Alex Kendellen: 'This is what you dream of as a kid'

Ireland's Alex Kendellen, Shayne Bolton and Hugh Gavin with their first Ireland caps after the game. Pic: Ben Brady/Inpho

Nine men earned a first cap for Ireland on the season-ending, two-match tour of Georgia and Portugal. Each one is its own story. 

For some, the debut might have been overdue. For others, it may have come sooner than expected. Or not been flagged at all in years gone by.

Hugh Gavin is in the second of those two camps.

Still only 21, the Connacht back went into a meeting with the province’s attack coach Mark Sexton at the start of last season with a list of goals for the campaign to come. One of them was to feature in a big interpro. That was the height of it.

“He said, ‘look these are the things that you need to get better at, and if you do this you will hopefully get on the summer tour’, which never came into my mind. I wouldn’t say it was on my radar. I was just trying to get some game time for Connacht.” 

These are the gains that can be made in a Lions year, all the more so when the usual Ireland head coach is helming the famous tourists and calling up the likes of Jamie Osborne and Thomas Clarkson to Australia ahead of the Test series.

The phone call Osborne received in a taxi cab in Lisbon ultimately paved the way for Gavin to be elevated from the bench and into the No.12 jersey for the 16-try mismatch against the Portuguese two days ago.

The young Galwegian spent the evening before watching Love Island with teammates in captain Craig Casey’s room and he enjoyed the long lead in to the 7pm kickoff before the most gentle of introductions to Test rugby.

Two of those 16 tries were his. Fellow Connacht player and first-timer Shayne Bolton managing another pair and Munster’s Alex Kendellen, the third of the debuts on the night, pitching in with one of his own.

Gavin had cut his teeth on an Emerging Ireland tour. Kendellen and Bolton had featured for Ireland ‘A’ before and been called up briefly for previous senior squads, but Paul O’Connell stressed the importance of having players to hand for longer periods this month.

Players have had the opportunity to learn the lingo and systems and tune in to the culture of what O’Connell and the returning Farrell and the rest of the Lions Irish contingent will expect when the Ireland squad reconvenes next November.

“It’s been unbelievable,” said Bolton. “It’s probably been my most enjoyable time in rugby. I have learned so much, enjoyed it so much. I enjoyed training so hard, meeting new people. Everyone in the squad is an absolute gent, I’m so thankful. I made a good few new friends.” 

The oldest of the three rookies two days ago, Bolton also had to travel the furthest to make it this far: not just given his South African roots but a succession of trials and tribulations since his relocation to the city of Tribes.

“It has definitely paid off. I had tough times in the last four years, times when I didn’t know if I was going to get through the dark spots, injuries, missing family, being alone, all that kind of stuff. But I am very happy now that I made the move and it paid off in the end.” 

The quality of opposition will have to be taken into account when assessing individual efforts, but there is no doubt that O’Connell has been impressed by the way in which players have responded to this carrot at the end of another desperately long and challenging year.

“This is what you dream of when you are a kid,” said Kendellen. “As long as this season is it doesn’t really matter as long as you are in Irish camp and you are looking to represent that jersey. It has been a long season but it has been an enjoyable season.” Rugby never really sleeps anymore.

The four provincial high-performance centres were already humming with activity again by the time Ireland took on the Portuguese as preparations pick up for 2025/26, but those returning home this week will have a month off before returning to the day job.

They’ll bring a renewed ambition with them that will feed into the positivity that is endemic at that time of year, not least in Munster where Clayton McMillan will be putting his spin on things as the new man in charge.

“It is an exciting time for Munster,” said Kendellen. “You would nearly want to get back in there as quickly as possible but that break is important at this time for me personally and for the other lads as well.”