'Separating who I am from what I do' - Caelan Doris on US retreat reset following injury and Lions omission

“It was great to be back, love being back in the mix over the last couple of weeks within camp. Obviously disappointing on the result but loving being back."

Fri, 07 Nov, 2025 - 12:42

Simon Lewis

Ireland captain Caelan Doris has revealed he was on a digital detox retreat in the United States when the British & Irish Lions clinched their series victory over Australia this summer.

Speaking to media on Friday following his comeback from a lengthy injury absence which forced him out of almost certain selection for the Lions, the 27-year-old outlined how he combined his rehabilitation from the shoulder surgery he underwent following Leinster’s Champions Cup semi-final loss to Northampton Saints with an attempt, in his own words, of “separating who I am from what I do”.

Doris returned to the rugby pitch as a replacement last weekend in Chicago as Ireland went down to New Zealand and this Saturday will lead the national team out at Aviva Stadium in a potential sell-out Quilter Nations Series Test against Japan.

He resumes his captaincy feeling mentally stronger for his summer experiences having quickly got over his disappointment at missing the opportunity to represent the Lions alongside so many of his Ireland team-mates and coaches but he did not turn his back on them entirely during their 2-1 series win.

“I was in the States for all three (Tests). The second two I was doing a bit of a retreat and a digital detox so I didn't have access to the games, but watched them in retrospect.

“It was a funny one because there's obviously the pain of it, but also some of my best mates were over there playing and I'm a rugby fan as well. So, I was keen to keep an eye on it at the same time.”

Doris said he had been “gutted, initially” at missing the tour, then explained how he replaced those emotions with more positive ones.

“I really felt I allowed the emotion to come through and process it, then I was then able to see the positives in the situation and move on quite quickly and frame it in a positive way and as a kind of hopefully halfway point in my career and reset and do things that I wouldn't have been able to do had I been playing rugby that summer.

“So I definitely made the most of it from a rugby and physical point of view and trying to come back better, fitter, stronger. Get on top of some other areas of weakness in my body, but also do some things mentally and, yeah, refreshing things as well and trips away and whatnot. So I made the most of it.”

Entering the digital detox retreat, in which Doris switched off all his communication technology for a week, was not easy for him, he admitted.

“It's definitely hard to do when you're playing because it is all encompassing, but that's why I saw this as an opportunity to step away for the first few months in particular and, yeah, I found it pretty beneficial.

“I loved it actually. First day, a little bit challenging, kind of missed the evening scroll a little bit, but by day two, it was great. I didn't miss it at all. I was reluctant to go back on my phone.”

Of the other positives he took from his almost six months on the sidelines, Doris said: “Well, some of the physical things. Like, my hips have been at me for quite a while before, so getting on top of those. I feel my body feels a lot better coming back in now.

“But yeah, I suppose kind of separating who I am from what I do was a bit of an overarching goal for the period and kind of building more self-awareness and exploration around that kind of thing.”

Rugby is back at the forefront of Doris’s mind now with a first Ireland start ahead since last March’s final round of the 2025 Six Nations and a chance to build on the 37 minutes he put in off the bench at Soldier Field last Saturday.

“It was great to be back, love being back in the mix over the last couple of weeks within camp. Obviously disappointing on the result but loving being back.

“New Zealand in Chicago, it’s a fixture that you look out from months prior to it. So the kind of high of being in a new place, the uniqueness of that, the low of defeat, travelling back.

“So trying to get everyone on the same page and excited about our first home game here, and about what we can do. Learn the lessons early in the week… what went wrong and what we can do better, and then turn the page quickly and get excited about being here tomorrow.”