Leinster Rugby vs DHL Stormers

The hardest thing
to deal with was
the skill and speed
at which training
was done, learning
it all on the fly.
Saturday, February
21st, 2015.
Leinster forwards coach Leo
Cullen came along to have a look
at Clontarf props Royce Burke-
Flynn and Iain Hirst play against
Terenure at Castle Avenue in the
All-Ireland League.
He stayed to ask one
question: ‘who is
your number
eight?’
Cullen was scouting the AIL for players
that could step in when the bulk of the
first-team squad would be preparing for
the 2015 Rugby World Cup.
Ryan had been beavering away in the
South-East area team, had made the
Leinster Youths and had been on the
Leinster U19s squad.
This was the apprenticeship to joining
his home club Enniscorthy’s first team for
two years, being central to the Provincial
Towns Cup win in 2012.
“Leo came to look at the two other lads,
not me. I didn’t know anything about
it. It was probably better that way. It
escalated from there,” says Tony.
“He wanted to know if I would be
interested in coming in for pre-season
that summer. It was ideal for me as I was
just finishing my four-year degree in
Analytical Science at DCU.
“I was shocked that he wanted me to
come in. I didn’t even know Leinster
looked at the AIL for players.
“I went in for an initial meeting with
Leo. He brought me around the
complex. He was introducing me
to guys like Dominic Ryan, Isa
Nacewa.
“I was a Leinster supporter. All of a
sudden, I am going to be in training with
these guys. I just remember feeling, ‘what
am I doing in here?’”
Four months later, Enniscorthy’s Tony
Ryan reported for pre-season at Leinster
Rugby, harbouring a lot of questions that
needed answers.
“For some reason, you feel like an
imposter. They don’t see you like that.
They just see another lad coming in.
“But, you are thinking ‘will I be up to the
mark physically? How will my skills hold
up?’ I was very nervous.”
However, the Clontarf contingent was
strong, Mick McGrath, Burke-Flynn, Hirst,
Bryan Byrne, Mick Kearney, providing
familiar faces to ease the nerves.
“It was like the first day of any job. You
don’t know where to go, what to do.
Everyone had a locker with their name on
it. I didn’t have a locker or even a seat.
“All the Ireland internationals weren’t
there, so I was sitting wherever lads
weren’t sitting. I had no kit, no gear.
I was just there on a two-month contract
and could have been gone in eight
weeks.”
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