Jack Conan parks World Cup thoughts to focus on Wallabies threat

Jack Conan on playing Australia: “A lot of us were down here last year and saw how good they could be." Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

The Rugby World Cup might be less than 15 months away from kicking off Down Under, but Jack Conan says he’s barely thought about it despite being back in Australia.

“Not much at the moment, to be honest with you,” he says, having been asked about the looming tournament.

Despite Ireland not making it beyond the quarter-finals, you can forgive him for not exactly turning his attention to rugby’s showpiece event.

After all, this time last year he was preparing for a Lions series against the Wallabies, so Australia, even before you get to the thousands of Irish already living in the city and Sydney’s eastern suburbs, is already starting to feel like a home away from home rather than the scene of another World Cup reckoning for Ireland.

Throw in Saturday’s game against the Wallabies and it’s business as usual.

“You have games every week and you go from finals into international matches and you can't look too far down the line,” said the brilliant loose-forward, who has featured sparingly in the past two World Cups.

“Maybe over the summer we'll sit down and put some plans in place for a few people next year and see how that looks.

“For now, it's just moment by moment, day by day.

“That'll be an unbelievable challenge for the people who get picked to come out here next year and represent the group. It's not something that's at the forefront of anyone's mind.” 

Of more pressing concern is adding to Ireland’s five-match winning streak over the Wallabies.

But Conan, more than most, knows that the Wallabies won’t be a walk in the park, especially after last year’s great escape in the Lions.

While the Lions looked like being in cruise control for most of the tour, it took the returns of Rob Valetini and Will Skelton in Melbourne to turn the series on its head.

Despite a brilliant physical battle, they survived at the Melbourne Cricket Ground but then lost a week later at Stadium Australia – the venue for next year’s World Cup final.

It was at the lineout where the Lions fell to pieces in the wet, but the Wallabies also beat the tourists to the punch in Sydney too.

So it’s no surprise that Conan is conscious of this weekend’s looming battle.

“They've got unbelievable talent, don't they?” he said.

“A lot of us were down here last year and saw how good they could be.

“They had some unbelievable periods of play throughout the three Tests, and they're not a side you can take lightly.

“Obviously, Joe [Schmidt] would know us very well and still some of the players in the group.

“It's not going to be easy. There's quality all across the park and some unbelievable athletes. You see them score tries out of nothing. We need to be on it from moment one.” 

Even less of a surprise was that Conan listed the Wallabies’ back-row as one of their major threats.

“I suppose you can't look too far past the back row,” he said.

“Harry Wilson, obviously a leader for them. He was great last year in the Test matches. Rob Valetini, an unbelievable athlete as well. Fraser McReight, I think he's number one for turnover steals in Super Rugby. They're a pretty dynamic and fearsome trio when they're on it.

“That'll be a big challenge for the lads who get to run out in the back-row.” 

The trio will once again form the back-row for Saturday’s sold-out Test.