Andrew Porter's capacity for work remains astonishing
DOING HIS JOB: "I’m not looking to pull a rabbit out of a hat, not looking to do anything shiny or spectacular," Andrew Porter said about his role on the pitch for Ireland. Pic: ©INPHO/Ben Brady
Very few have reason to recall the Rainbow Cup with any affection. The tournament, cobbled together at the back end of the 2020/21 season, was a hasty Band-Aid that was never going to cover up for the real rugby lost in the course of that covid-interrupted season.
If there was one thing worse than playing games in empty stadia while having to adhere to all the social distancing rules, wearing face masks and being surrounded by a jungle of yellow safety signs, then it was playing games in a tournament no-one cared for.
Leinster’s interest in it never left the starting blocks.
Munster beat them 27-3 in the opener. Their other four games had to be played long after the PRO12 title had been captured, and in the aftermath of a crushing Champions Cup semi-final defeat in La Rochelle.
Any ‘hope’ the province had of making the final ended with another loss in Glasgow but the real cost came in the form of the toe injury that Andrew Porter picked up. That deprived him of a touring spot to South Africa with the British and Irish Lions.
Four years on and it’s time to put that right.
“I mean, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t thinking about it, or that it wasn’t in the back of my mind, but I’m not letting it distract me. I’ve got so much going on currently, both in my personal life with my wife pregnant at home and then everything going on here, so I’ve plenty on my plate to keep me busy in the meantime.
“I’m focused on the championship now and our game this week, and games coming down the line, and everything going on in Leinster as well. So yeah, it’s something that burns away in the back of my mind, missing out four years ago, due to injury. It’s somewhere I definitely want to be but I have to put in the performances to get there.
“That’s what I’m trying to do at the moment.”
His replacement, Kyle Sinckler, appeared off the bench in all three Tests in place of Tadhg Furlong. Porter was accustomed to doing exactly that for Ireland at the time. Still a converted tighthead, he made the switch back to loosehead that summer.
His time on the pitch has jumped as a result. Porter averaged 49 minutes per game for Ireland in that last season in the No.3 jersey. That escalated to 61 over the next 12 months, and to a peak of over 70 for the 2022/23 season.
He played all 80 minutes twice over that term. In all, five of his 10 games involved shifts of 70 minute or more. That average has dipped again to the low and mid-60s in the two years since but his capacity for work remains astonishing.
It’s hard now to overplay his importance.
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Porter’s work ethic has always been strong. Dan Cole, the legendary former England prop, lauded him as an extra back rower for the influence he has around the park after the recent win in Murrayfield. The man himself doesn’t think he does any more now than before.
“Ehm, not really. I’m just doing what’s asked of me, really. I’ve always wanted to be a player with a high work ethic and work the best I can for my teammates as well. I wouldn’t be able to tell you, really. It doesn’t feel like I’m doing a lot when I’m out there.
“It feels like I’m doing my job and doing my best for the team and that’s all I’m looking to do, really. I’m not looking to pull a rabbit out of a hat, not looking to do anything shiny or spectacular. I’m just looking to give my best and do my job.”
What has changed is his mindset. It would be easy, he said, to plod along and hope the ball doesn’t come your way. Porter’s thought process is to try and get everywhere he needs to be. The extra minutes banked this last four years have helped in that.
Dynamic as he is, Porter would be the first to admit that a prop’s primary job is in the setpiece and there have been clear signs of progress in that area after a spell where he was, fairly or not, being pinged for scrum penalties by the officials.
Cole touched on this after the Edinburgh game, too, the former Leicester Tiger explaining how the Dubliner has started to stay more square and, as a result, reduce the volume of infringements against himself. No biggie, according to the man himself.
“I’m not reinventing the wheel or anything. It’s down to the work of our scrum coaches in both Leinster and Ireland and the pack we have as well. It’s easy to pinpoint one player in a scrum but it’s all eight, really. All of our pack have been working seamlessly in the last couple of weeks.”
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