'He was a pain in the arse' - Paddy McCarthy stood out first time Farrell's side trained against U20s

TALENT: Paddy McCarthy has been on the radar since the Ireland seniors trained against the U20s side. Picture: ©INPHO/Dan Sheridan

Andy Farrell has been at this a fair while. He celebrated his six-year anniversary as Ireland head coach here in Chicago last weekend. He’s also coming back into the role after a secondment that probably didn’t feel like much of a rest at all as he spent months weighing up the playing talents of four nations instead of just one.

A lot of players have come and gone across the radar. And yet, asked when Paddy McCarthy’s hefty frame first came into view, he remembered in an instant.

The 22-year-old Leinster prop was the sole member of the 23 listed by Farrell on Thursday morning to have an asterisk after his name. The little symbol denotes uncapped, a rookie. And so his first will be won off the bench at Soldier Field against the All Blacks. It’s hardly a soft landing. Then again, there was precious little softness about McCarthy since Farrell first spotted him.

“When we trained against him,” Farrell remembered of a bruising session between Ireland’s first team and its next generation. “That's why we do train against the [Ireland] under-20s, so we know who is coming through. I get asked the question 'do you want to train against them this year?' Imagine being in the under-20s and you didn't get an opportunity to train against the first team and every other year has. It's an unbelievable tradition.

“You see people like Paddy and he was a pain in the arse, he spoiled our session on many occasions. But there's something in the eyes there that not a lot of people have got. He's been on the radar for a good few years because of how he took it to the senior boys a good few years ago.” 

Having switched from tighthead to loose before the 2023 U20 World Cup, McCarthy has done his best to speed through the trail blazed by his older brother Joe, who won his first cap as a 21-year-old three autumns ago. Injury meant Joe missed out on this November trip but the McCarthys will be represented again whenever Paddy is sprung from the bench to relieve Andrew Porter on Saturday.

He’s played just a handfuls of games as a pro for Leinster, none of them outside the URC. But in short order he would appear to have jumped provincial teammate Jack Boyle on the depth chart. A World Cup is approaching ever-faster over the horizon and the aging make-up of Ireland’s core is a cause for debate and some concern. Farrell’s decision to blood McCarthy in inhospitable terrain should probably be lauded, then.

Unlike the majority of those selected for duty on Saturday, McCarthy has been busy this season, four Leinster appearances in all. He doesn’t share just DNA with his older brother but an abrasive approach around the field too. One of those senior boys who likely had it taken to him in the inter-generational training sessions has watched the development with wonder.

“[He’s] going really well, Paddy. Not that I was surprised, but he kind of really just pushed on at the start of this season, playing in the province,” said Tadhg Furlong. “I was taken aback by it really, some of these carries and tackles and some of his scrum work and he kind of just sprung up there.

“Obviously, Jack Boyle is kind of putting his toe in the water over the summer there with Ireland and he has four caps now, so he's pushing on as well. It was kind of nip and tuck there between him and Cian Healy at the tail end of last year. So it's good. Look, they've plenty to learn, but they're good lads and they're working very hard.” 

One of just two survivors from the glory of 2016 to start again Saturday, Furlong has wisdom like Heinz have beans. When McCarthy is handed his first cap, the Wexford 32-year-old will get an 80th to add to his pile. He’s tried to help front row tyros likes McCarthy, Boyle and the rest. But he’s conscious not to overdo it.

“A little bit but I'm a rugby player, I'm not a coach,” added Furlong. “If you see something, you might say to him, but at the same time, there’s line there you don't really cross because he's his own man, he's his own player.

“I don't see why the young fellas might have to make some of the same mistakes you did growing up. Can you upskill them along the way? But it's subtle, it's not in your face because weeks like this, you don't want to put too much noise in people's heads.”