Joey Carbery: 'That's a big thing I don’t think people say enough'

How cruel. After too many stints on the sidelines in Ireland, rotten luck has followed Joey Carbery to France. The bells and whistles Top 14 is in round seven this weekend, but it won’t be until round nine at the earliest – November 2 away to Clermont – when the former Irish international can rejoin the razzamatazz following a truncated September 14, round two Bordeaux debut away to Lyon.

“I got a half,” he explained about his hand fracture to RugbyPass in an exclusive in-person chat. “It happened early enough and then it started to swell up a little, so I knew there was something. At half-time, I was, ‘Look, there is something here’. I didn’t want to do any more damage and look, it’s a short enough injury. I’m glad to be getting back this side of Christmas.”

Having been down this lay-off road far too often, he painfully knows how the weeks can stretch into months. However, the vignette he had of being on the pitch in the UBB shirt has enthused this particular fightback.

“That’s the toughest thing about this injury. No one wants to be injured, but I was loving every moment of being involved in that team. All you have to do is look at the team sheet, look at the names in that back line especially. As a 10, it makes my job so much more fun, so much more easy.

"I have been loving it so far and it’s great to have built that connection before that pre-season. That’s the most annoying thing about the injury but it’s a short one, I’ll be back soon and then crack on. It’s a long season over here.”

Carbery’s positivity is enlightening. Rather than having a woe-is-me attitude, he is upbeat about the two-year adventure he has embarked on and is confident his endurance can be steeled. “Injuries are really, really crap and you need to take a few weeks and go through a mourning stage. But then you have to turn it around and be like, ‘Look, I'm going to try and be a better player as a result’.

“It’s always being focused on can I get better at kicking if I have a hand injury? If I have a leg injury, can I get more weights in the gym done? Stuff like that. It’s focusing on something other than what you can’t control. If I can work on one other thing, it distracts you from the negative.

"That works for me and hopefully, touch wood [he bangs the table twice], that is my last injury for a while because I’m getting a few things looked at, a few things if I can take more supplements to help me. It would be great to see if I can get that scratched off.”

His mental virility is intriguing. Does being so pragmatic come naturally or was it a skill learned when the injuries mounted during his career? “Definitely had to learn it. It’s really hard just to pick it up. It takes time and practice and it’s quite frustrating sometimes as well because the last thing you want to be doing is going in for a gym session Friday and the guys are going playing Saturday. It does take time.

“I have always had a good group of people around me. It’s very important for those tough days to get away from rugby. Your rehab is very important but come Friday or Saturday, just get away because the last thing you want to be doing is letting it fester inside you and then it affects everything else as a result. You don’t want to let rugby get in the way of family life and friends time.”

Born in New Zealand to Irish parents who returned to Ireland when Joey was 11, dad Joe remains a particular rugby touchpoint given his player development coaching work in the Leinster province. “He has been huge. Talk to him every day and he is always a good person you can bounce stuff off or if you need to vent after a tough day, you can always pick up the phone. He has been massive for me in that way. With the setbacks, it’s good to talk and get them out in the air. It does help.”

Carbery’s latest lay-off was why he was in Cardiff last Tuesday, representing Bordeaux at the launch of the 30th season of European rugby. Best to send someone along who wouldn’t be involved in preparing for this Sunday night's away trip to La Rochelle where a win will restore last season’s beaten finalists to first place on the current log.

The new signing is motivated by his new club’s rich potential. “When I started having conversations with them last season, I started watching pretty much all their games and just loved the way they go about their business.

“They just played quite freely which I liked. As a 10, it’s nice to know that if there is not much on there are guys around you can give the ball to and they will have a crack and create something. That was the big thing for me, the way they play the game.

“I’m happy to be both [10 and 15]. There are conversations about playing 15 here and there. In the Top 14, there has to be so much rotation because it is such a physical and long season. I’m happy to play wherever I can.

“This club can only go upwards and getting to the final last year for the first time, although it didn’t go to plan it just shows how much it has progressed. It was only formed less than 20 years ago [2006]. The players they have, the coaches, the facilities, the crowds, everything is coming together quite nicely.

"To be part of that is really special. It’s quite a privilege to be involved because it’s such a confident group and so hard-working. Those two matched together hopefully we can go places.

“There are a few characters. Nans Ducuing is probably the biggest. I don’t know if you have come across his Instagram, he is going to be an actor or a comedian, something like that after. He is constantly playing dress-up and taking the p**s out of everyone. He’s a good fella, very funny.

“Until you are over there you don’t really understand how big Top 14 is. It’s absolutely everything. To be part of that playing against Lyon and then being at Chaban a few times, the atmosphere of the games and the intensity is just a different level. It’s such a tight league as well. One game can change a whole season, so every week means so much. It’s cool to be a part of.”

What was obvious from a 20-minute conversation is that the soon-to-be 29-year-old has enjoyed settling into the rhythm of French life with his wife Robyn and their 18-week-old baby boy. Of assistance was having an old acquaintance, Noel McNamara, on the Bordeaux staff.

“The guys made me feel really welcome and that is why having Noel there was big,” he explained. “I’d worked with him before, underage and then Leinster U19s and academy. He and his wife Sinead have been so good to Robyn and me since we moved over. Anything we need and have given them a shout they have helped us.

"Knowing someone has been a real soft landing. Having worked with him and chatted with the guys who have worked more with him in-depth, the way he sees the game, his level of detail, his understanding of having a chat with you is so good for a coach to to connect with you as a person.

“That’s massive. Loving working with him. The language barrier he helps a lot with. His French is really good so if I have any questions, he has been able to help me out with that. The language is tough. Doing a lot of lessons at the moment, three a week, but it takes time to get that thought process of speaking the language all the time.

“I’m learning that French words can mean three or four different things and it depends on the context of the sentence. Unfortunately, I did German for some reason at school. I don’t know what I was thinking, but it is what it is.

“It’s a good time for us to do it [move to France], my son being so young and nothing was holding us to Ireland. He was born in Ireland and then we moved over pretty much a month later. We’re finding our feet. New country, new baby, new language, but we are getting to grips with it all.

“It’s so close (to Ireland) we have family over nearly every weekend as well because there are flights every day. It’s easy. We’re loving, it to be honest. The city is beautiful. There is so much to do. The food scene is incredible and the beach is quite close. It’s such a nice city to put our son into the buggy and go for a stroll around, go for coffees, that kind of thing.

“A lot of our neighbours would have young kids. A lot of guys in the club would have young kids so it’s quite a nice atmosphere that we are not the only ones with kids. It’s quite a kid-friendly city as well. There are loads of parks, loads of everything. The creches are supposed to be incredible. It’s great so far.”

Carbery's three-year-old golden retriever even made the move to Gironde. “He did thankfully. He was a little bit off at the start. The weather caught him, it was very hot. And then the baby, he was the baby before my son came along and he doesn’t realise he can’t get as much attention anymore. But the last month he has been a lot better.”

After a four-minute March 2016 debut off the Leinster bench, Carbery went on to have two full seasons in Leo Cullen’s first team before switching to Munster for six more. He left the provincial scene with 104 appearances, and there were also 37 Test caps before he slipped down Andy Farrell’s pecking order. Is he at peace with leaving Ireland behind?

“I think so. I’m still only 28 and I’m fully committed to Bordeaux right now. But there were a lot of highs – I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Some of the games I was involved in, some of the wins we had, it was incredible. I do feel a little bit not upset about it but I do feel like I could have got a lot more had it not been for injury.

"But look, from what I was involved in, winning a Grand Slam, Six Nations, beating NZ a couple of times, it’s pretty special and going to a World Cup, it’s pretty unreal. Fond memories more than anything. My debut was a huge one. I couldn’t have written it better myself (coming off the bench in the 2016 Chicago win over New Zealand).

"It was incredible, but then that 2018 game against England at Twickenham was huge. There was so much riding on it and the way we stood up that day in pretty tough conditions against a really good England team, it was just such a special day and it showed the strength of that group. That was the big one.”

Carbery's French adventure is now the focus. “I always had an ambition to do it. I have always watched the French and have loved the way they have played. I have always been, ‘Look, I would love to do that in my career at some stage if the opportunity came up. The right team came up, which was exactly what I wanted.

“The opportunity came at a perfect time for us. As a professional rugby player, you miss out on your J1, you miss out on your Erasmus, so you don’t get that opportunity to go abroad. I wanted to try it [play overseas] and my wife, she was very happy to do it as well. The timing was perfect I know some other guys get to a point where they have kids in school and it may be too much hassle moving but I couldn’t recommend it more.

“I’ll be 30 by the time (the contract ends). Who knows (after that)? All I can do right now is get back fit, put my hand up, play the best rugby I can and see what happens. Hopefully, I’ll keep going until my body gives out. That’s the plan.

“Or depending if I get sick of rugby; that is a big thing I don’t think people say enough. It’s quite a demanding job and there are a lot of stresses that go along with it. Whether you are injured or not, the weeks are quite tough. Like, it might come to a stage where I might be, ‘I’m not really sure if I want to keep going’. But right now, I’m loving it so much, loving being involved in this team – I’ll go as long as I possibly can.”