After 42 not out, Conan primed to fill leader's boots

With Caelan Doris' run of 42 consecutive appearances for Ireland coming to an end, likely replacement Jack Conan knows the whole back row must step up.

Jack Conan at the IRFU High Performance Centre. Pic ©INPHO/Ben Brady

While the Ireland captaincy for this Saturday’s Guinness Six Nations clash with Wales has aroused debate since it was confirmed Caelan Doris will miss the trip to Cardiff through injury, there has been little argument over the right man to fill the No.8 jersey.

An in-form Jack Conan is primed and ready to occupy a position he would regularly fill in most Test teams having made considerable impacts off the bench in the bonus-point victories over England and Scotland. 

But for the presence of Doris, whose run of 42 consecutive appearances for Ireland is now at an end, one can only imagine the number of starts Conan would have accrued in the Irish back row.

He may have been the starting Test No.8 for the British & Irish Lions against the Springboks three summers ago but with Doris as a squad mate, that jersey has remained elusive. 

Conan has made four starts in his most recent 17 caps of a 48-Test Ireland career, against Italy, three times, and Fiji, when Doris has switched to flanker but if the 32-year-old is frustrated, he does not let it show.

"I suppose you can kind of see where you're at early on the week with how walkthroughs and training lines up,” Conan said. “There's no ‘Jesus. I thought I was in here for a start'. You can kind of put two and two together throughout the week. You always want to play, you always want to be giving it your all and I'd always feel like I'd have the most impact when I was starting.

"But I can't fault it, Caelan is an unbelievable captain, unbelievable leader, he is playing unbelievably well. He's going to be playing No.8. Peter (O’Mahony) is a more natural number six and Ryan (Baird) as well in the first week but I back myself to do that as well.

"So, you know, you're not unbelievably gutted, you can see the writing on the wall a little bit and then it's about just being right. You need to get across with detail and I have to cover two positions so I'm going to make sure that's all nailed on.

"And then my focus the rest week is just nailing my role when I get on and then bringing a massive amount of energy and impact and giving the lads around you who have played 50 or 60-odd minutes who are a bit fatigued, bring them a bit of energy, bring them a bit of voice, and then make an impact.

“So they're looking at you, being like, 'Right he is unbelievably up for this when he gets on, he's making a difference'. And I feel like that gives everyone a lift. It gives me a lift of a good moment and likewise if I am on and lads are going well 'I want to be at the level here, I want to be where those lads are and make an impact'."

Doris’s knee injury sustained in the second-round victory over the Scots in Edinburgh 11 days ago gives Conan the opportunity to make his impact from the off, as one of two enforced changes to the starting line-up at Murrayfield, with Dan Sheehan in line to replace neck-injury victim Ronan Kelleher at hooker with interim head coach Simon Easterby scheduled to name his matchday 23 for the Principality Stadium match on Thursday morning.

"Be great to get a run out, great to get a start,” Conan said of the prospect. “Happy enough with my performance in the last few weeks and nice to get a break there last week and reconvene and then get to a bit of work and then be hopping into training on Sunday and Monday.

“So been a good few days and lads are excited and we get the opportunity to go on the weekend to make sure it doesn't pass me by and make the most of it. Obviously it's disappointing to lose Caelan, he's been fantastic the last two weeks and, please God we get him back for France (on March 8) because he's been incredible leader both on off the pitch and he's playing incredibly well both for Leinster and Ireland the last few months.

"It's been unbelievably competitive. You have got the best players in the country here and lads want to take every opportunity whether it's training or games that they can, so you know when you're given that mantle and you're given that opportunity you got to make the most of it and that's certainly my mindset for this week."

Conan recognises the loss of Doris will require all of Ireland’s back-rowers to step up to fill the void.

"I suppose how do you fill that role? It's very difficult. He is someone who has, I think I only read the other night, hasn't missed one since 42 caps in a row which is an incredible testament to how professional he is, how durable he is, and how consistent he's been as a player.

“So I think it's going to be a huge amount of pressure on the entirety of the back row, whoever's on the bench, and the lads that are starting, to kind of keep on pushing from where he's left off, because, again, he's been unbelievable.

“We get on very well and we compete hard against each other and I think we've helped spur each other on to be at a really good level. So whether it's been Leinster or Ireland he's someone, I think, who sets the standard for the rest of the back row, and now, with this weekend again we are going to have to push on and make sure we're at the level.”