Rugby

Josh van der Flier confident Ireland can carry form all the way to the World Cup this time

Ireland backrow’s busy summer saw him get married following the historic series win in New Zealand

Josh van der Flier scores Ireland's first try during the third test agaibst New Zealand at Sky Stadium in Wellington. Photograph: Billy Stickland/Inpho

Fri Sep 9 2022 - 06:00

Josh van der Flier is confident that Ireland can this time carry the form from a year out into a World Cup campaign, notwithstanding all the rugby that is to be played between now and then for club and country before they depart for France.

Van der Flier said that Ireland head coach Andy Farrell has come with a twin-track approach which both focuses on the job in hand – such as the tour to New Zealand this summer – while also keeping a close eye on what’s coming down the track like the Rugby World Cup in France which kicks-off this week next year.

Ireland’s historic wins in New Zealand has again ratcheted up the expectation levels a year out from a tournament where they have never managed to smash the quarter-final glass ceiling, but Van der Flier, coming off the best season in his career, is confident the approach is right this time.

“Well I guess one thing Andy Farrell has said when we’ve been in camp is he’ll very much emphasise it’s not like the whole focus is say the summer series and he’s not worried about anything else. He’s very aware of us improving for November now, how can we improve Six Nations.

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“I think with that kind of attitude and that approach, like I know for certain the Irish coaches will all be thinking how can we get better again. And if we keep doing that we’ll take what went well in New Zealand and keep pushing forward. That’s probably the approach.

“It’s hard to tell, there’s a long time till the World Cup but it’s definitely a great attitude to have and if we can do that and we can keep that attitude and keep trying to improve once we’re in camp that should keep us good.”

The 29-year old, voted the Players’ Player of the Year in Ireland last season, wasn’t long coming back down to earth after the magnificent victories in New Zealand as preparations for his summer wedding kicked in immediately. Having to wear a Munster jersey for a few hours in a Killarney pub on his stag also ensured a sobering impact, although the absence – so far – of photographic evidence suggests he has extended his evasive skills even further.

“We were actually flying the next morning after New Zealand but it was definitely really enjoyable. You don’t get it that often where you actually win and you have time off afterwards. Like the Leinster lads who didn’t go on tour, they lost to the Bulls and were incredibly disappointed and then they’re just waiting the whole summer to get a go again.

“I had a few days off and then I got married in the summer so it was into wedding planning after that. So a reality check straight away … ‘yeah, yeah well done, now do this!’

“For my stag they had me in a Munster jersey and a red scrum cap in Killarney. I probably lasted about two hours and then it was like ‘just go and get changed’ because I was like terrified in the corner! Don’t get photo’d.”

The Wicklow native, with 114 Leinster appearances and 43 Irish caps, has learned to relax more in the build-up to games and while he’s as critical as ever of his performances, he has learned to measure them differently, and he has taken a lot from the legendary American basketball coach John Wooden.

“I’m a big fan of John Wooden. He has loads of good quotes. I live by one of them, it’s his success quote – ‘Success is peace of mind, which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming’.

“So, it’s coming off the pitch and saying ‘I did everything I could, yes, I dropped a ball but I made all the efforts I could during the week and during the game but I dropped it. Oh well, park it’.

“Obviously it doesn’t always work like that but that’s what I’ve tried to get into my mindset a bit more. I tried to do it after the La Rochelle game and that was like I did everything I could to prepare, tried to perform as best as I could but in practice it’s still very hard to do. But that’s one of the things I’ve tried to do as well in terms of my approach.”

Van der Flier, speaking at the launch of the new United Rugby Championship season near Slough in England this week, has turned his full attention to the new campaign when, for the first time in five years, Leinster will not be going in defending the crown, having lost in the semi-finals to the Bulls.

“The last few seasons it’s been, with the exception of Europe, with the URC we’ve gone into the next season and it’s like ‘everyone’s hunting us, everybody’s going to be copying the way we’re playing, people are going to evolve their game to beat us because we’re the target’.

“Whereas now, we’re ‘well, what can we do to beat the Bulls, the Stormers, because they were in the final, to beat La Rochelle’. So, it’s definitely a tricky one. I thought if you took out the ones we lost, the Bulls and La Rochelle, we had a brilliant season, loads of good games throughout.

“So, it’s easy to be like ‘we need to change everything’ or ‘we need to change lots’. It’s important we now take the things we did really well and then make a few adjustments to work out how maybe we can execute on winning those games I guess.”

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