Jack Conan ready to unleash his physicality on Scotland

Bullied. Man handled. Joe Schmidt rarely wastes a word. Irish players "dominated in the tackle" like he had never seen before.

None of his descriptions about England rag-dolling Ireland were to entertain the public. The soundbites were hardly an act of self preservation. They were harsh, truthful words delivered to ring in his players' ears.

The message delivered inside camp last Sunday night was, reportedly, worse than what media middle men and women were privy to.

"I suppose to probably spark a reaction in us, no one likes the thought of being bullied," Jack Conan admitted. "Obviously, at times we might have been physically bested but I think it's the word that's going to stick in everyone's head this weekend and we're just going to make sure it doesn't happen again."

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Conan, this muscular 26-year-old Leinster number eight, was not considered good enough to feature in the English beating. It steels the mind that CJ Stander and Peter O’Mahony are keeping him at bay, that Seán O’Brien’s latest resurrection was favoured in reserve.

Stander's smashed face – compliments of Tom Curry and Mako Vunipola – gifts Conan a rare opportunity. Murrayfield will be his 12th cap since 2015 and second Six Nations start, the first coming against Italy last season when a damaged shoulder denied access to the second half.

Fit

“Physically, I feel fit. I’m not carrying any injuries for the first time in a while so I feel like I’m at the peak of my powers; my body feels fit and ready to go. Once I have that confidence, it’s just about going out and playing.”

Getting all philosophical on the Wicklow man, we seek the necessary ingredients to survive Test rugby. Where does the desire come from to batter huge foes on that invisible line?

“It’s tough,” he begins, and cautiously ends, “the mistakes we made last weekend, we definitely won’t be making them this weekend”.

Unless England prove themselves a superior and healthier team in the coming months, they simply needed victory more than Ireland.

“Yeah, it happens. I remember Connacht away last year, John Muldoon’s final game for Connacht. There was a lot of emotion to the game. They came out on the front foot and we weren’t where we needed to be. That day, we got laughed off the park by them. It does happen at club or international level. Obviously the performance at the weekend from Ireland wasn’t as bad as Leinster’s. But still, it wasn’t good enough.”

“Sometimes it just doesn’t happen,” he adds. “It could be an absolute blessing in disguise.”

Or a sign of impending doom for Ireland as England can only reappear in a World Cup knockout game but the Springboks or All Blacks will offer the same levels of physicality over 80 minutes.

Atonement doesn't come in Edinburgh. Conan would be foolish to look past Scotland but pushed on this real concern, he responds: "Maybe during the summer when we meet up for the World Cup but that is so far in the distance. The Six Nations is right in front of our eyes and we don't want to look beyond it."

There follows his ode to Scotland mixed with an accepted desire to establish his name at this level.

“I’ve been in high-pressure situations and played in big games before, obviously that last Test in Australia. I’m looking forward to it.

“There has been a higher intensity and a serious edge to training all week. Physically, I think we’ve got through a lot more work and have done a lot more body-on-body stuff compared to last week where we probably didn’t do as much physical work.

“I don’t think there’s any hope we’ll be bested in the physical encounters this week.”

Strong words.

Massive opportunity

“It’s a massive opportunity for me. I’ve been waiting in the wings for so long and I probably haven’t performed at certain times. That day I came off the bench against Wales and made a defensive error and let them back into the game. I’m excited, I’m focused, I know what I have to do, I know the role that has been given to me by the coaches.”

Powerful words.

“I know what I do well; I can carry the ball, I can offload, I think defensively I’ve got a lot better over the last few years and that’s something I hope to bring this weekend, making collision-winning tackles in defence and to dominate collisions when I’m on the ball and connect up with the backs. I’m not worried about anyone else’s game or trying to do what CJ or anyone else who would have played at eight before has done. It’s just worrying about what Jack Conan does and doing it to the best that I can do it.

“When you break it all down, rugby’s a simple game. Carrying the ball is one of my best attributes. It’s what I feel I’ve been put into the team to do this weekend, to make sure we are getting over the gainline and making sure we win collisions when we don’t have the ball.”

Enough talking.