Leinster vs Vodacom Bulls

ack running and training, everything fell
into place then and I was really happy
with how things went.”
“Usually when you have a long-term
injury like that, they encourage you to
focus on something outside of rugby. I
deferred my second year in college so
I did half a semester the year of my Six
Nations, and deferred the second half.
“The first six months of my injury, I didn’t
have any college so I couldn’t focus on
that and then with Covid and the social
distancing, I couldn’t see anyone except
for the lads I was living with which was
hard as well. I couldn’t go home and see
my family.”
Once his own inner will made the
first steps, from there it was family, the
physios, the teammates, the rehabilitators
and the coaches who made sure that the
extra yards would follow.
“I couldn’t have had a better experience
through that. I’ve had friends who have
done ACLs in other sports and I’m so
lucky that I’ve had the help I had in
Leinster, coming in doing physio and
S&C. I’m very grateful and understand
how lucky I am to be in this situation.”
So what’s next? Deeny is now in his third
year in the Academy, and will be looking
to continue building on his recovery from
injury, taking every step possible away
from that nightmare few months.
“It’s tough for anyone to try and impress.
Training is so competitive and so hard, if
everyone is going to impress, it’d be hard
but I think the coaches see the amount of
effort that goes in.
“I’m just hoping to stay as available as I
can and get as much gametime as I can
whether that’s with the seniors or the ‘A’s
or in the AIL. I’ve missed a lot of matches
so coming back and playing as much as I
can is the goal for this year.”
And for a young second row, you could
do far worse than to be working under
the tutelage of Leinster head coach Leo
Cullen, a decorated lock in his own
career, captaining the province to three
Heineken Cup titles before later winning
it as a head coach. He also racked up
32 Ireland caps and won a Premiership
medal in his time with Leicester Tigers.
Sharing a dressing room, there’s also
Devin Toner, Leinster’s most-capped
player after overtaking Gordon D’Arcy’s
record on the day the province won a
fourth PRO14 title in a row in April 2021.
“If you’re looking for advice or have any
questions from a second row point of
view, or at the set-piece, lineout or scrum,
their answers are the best ones you’re
going to get. It’s very helpful to have
the likes of them to help along the way,”
Deeny states.
“A lot of the lads are Ireland
internationals but I’m just focusing on
learning as much as I can from the lads
that are there and trying to train to the
best of my abilities. The competition
brings out the best in everyone because
there’s such an amount of talent in
Leinster. It is hard but it’s very enjoyable.”
Off the field, he’s returned to his studies
after the deferral. Previously doing
Biomedical Science in Trinity College,
Deeny has now transferred to UCD
where he will specialise in Physiology,
something that goes hand-in-hand with
the life of a modern athlete.
“Because we’re training and working
in UCD, I transferred there this year
so I’m doing Biomedical Science but
specialising in Physiology this year. When
you’re coming out of school, nobody
really knows what they want to do. I was
interested in science in school, from a
young age, I was interested in how the
body works and how the systems interact
with each other.
“It was either Physiology or Zoology and
then Physiology won out. For the first two
years of college, I enjoyed those modules
the most.”
So, back fit and back in the books. Deeny
will be hoping that this season is a busier
one for him both on and off the field.
However, he still doesn’t view the last
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