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'Hell of a lot more': Ireland’s Jack Conan 'didn't grasp' injury-ruined 2019 Rugby World Cup
By PA
Jack Conan admits the 2023 World Cup means a “hell of a lot more” after conceding he perhaps “didn’t grasp the magnitude” of representing Ireland on the biggest stage four years ago.
The 31-year-old Leinster back-rower feels he has unfinished business at the tournament following his injury-ruined trip to Japan in 2019.
He came off the bench in Ireland’s opening win over Scotland in Yokohama but then suffered a stress fracture in his foot ahead of the shock defeat to the host nation, in which he had been due to start.
Conan acknowledges the forthcoming competition in France is likely to be his final World Cup and says injury setbacks have given him greater appreciation of opportunities at the top level.
“I think every injury changes you,” he said, ahead of Saturday’s warm-up clash with Italy in Dublin.
“For the most part it changes you in a good way. It definitely tests your perseverance and your mental fortitude.
“Bowing out on that stage in the World Cup and getting injured just makes you so much hungrier to do it again and be back there and get another shot at it.
“Not that I wasn’t grateful four years ago, maybe I just didn’t grasp the magnitude of playing for Ireland in a World Cup.
“But I think because of the experiences I had in Japan they definitely make me appreciate the position I’m in at the moment.
“Hopefully I can take that into the next few weeks and it definitely means a hell of a lot more to me now.”
Conan flew home the day after sitting out Ireland’s 19-12 loss to the Brave Blossoms in Shizuoka and was subsequently ruled out for up to six months.
His length recovery period coincided with the start of the coronavirus pandemic and he did not pull on the green jersey again until February 2021.
From that major low and wondering if his international career may be over, he was then selected for that year’s British and Irish Lions tour of South Africa and has become a regular in an impressive Ireland squad, who are top of the world rankings following a series success in New Zealand and a Guinness Six Nations Grand Slam.
“It was a big thing to overcome, the injury itself,” continued Conan, who has scored nine tries in 38 caps. “There was no guarantee I would come back from it.
“There are a lot of lads who retired from the same injury – not that it ever got to that point – but you knew it was going to be a physically and mentally testing journey from the outset.
“There was definitely a period in that time where you think, ‘Jesus, it is so difficult to get back’.
“The whole world was locked down so I wasn’t feeling too sorry for myself but it was a long journey and times when you thought you won’t get back in.
“I definitely feel like I haven’t had the opportunity to perform on the world stage.
“Obviously I’ve played in the Six Nations and stuff, New Zealand last year and whatever else, but the World Cup is definitely something special. With my age profile, I’m not sure I will be knocking around in four years’ time.”
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Like I've said before about your idea (actually it might have been something to do with mine, I can't remember), I like that teams will a small sustainable league focus can gain the reward of more consistent CC involvement. I'd really like the most consistent option available.
Thing is, I think rugby can do better than footballs version. I think for instance I wanted everyone in it to think they can win it, where you're talking about the worst teams not giving up because they are so far off the pace we get really bad scoreline when that and giving up to concentrate on the league is happening together.
So I really like that you could have a way to remedy that, but personally I would want my model to not need that crutch. Some of this is the same problem that football has. I really like the landscape in both the URC and Prem, but Ireland with Leinster specifically, and France, are a problem IMO. In football this has turned CL pool stages in to simply cash cow fixtures for the also ran countries teams who just want to have a Real Madrid or ManC to lose to in their pool for that bumper revenue hit. It's always been a comp that had suffered for real interest until the knockouts as well (they might have changed it in recent years?).
You've got some great principles but I'm not sure it's going to deliver on that hard hitting impact right from the start without the best teams playing in it. I think you might need to think about the most minimal requirement/way/performance, a team needs to execute to stay in the Champions Cup as I was having some thougt about that earlier and had some theory I can't remember. First they could get entry by being a losing quarter finalist in the challenge, then putting all their eggs in the Champions pool play bucket in order to never finish last in their pool, all the while showing the same indifference to their league some show to EPCR rugby now, just to remain in champions. You extrapolate that out and is there ever likely to be more change to the champions cup that the bottom four sides rotate out each year for the 4 challenge teams? Are the leagues ever likely to have the sort of 'flux' required to see some variation? Even a good one like Englands.
I'd love to have a table at hand were you can see all the outcomes, and know how likely any of your top 12 teams are going break into Champions rubyg on th back it it are?
Go to commentsYou always get idiots who go overboard. What else is new? I ignore them. Why bother?
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