He’s grown up in front of us, suffered all manner of trials and tribulations and yet, seemingly in the blink of an eye, he’s morphed into an experienced player, has flown the coop, is a husband to Robyn and a dad to Beau now as well. And he turned all of 29 last month.
Where did those eight years ago since Joey Carbery steered the Ireland ship home in that breakthrough win over the All Blacks in Chicago on the week of his 21st?
As a former Leinster and Munster outhalf, Carbery is unlikely to be welcomed back to these shores with open arms when he makes his first Champions Cup start for Bordeaux Bègles against Ulster in the Kingspan Stadium on Saturday (kick-off 3.15pm).
It shouldn’t unduly faze him. He’s not a boy any more and now brings a wealth of experience with him to such occasions, having played over 150 games for Ireland Under-20s, Leinster, Munster and Ireland.
“I’m very privileged and proud to represent UB and wear the jersey over there,” he said before his squad’s departure from Bordeaux. “My family will be there too so I’m looking forward to it. I can’t wait.”
Carbery, in tandem with the Bordeaux Bègles attack coach Noel McNamara, made a presentation to the rest of the squad about what they can expect in Belfast.
“We gave a bit of a brief on the history of Northern Ireland and Ireland, and just how tough a place Ravenhill is to play. With Munster I only won up there once or twice. They’ve a great fan base up there.
“The crowd are always on top of the game there, so I just tried to get that across, no matter what happened last week,” said Carbery in reference to Ulster losing 61-21 in Toulouse last Sunday with a weakened side. “They’re going to be a different team this week.”
While Yannick Bru has made five changes up front, Carbery replaces the injured Matthieu Jalibert in the only change to the Bordeaux Bègles backline.
“You look at the names in our backline and there is skill, speed, strength all over the place,” said Carbery.
“The synthetic pitch makes a big difference as well and not having played on one for a while we have to be prepared for how quick the game is going to be. The ball bounces differently on a synthetic pitch so we have to make sure we’re prepared for that.”
Carbery built a close relationship with Johann van Graan and will be grateful to work with McNamara, a Clare native who coached the Ireland Under-20s to a Grand Slam in 2019 before working with the Leinster academy and the Sharks in Durban.
McNamara, his wife Sinead and three young daughters – Iseult (10), Arya (9) and Portia (5) – have all settled well in Bordeaux. After just one season, and having originally signed for two years, McNamara has signed a new deal with the club extending his stay until at least 2027.
McNamara’s first season with the club had its ups and downs, the club reaching their first ever French Championship final being one of the former, and losing 59-3 to Toulouse in the final being the latter. To give an indication of the Top 14 pressure cooker which Carbery had signed up to, McNamara cites the following example.
“In the first game of last season we lost to Racing even though they got a red card and it honestly felt like there was pressure in the second game. We’d lost the two preseason games and you’re trying to bring in new systems but genuinely, after the first game of the season, we were playing our first home game of the season against Castres, and it felt like ‘this is feckin’ real pressure’,” recalled McNamara, laughing at the memory.
Carbery has joined a club that was both buoyed and bruised by the events of last season. This season, a sleeves-rolled-up win away to Toulouse in round four has boosted confidence, and they sit second, while again retaining an equal focus on the Champions Cup.
“Joey has joined a great club,” says McNamara, “incredibly motivated, there’s a lot of good players, it’s well-run, it has a very good president [Laurent Marti] who has done an amazing job when you consider where they’ve come from.
“It was really only founded in 2006 and came up through ProD2 and has consistently improved to now being competitive in the Top 14 to regularly making the play-offs, and hoping to make that net step, which is ultimately winning a trophy.
In improving their depth and adding to a relatively young backline, McNamara says that the club also liked Carbery’s age profile “and he brings the experience of playing in big games, whether that be with Ireland, Munster or Leinster”.
Carbery has blended in quickly.
“The first thing you’d say about Joey is that he is a very, very good human being and I think that takes you a long way. He’s settled in well with the group,” says McNamara.
But there’s no doubt that adapting to the culture and language can be difficult and some, such as Simon Zebo, do so better than others, such as Johnny Sexton; each of whom had contrasting experiences at Racing.
“For foreigners to come into a new country, a new club, a new competition and coming to grips with it, particularly in those decision-making positions is something we’re very aware of,” says McNamara, who cites the examples of Owen Farrell, Sexton and Ian Madigan.
“I think it’s something that Joey has handled particularly well and it’s just a case of understanding that it is going to take a little bit of time,” says McNamara, ie reading players, creating pictures for team-mates, creating connections with scrumhalves and the leadership role that comes within an outhalf’s remit.
Carbery was unfortunate to suffer a hand injury which cut his debut away to Lyon in round two but he returned before the Autumn Nations Series when again starting at outhalf away to Clermont, nervelessly landing a conversion with the last kick to earn Bordeaux Bègles a bonus point.
Replacing the injured Jalibert in the first half away to Vannes three weeks ago, Carbery was instrumental in his team’s astonishing comeback from 29-0 down to win 37-29. He then started at fullback in the 9-6 home win over Montpellier and saw out last week’s convincing victory over Leicester.
McNamara highlights the Vannes game as an example of Carbery’s ability to take the ball to the line and put team-mates into space.
“Just before half-time we scored a try off first phase where he’s just very good at making decisions at the line. He can play within a system, he’s demonstrated that, but I think Joey has the ability to play outside that as well and to make good decisions in the white heat. That’s something we saw in that game.
“I think as your family gets settled, as you become more comfortable in the language that you can get your message across and you can connect better with the players, you start to see all those little improvements as well and I think it is particularly important for a ‘10′,” says McNamara, adding that more than any other position, outhalf is quite relationship-based.
Carbery has worked diligently on learning French, though helpfully most of the squad can speak in English.
“You never speak English with me,” McNamara occasionally says to them, to which they respond: “No, no, no, you’re a coach so you have to speak French.”
As with McNamara, there are other attractions to living in Bordeaux for Carbery.
“It’s a beautiful city,” says McNamara succinctly. “It’s not too big, you’re still close to the beach, you’re close to some other really nice cities, and I think from that perspective it’s not a difficult place in which to live.”
Carbery’s versatility was part of his attraction to his new club.
“We talk about it here a lot, polyvalente, which is the French term for versatility. It’s something that we place quite a high value and emphasis on,” says McNamara, noting that even Damian Penaud and Louis Belle-Biarrey will stand in at 10 in phased play.
“There is a lot of changeability in how we play. Joey has come over as a 10, and he will play predominantly at 10, while he can play at fullback, as he did against Montpellier last week, and will do again.”
You wonder if the toll of injuries have left any mental scars on Carbery. But McNamara cites the example of Tadhg Beirne, whom he coached at Clongowes, when the Munster and Ireland lock decamped to the Scarlets after his injury-plagued Academy years with Leinster.
“We went to play Scarlets in an A game in Carmarthen,” recalls McNamara. “Tadhg had played the night before against Toulon and he just said: ‘I needed something different. The change has just invigorated me and I’m thriving in it.’
“It was fascinating to me. Tadhg had suffered a torrid time with injuries and I think it can be a similar scenario with Joey. It’s about getting to grips with what he can bring to the team and then just getting into a flow of games and ultimately the set-up is here for him to do that. Certainly, we’ll do everything we can to make sure that he’s set up to be successful.”
No less than switching from Leinster to Munster, it was brave of Carbery to up sticks again and make the move abroad.
“Absolutely,” agrees McNamara. “Outside the comfort zone there’s a learning zone and outside the learning zone is the panic zone, and it’s about how much you’re prepared to push outside that comfort zone. Absolutely it’s a brave decision and I think for him it’s an opportunity to experience something very, very different.”
McNamara talks about the “amazing experiences” of away matches and his club’s average home attendance of 32,000-plus.
While it feels as if Carbery has closed the door on his Irish career, you never know.
“Potentially there could be the opportunity to go back,” says McNamara “and if he does go back hopefully he’ll go back after an enjoyable experience with his family, ideally with a couple of medals and a better rugby player.”
It’s worth noting that Johnny Sexton was 28 when he went to Paris for his two-year sojourn to Racing 92, and like Eric Elwood, David Humphreys and Ronan O’Gara before him, he played his best rugby in his 30s.
“You cannot buy experience,” says McNamara, adding: “Declan Kidney had a fantastic phrase that I have used many, many times. ‘Experience is what you get when you get what you didn’t want.’ And I agree totally with that.
“The reality is that it takes time, it’s painful. We used to talk about it all the time at the Irish Under-20s. The only thing you’re guaranteed with young 10s is mistakes. It’s about their ability to learn from them and to improve and to persevere.
“All that IP is put away and as long as it isn’t their physical capacity that they’re depending on, then there’s no question, they continue to get better.”
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