Patience is a virtue.
The omission of Garry Ringrose from Ireland’s Six Nations squad was met with some consternation from fans and pundits who argued that the talented Leinster star could provide a much needed spark for Irish rugby.
.@IrishRugby could do a whole lot worse than going with Garry Ringrose against Wales on Feb 7th.
— Brian O'Driscoll (@BrianODriscoll) December 27, 2015
But his former Ireland Under-20 coach has argued that Ringrose and Ireland will be rewarded by keeping the 20-year-old on his current path for now.
The centre was nominated for World Junior Player of the Year after some superb performances at the 2014 Under-20 World Cup (he lost out to current South Africa star Handre Pollard), and has delivers some of Leinster’s most exciting display in his limited game in 2015.
And Nigel Carolan argues that maintaining Ringrose’s current path of growth within the provincial set-up is the right way to go for now.
“I don’t think it’s any surprise, certainly to me,” Carolan said of Ringrose’s senior breakthrough.
“Last year he was one player who stood out among the group. His talent and potential still needs to be reached and personally I think what Leinster are doing is probably the right thing, just insuring that he continues to be developed.
“It’s going to be not too far down the road that he’s going to be a regular, but to manage that process they are going about things the right way.”
Carolan was speaking at the announcement of this year’s Under-20 panel for the Six Nations, where the squad lacking international experience but not short on talent will look to bounce back from a 2015 campaign that saw a promising start ruined by defeats in Ireland’s final three games.
“Last season was frustrating, we went in with a lot expectations with a comparatively experienced squad,” Carolan, who is in his second year in the role, said.
“Maybe with this group of players there’s a lot of guys getting exposure with provincial A teams and senior club sides, so maybe they are more battle hardened, so the expectation is that we are going to be able to compete consistently throughout the tournament.”
With the likes of Ringrose, Leinster half-backs Ross Byrne and Nick McCarthy and Ulster centre Sam Arnold (who remains eligible but is more likely to be involved in the provinces Pro12 fixtures during the Six Nations) having moved onwards and upwards, Carolan is looking to his pack to deliver on its promise this year.
Three of the four returning players – Ulster’s Adam McBurney, Andrew Porter of Leinster and Connacht’s Conan O’Donnell – pack down in the front row, while the side will be captained by Leinster lock James Ryan.
“We’ll certainly have a platform to play off, and if that allows us to unleash the x factor in the backs it could make for an exciting campaign,” Carolan added.
“This is maybe the first year where I’ve been involved where we have a pack that should be able to compete on the international stage. They’re not afraid to get stuck and there’s some real talented players there, some good ball-carriers, but it’s just about making sure every opportunity we get we can make it count.”
Ireland begin their Six Nations campaign against Wales, who beat the Irish twice in 2015, at Donnybrook on February 5 before facing the French in Narbonne a week later.
Ireland Under-20 Squad:
Forwards:
James Bollard (Dublin University / Leinster)
Kelvin Browne (Shannon / Munster)
Peter Claffey (Galwegians / Connacht)
Will Connors (UCD / Leinster)
Max Deegan (Lansdowne / Leinster)
Shane Fenton (Young Munster / Munster)
John Foley (Shannon / Munster)
Cillian Gallagher (Sligo RFC / Connacht)
Greg Jones (UCD / Leinster)
Conor Kenny (Buccaneers / Connacht)
Adam McBurney (Ballymena / Ulster)
Sean O’Connor (Cashel / Munster)
Conan O’Donnell (Sligo / Connacht)
Andrew Porter (UCD / Leinster)
James Ryan (Lansdowne / Leinster)
Dan Walsh (Cork Con / Munster)
Backs:
Matthew Byrne (Terenure / Leinster)
Brett Connon (Newcastle Falcons / Exlies)
Shane Daly (Cork Con / Munster)
Hugo Keenan (UCD / Leinster)
Terry Kennedy (St. Mary’s / Leinster)
Stephen Kerins (Sligo / Connacht)
Paul Kiernan (UCC / Munster)
Robert Lyttle (Queen’s University / Ulster)
Johnny McPhillips (Queen’s University / Ulster)
Conor O’Brien (Clontarf / Leinster)
Jimmy O’Brien (UCD / Leinster)
John Poland (Cork Con / Munster)
Jack Power (UCD / Leinster)
Jacob Stockdale (Belfast Harlequins / Ulster)
