Jack Aungier: 'Ireland call up was surreal but I still have a lot of work to do'

Jack Aungier in training

Connacht prop Jack Aungier said he didn’t realise how close he was to breaking into the Irish squad when Simon Eastery summoned him as back-up before the start of the Six Nations.

Aungier’s Connacht teammate Finlay Bealham has covered the tighthead position in Tadhg Furlong’s absence but 26-year old Aungier was added to the squad as back up and was the 24th man for the opening round win over England.

The former St Fintan’s High School and Suttonians RFC player said the call-up from Easterby came out of the blue just as he was coming to terms with a disappointing URC loss in Glasgow on January 26.

“It was straight after the Glasgow game, so I was pretty down with how the game went, and everyone was pretty down in the dressing room,” said Aungier. 

“I looked at my phone and I had a missed call from Simon Easterby. I was like, jeez, that's weird. And then Pete said that Tadhg had got injured so I’d have to fly to Portugal at six the next morning.

“So, yeah, it was pretty surreal. I didn't really have time to think about it. I just rang my mother, father, and girlfriend. I was a bit shocked, but it was unbelievable.

“I probably didn't think I was that close on it. It's obviously brilliant to be the next guy in. I went straight to Portugal. I missed training because we were late getting in, and then we just did Tuesday and Wednesday and I was 24th man for the England game. It all happened very quickly, but it's been an unbelievable experience so far.

Aungier alongside Cian Prendergast, Joe McCarthy and Jamie Osborne as they watch on from the stands during the win against England at Aviva Stadium.

“I was both excited and nervous. I suppose what helped me was the Emerging (Ireland) tour. I had a glimpse of a lot of the language and the calls. I was kind of familiar with a lot of it, and obviously worked with all those coaches that were there.

“And then having guys like Finlay (Bealham) in there was a help. I was sitting down with him on my first day, and he was just going through stuff with me. So after a day or two, I was pretty clear on all the language and on my role in there so that then I could just get excited about playing and training.” 

Aungier is back on Connacht duty this week as they prepare for two key home games in the URC. It starts with Cardiff this weekend and then Benetton a couple of weeks later, as they try to climb away from third bottom in the table.

“It’s pretty straightforward,” added Aungier. “There's such a big challenge this week that we know we need 10 points from the next two games because of where we put ourselves in the league. We have not been too happy with how the last few results in the URC have gone. So it's kind of straight back to business, where I left off. It hasn’t been any different for me.

“We're just concentrating on getting another win this weekend because it'll be a tough game against a Cardiff team who are flying it this year.” 

He’s boosted by the Irish squad call-up and now wants to push on and try to take another step towards an international breakthrough.

“I think it definitely gives you that confidence that you're now third choice for Ireland. So I have to believe myself that if I want to play for Ireland, I need to play well for Connacht. I need to start games for Connacht and that starts this weekend. I still have a lot of work to do,” added Aungier.