Talk to any Leinster player and they’ll tell you that Jamie Heaslip’s retirement and Jordi Murphy’s defection to Ulster is a big loss for the province and Jack Conan is no different.
Heaslip was a seasoned international when Conan was coming through the underage ranks at Leinster and the Bray backrower speaks highly of his leadership skills as well as his ability as a mentor, while Murphy had kept Conan out of the starting side for both of last season’s Champions Cup semi-final and final wins.
The loss of both players is significant for the European champions but it’s cushioned by the returns of Rhys Ruddock and Sean O’Brien from injury and further aided by the continued development of backrow prospects Max Deegan and Caelan Doris.
The nature of Leinster is that the loss of one great player is generally supplemented by the emergence of another and the departures of Murphy and Heaslip should see Conan emerge this season with an extended role in the first team.
However, while Conan should stand to benefit here, he’s already received an ample amount of playing time over the last two seasons.
He trailed only Munster’s Rory Scannell for the most amount of minutes played by an Irish player before last year’s Six Nations while the season before he scored nine tries in 20 games for Leinster.
The problem for Conan has had more to do with the competition around him as much as it has had to do with opportunities, or a lack thereof, but another year with an extended run in the Leinster pack should see him once again go head-to-head with CJ Stander for the right to anchor the Irish scrum.
Jordi Murphy’s move up the M1 and his versatility across the backrow could turn that contest into a triple threat of sorts but Conan feels the gap is closing between him and Munster’s naturalised number eight, even if he felt he could have played better last season.
“Personally I don’t think I had the greatest performances last year at stages,” said Conan.
“I didn’t feel fit at times. I think my body wasn’t right when it needed to be at it’s best. I think I finished quite well but periods of the season, particularly post-November, I had some shoulder problems and that took some of my confidence away.
“I’m feeling fit now and I’m feeling good now. I probably had some better all-round performances last year defensively, as well as attacking, because it was something I needed to work on, but the gap is closing.
“I think there’s a lot of room for improvement and I’m looking forward to being 100% fit and having confidence about myself going into the new season.”
Conan was told that he needed to improve his defence, particularly his defensive workrate, if he wanted to see increased opportunities at the back of the scrum next season.
The 26-year-old averaged over 10 tackles per game last season, which shows that he’s not exactly a slouch in defence, but nevertheless it’s still an area that he’s keen to address this season as he looks to challenge both Stander and Murphy heading into a World Cup year.
“My workrate in defence is something I was told I could work on by my coaches,” added Conan.
“I’ve been trying to put a lot of effort and thought into that and I think it’s something that has paid dividends over the last few months but it’s just something I’ll be looking to grow on as well.
“I don’t think my role will change massively from what it’s been like over the last few years but I think it’s just becoming an all-round better player and when I’m in those collisions to make sure I’m making an impact in my tackles.”
Conan has a clear vision of how he can improve as a player but the situation is not as clearly defined for his club.
Leinster became the first Irish team to complete the domestic and European double last season when they claimed both the PRO14 title and the European Champions Cup and it’s hard to imagine how the province can improve upon that this season, but Conan is not exactly a player that lacks imagination.
“Well I suppose we can get better if we do it again this season. We won’t be resting on our laurels. It was great last year but it’s all going to be a distant memory if you start losing games.
“We’ll be looking at becoming better than we were last year and there’s massive scope for that. That’s the only way we’re going to stay on top in Europe, and domestically, if we keep on improving and trying to get better.
“Other teams are going to catch up on us and are going to improve if we don’t do the same and we’re going to be left standing there and everyone else will have come to our level and we won’t be getting the results we need.”
With two trophies, 119 tries and a 78% win record last season, needless to say, improvement will be easier said than done.
