented to him by Caelan Doris.

To be handed that by a fellow Blackrock man and his country’s captain made it all the more special but he still had a job to do and boy did he do it by claiming a try and having a hand in five other tries as a much-changed Irish team hit its stride.

It was all the more impressive for the fact that he had to contend with an early ‘crooked’ throw into the lineout. That he felt the decision was harsh could have flustered him all the more. It didn’t. There was some more lineout issues. Those aside, he was superb.

The handling in particular was sensational.

“That is something I have to keep working on. Faz is massive on scanning early so that is something I have to keep working on. I was kind of happy. There's a few chances that I saw an opportunity to give it early.” McCarthy has been earmarked for this from a long way out.

Though he spent his early years in Ranelagh and started playing rugby with Old Belvedere because a friend’s dad coached there, he spent more of his childhood living two minutes from Blackrock College where he went to secondary school. And played rugby.

He played in the back row at Junior Cup level – handy prep for the stint he did there near the end against Fiji – but the migration to hooker led to a Leinster Senior schools medal, a Six Nations Grand Slam and a place in the U20 World Cup final, all of them as captain.

The bedrock was there, building on it is another thing.

Many is the player who can struggle or fail to live up to underage promise. There was no suggestion of that with him but he was playing AIL rugby with UCD as recently as late January. His last game was a 40-13 pumping away to Ballynahinch.

“Not a glamour fixture,” as he said himself.

By the time this summer dawned he had managed his first 25 minutes with the Leinster senior side when coming off the bench away to the Stormers in April. It still left him with an awfully long way to go.

Dan Sheehan had yet to injure his ACL in South Africa by then. Rónan Kelleher hadn’t damaged his ankle against Benetton in Italy. And Lee Barron and John McKee had over 30 appearances between them and looked like standing third and fourth in the queue.

An Ireland debut must have seemed remote then.

“So, I’ve just said to myself or when I’m speaking to my parents, and my dad especially, any opportunity I get I have to try and take it. I can’t wait around, especially in training. I just have to try and put my best foot forward and impress the coaches when I get a chance.” 

He did that. Saturday didn’t end for him before the traditional initiation song that all newbies have to sing in front of their colleagues. McCarthy chose Katy Perry’s ‘Firework’ with its lyrics about ‘showing ‘em what you’re worth’ and ‘leaving them in awe’.

Fitting enough, even if he expected that performance to fall flat.