FOR SUCH AN influential figure in Andy Farrell’s squad, it’s hard to believe Caelan Doris has 12 just Test caps to his name. That number would almost certainly be higher if it wasn’t for the concussion symptoms which saw him step away from action last year, the flanker missing the entire Six Nations as a result.
He only returned to the game after seeing a specialist in the UK and undergoing a series of cognitive tests, but has thankfully been able to pick up where he left off since getting the green light, playing his way straight back into Farrell’s starting team and taking a leading role during last year’s November window.
“I’m in a way better place than this time last year, I’m much more comfortable with it all. I’ve had a pretty clean season so far this year and yeah, hopefully that will continue, touch wood,” Doris says.
“Having those (cognitive) tests definitely helps with that, it gives me peace of mind. It’s still sometimes there but no, it’s much less than it was last year.”
This Six Nations is a competition he’s keen to experience again, with just three Six Nations starts under his belt, all of which came back in 2020. Wales are first up for Ireland this year, and the 23-year-old now appears a nailed-on starter as the squad look to build on their excellent November campaign.
Ireland’s attack came in for plenty of praise during that window as they turned on the style to beat Japan, New Zealand and Argentina in Dublin, scoring 19 tries and a total of 142 points in the process.
The other side of the ledger didn’t read too badly either, the team conceding a total of just 32 points across those three games – 20 of which were against New Zealand. And while that represents a decent return, the view within the squad is that the group could have done better.
Speaking from Ireland’s pre-Six Nations training camp in Portugal, Doris explains that having made such positive strides last time out, the squad are determined to build on those performance over the coming weeks, with defence at the heart of that focus.
“The understanding of the game plan is huge for us, I think that’s probably where we evolved most from the Six Nations last year to November, the sort of connections out the back shapes and understanding when we might be playing out the back of a shape, being ready and prepared for that,” Doris says.
“I think we’ve come on a fair bit in that but it’s still an evolving process and we still need to get better at reading each other’s cues and being ready to play front door and back door.
In terms of how we’re going to continue to grow, probably our defence was inconsistent. It was good at times, definitely, we talk about being brave and even when the picture is imperfect and we might be numbers down, we’re still wanting to show good pictures in terms of our line speed and getting off the line.
“So there’s lots of micro-detail around both attack and D and we’ll be looking to keep evolving.”
The key word there is evolving. After a mixed Six Nations in 2021, in those November games Ireland produced a clear identify and platform to build on. Having provided a taste of what they can achieve, they now feel they can bring Farrell’s system to a new level.
“You always talk about the perfect game, and it’s hard to even imagine what that looks like,” Doris continues.
“Some of the tries we scored throughout November were pretty good ones, and we think we can up it another gear and bring more of that.
“We know that there is still a lot more in us. Looking back at some of the games, yeah, we played well, but there are so many opportunities to get better and so many areas for growth. So continuing to develop and evolve, and not letting any complacency set in is important.”
Doris has started eight games for Ireland at number eight and five wearing six, but featured more regularly at openside last year, with Jack Conan preferred at eight. The Ballina native enjoys both positions, but explains how the two have become increasingly fluid under Farrell.
“They are probably merging more over the last year or so. We’re sharing some of the workload around the lineout and being a strike runner out the back of lineouts.
“Through November and back at Leinster as well, Jack and myself have been sharing that role a little bit more. He’s been doing it around scrum-time and restarts and stuff like that, but I’m enjoying having a mix with it, and I think he is too. We’re working well together.”
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