111 not out - Cian Healy’s longevity continues to impress as he eyes O’Gara’s appearance record

DJ, artist, knifemaker and barbecue pitmaster/chef are just some of the handles that have been ascribed to Cian Healy, or Church to his friends and team-mates, but none of those pastimes, no matter how noteworthy, can overshadow his professional sporting life as a phenomenal rugby player.

On Saturday evening at Croke Park, barring anything untoward, the 36-year-old could stand alone as the player with the most appearances in the history of the European/Heineken/Investec Champions Cup, breaking the tie with he currently enjoys with Ronan O’Gara, each having played 110 matches in the tournament.

Healy is likely to be named on the bench for Leinster’s semi-final clash with the Northampton Saints. It’ll be the second time that he’s squeezed past the former Munster, Ireland, and Lions, outhalf and current La Rochelle head coach O’Gara in the last couple of months, Healy moved one Test ahead having won his 129th cap for Ireland against Scotland, second on the all-time Irish list behind Brian O’Driscoll (133).

It will be 17 years on Sunday since a 19-year-old Healy made his Leinster debut against the Border Reivers in a league match, the province’s last match at Donnybrook before redevelopment work began. It was Guy Easterby’s , the current chief operating officer at Leinster, last game.

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Healy went on to play his first European game later that year against Edinburgh and since then has won four Champions Cups and a European Challenge Cup. In a recent interview he was asked what advice he’d give to young players. “Be yourself, that’s the most important thing,” he said.

“People will have quirks and twists in them and that is the fun thing about rugby, it has so many different types of people and they all blend in to make unique squads. Being yourself is important and opening up into a group.”

He’s never been anything but, through some horrendous injuries, through a twilight switch to tighthead prop, through filling in at hooker in a Test match, and through a career in which he has added enormous value to every team for which he’s played from Belvedere College at school, through a Gram Slam winning 20s (2007), Clontarf, Leinster, Ireland and briefly, the Lions.

He’s not ready to stop yet, still goals and ambitions to achieve, a primary aim to win more silverware. He said: “It’s something I always say, come the end of my career I’ll count medals, not caps.”

Healy has stepped up all his rugby life and it’d be nice to think that his landmark achievement will get the ovation it deserves come Saturday night.

HUMBLE BEGINNINGS

Cian Healy’s first European match was a six-minute cameo against Edinburgh at Murrayfield in December 2007 when he replaced Springbok Ollie le Roux in a game Leinster lost 29-10, a match in which the visitors were twice denied by television match official Tony Rowlands.

His first start in Europe was away to Castres Olympique at the Stade Pierre Antoine on December 16th, 2008, a week after Leinster had beaten the same opposition 33-3. An injury to Springbok tighthead CJ van der Linde gave Healy the opportunity, as Stan Wright switched from loosehead to tighthead to accommodate the young Irish prop.

Castres gave their visitors a very tough time in the scrums. The principal beneficiary was Anthony Lagadere who kicked six penalties in an 18-15 win, the first for the French side in the campaign and Michael Cheika’s side’s first loss, despite scoring tries through fullback Girvan Dempsey and outhalf Johnny Sexton.

TAKING OVER AS NUMBER ONE

On the January 25th, 2009, Healy took over as first choice at Leinster in a league game against Edinburgh and he kept the number one jersey for the remainder of the season, through the infamous Bloodgate Heineken Cup quarter-final win over Harlequins at The Stoop, the semi-final win over the reigning champions Munster before a world record crowd for a club match at Croke Park, and the final at Murrayfield.

Leinster beat the Leicester Tigers 19-16 in Edinburgh, they trailed 13-9 at halftime and survived the sin binning of Healy’s fellow frontrow pillar Stan Wright, with Jamie Heaslip’s try and a late penalty from Johnny Sexton eking out the win.

Healy’s direct opponents in the knockout stages were his fellow Irish internationals Mike Ross (Harlequins), who would become a team-mate at Leinster, John Hayes (Munster), a Lion and Irish legend and the Argentinian-born, Italian colossus, Martin Castrogiovanni. There was very little doubt if any about Healy’s pedigree and potential before, but none afterwards. He was included in the longlist for 2014 European player of the year.

TRY AND TRY AGAIN

Cian Healy elected to bundle his first two tries in Europe in with the man-of-the-match award as Leinster beat Clermont Auvergne 24-8 at the Aviva Stadium in 2010 before a record crowd for an Irish province in a Heineken Cup pool match (44,208). Two trademark powerful finishes from close range embellished a superb all-round contribution.

The French club were to suffer at Healy’s hand again two years later, this time in a semi-final, as the loosehead prop was up in support of a Rob Kearney break to score the try that ultimately broke the game in Leinster’s favour (19-15). Healy also scored a try in the all-Irish final at Twickenham as Leinster beat Ulster. All three of his tries that season came in Europe.

The following year, 2013, he scored a try off the bench in the European Challenge Cup final win against Stade Francais Paris at the RDS as Joe Schmidt signed off his time at Leinster. In his 112 appearances in Europe, Healy has scored 12 tries – two were scored in games against Saturday’s opponents the Northampton Saints – of an overall tally of 32.

Known for his drop goal process in pre-match warm-ups, perhaps the only thing left for him to achieve in scoring terms is to do so during a match.

CENTURION IN HIS OWN WORDS

Healy made his 100th European appearance in Leinster’s 49-14 victory over Gloucester in a pool match at Kingsholm last year.

“There’s plenty that are huge moments in my career and the club’s history so to be a part of that and land at that point is nice. It was weird to me, coming through school I didn’t watch a lot of rugby, I watched a handful of Leinster games but didn’t really know the difference between competitions so for me it [my European debut] was just another game when I was picked for it and played.

“My love for that competition has grown through involvement rather than watching it and understanding the history through playing. That has become quite important to me. I hold them [winning four Champions Cups] very highly. [Winning the first one in 2009] drove the hunger. We then expected to be there and that was the standard that was set.

WHAT THE OTHERS SAY

Former Australia, Argentina and Leinster coach Michael Cheika: “Players like Cian brought a different dimension and character to the team, and of course he was a different model of rugby player than maybe we’d seen; speed, footwork, big, strong, and playing frontrow.

“He’s overcome lots of injuries. He’s stayed relevant, as the game has changed and different coaches have demanded things from him, and he just got down to business. You never heard a lot from him, but he’s kept himself at the forefront of the game for all these years.”

Former England and Leinster coach Stuart Lancaster: “He was a player we always earmarked as a danger because of his sheer physical power, scrummaging power, but also his capacity in the loose to carry. So when I came it was fascinating to coach him.

“And actually, since I’ve been at Leinster, I can count on one hand the number of training sessions he’s ever missed – never mind games. So his durability, his ability to look after himself and get the best out of his body so to speak, and play at the highest level, is amazing.”