Back in Ireland frame, Harry Byrne buries Bilbao pain
Harry Byrne wants to be more than a tourist during Ireland's Nations Championship campaign. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
It wasn’t long ago that Harry Byrne thought his days in green were done after a brief stint in England.
The Leinster out-half might have even thought they were done after copping a giant whack in Bilbao last month, as Bordeaux ran amok against Leo Cullen’s side, with Springboks guru Jacques Nienaber in the coach’s box no less, to leave them feeling blue in the face.
But after leaning on some of the “carefree” attitude he built during a liberating season at Bristol, Byrne buried some demons by helping Leinster bounce back to take out the United Rugby Championship and, in doing so, booked his place in Andy Farrell’s squad for the tour Down Under.
Byrne doesn’t shy away from talking about the disappointment of the Bordeaux thrashing in the Champions Cup final.
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“It still hurts talking about it, to be honest,” he told a small group of reporters on a moody Sydney day, where heavy, dark clouds circled the Harbour City.
“It was probably the biggest game in my career in the final and it [did] not go too well. [It] was definitely frustrating.”
He’s not even looking for silver linings from the 41-19 demolition under the hot Spanish sun.
“Potentially, yeah, if you're shaping it in the most positive way,” he responded, when asked if the defeat could ultimately prove to harden his resolve.
“It's still an unbelievably tough result to take and I suppose in the manner it came as well. It was really frustrating for everyone, but, yeah, potentially.”
But it was the response over the past month that revealed the character of Byrne 2.0, even though he played second fiddle to Sam Prendergast at out-half as a result, as Leinster responded emphatically.
“I suppose it just shows the resolve of the group that we were able to bounce back and all our attention went on the URC, and I was delighted how we finished up with that.” Whether Byrne runs out against the Wallabies or not remains to be seen.
Prendergast, unsurprisingly, is favoured to start in the No.10 jersey after his strong finish to the season.
While Ciarán Frawley’s ability to cover multiple positions, as well as the fact that the Connacht-bound playmaker featured prominently off the bench during the Six Nations, could see him pip Byrne.
But for a man who left Ireland in mid-2024 thinking he might have kissed away his hopes of adding to his four caps, Byrne has learned just to get on with it.
“Yeah, it was definitely a thought that maybe I wouldn't come back, but luckily I got the opportunity to come back to Leinster, and then once I got back there, it was just head down, work, see where you go from there,” said Byrne says his newfound maturity came from the stint abroad.
“It was brilliant for me for a number of reasons. I suppose even just growing up outside of rugby, moving to a new city for the first time. Living on my own for the first time, out of home. So even all that stuff was brilliant.
“But even just coming into a new environment altogether and kind of being given the reins, you just have to go for it. It's either sink or swim.”
The lessons learned under Pat Lam at Bristol helped foster his attitude, too.
“I suppose it just gives you a fresh outlook on the game a little bit,” he said.
“You're playing in a different competition and also seeing the game slightly differently as Pat does. He's obviously a very good attacking coach, and would see the game slightly differently to I suppose what I was used to in my seven years or whatever it was in Leinster.
“There's little intricacies about the game. So, not that you take one and leave the other but you can kind of marry them up when you come back. And I suppose that's been a big difference for me.
“Also, just the fact of going into a new team and taking hold of the team as quickly as you can. That served me well coming back into Leinster, definitely.”
So it probably comes as no surprise that Byrne didn’t kick cans when injuries held him back during this year’s Six Nations, nor the Bilbao result.
“Obviously, when you go away to Bristol, it's a bit of an unknown coming back in. Even though you've tasted it before,” he said.
“And then when you get back into Leinster, I suppose the goal is to get back in and get amongst it as quickly as you can. So it was a nice opportunity to get back in the mix in the Six Nations.
“Obviously frustrating [that] I was ruled out through injury and didn't get a chance to really play at all. So, on the back of that, you just go back to Leinster and try to do what you can to get back into the next squad. And yeah, delighted to be here.”
Adding to Byrne’s coming of age this year has been the fact that he’s not been living in the shadow of his older brother and fellow out-half, Ross, who left Leinster after a decade at the club.
“It has been weird,” he said. “I've said it many times in the media, but he's my best mate, someone I talk to every day, still pretty much. I talk to him every day, so from that point of view, not going to work with him every day is definitely different.
“It's been good in a sense as well, because I suppose you get to stand on your own two feet as well. I can still lean on him from afar, but we're not in the same meetings, we're not in the same training sessions, so we're seeing things slightly differently, which has changed our relationship a little bit.
“I suppose when you're not competing with each other directly, the conversations are probably a lot more free-flowing. They always have been, to be honest.
“It's probably the best trait that we have together is how honest we are with each other and he’s someone you always know is going to give you a straight answer, and I'd say he'd say the same about me on the way back. It's definitely been strange.”
While Byrne is riding the wave of being back in the Irish squad, the playmaker said he was keen to ensure he wasn’t simply a tourist on the three-week tour that includes Tests against the Wallabies, Japan and All Blacks.
“This is my first experience of Australia. Both coming here for the first time ever, and I've never played against an Australian team either. In terms of seeing the city, it's been great here in Sydney, so that's been exciting and enjoyable,” he said.
“In terms of Australia themselves, [I'm] very excited to play against them. Obviously, the lads have had a good few games against them of late, so it would be nice to get the chance to be involved in that. But yeah, we're all excited for the challenge.”
Meanwhile, overseas-based Wallabies star Tom Hooper did his best sales pitch to line up against Ireland for the sold out July 4 Test at Allianz Stadium.
“That hand will be up until you drag me off a rugby field, I think,” said Hooper, who rejoined his Australian teammates this week after a season with Exeter. “That hand will always be up for Wallaby gold.”
Hooper was speaking almost a fortnight after Wallabies assistant Laurie Fisher set the cat among the pigeons by suggesting that Hooper, as well as fellow overseas-based stars Len Ikitau and Taniela Tupou, might not be selected because they were due to miss the first few days of camp because of their overseas commitments.
But Hooper said the Wallabies’ contingent of players were chomping at the bit to play.
“Anytime I get the opportunity to pull on the thread, I'll be very privileged,” he said.
“I speak for Lenny and Taniela, they probably echo that sentiment as well. We're definitely ready to go.
“We wanted to get out on the training pitch today and put our best foot forward.”
Asked whether he had to get on the phone to convince Joe Schmidt that they were good to go, Hooper said he would respect the coach’s decision regardless of whether they were selected.
“You respect just whatever their decision is, to be honest,” the Exeter-based forward said.
“Me and Lenny were certainly having a beer on Silly Sunday saying, 'I think we're ready to play next week.' But whatever the coaches want to do, they're not just going to do it for the sake of doing it, they're going to do what they think is best for the team.”
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