Gareth Steenson was a captain of Ireland’s U21 side and kept Johnny Sexton on the bench for the big matches of the 2005 Junior World Cup. He is an Aviva Premiership champion and an unerring goalkicker.
He has never represented Ireland at Test level and never got a sniff of getting close.
Over the last five or six years, whenever Ireland would experience an injury to an outhalf, Steenson’s name would be mentioned. Ireland coaches would acknowledge his existence to the press but the Dungannon native would never get a call. Not even a check-up.
Well, it did happen once. Steenson, who led Exeter Chiefs to the Premiership title, told The Hard Yards:
“Honestly, I don’t think I ever had one [fair crack] with Ireland. I remember just having one conversation with Les Kiss whenever the British & Irish Lions went away [to South Africa] in 2009. It was a summer tour. I never really felt like I had an opportunity.
“It’s just the way it seems to be. They don’t look across the water, which is unfortunate because – and I think I’m at the stage of my career when I can say it – I would have liked to have been given one phone call or to be told what is going on. I’ve never had an opportunity, either, to go home to play in Ireland [with a province].
“It’s a little frustrating but would I change what I have done in an Exeter club jersey for the sake of a cap or two? Probably not.”
Steenson has been playing in the English Championship and Premiersip competitions for over a decade now and, due to World Rugby’s residency rules, he is entitled to play for England. Unsurprisingly, the RFU have monitored his progress closely.
“I’ve had more conversations with England than I have with Ireland,” he said.
“It was always, ‘You’re English qualified now, I’m sure you’re aware?’ and stuff like that. But I’m also aware that there are a lot of good English 10s around and they are going very well too. I’m just happy here at Chiefs.”
Steenson joined Connacht captain John Muldoon, Ronan O’Gara, Kev McLaughlin, SportsJOE’s Pat McCarry and host Andy McGeady on The Hard Yards this week.
Also on the show, the lads covered the Galway hurlers, the captain’s role in rugby, Twitter questions and the end of Connacht’s 2-4-2 tactics.
Hayley O’Connor of Ladbrokes offered the odds on the upcoming Guinness PRO14 action and ROG made a plea for All-Ireland hurling final tickets.
