ALL INDICATIONS ARE that Josh van der Flier is in line to overcome his ankle injury in time to play for Ireland against South Africa next weekend. If the openside flanker is passed fit, head coach Andy Farrell and Irish supporters will share a sigh of relief.
It barely needs repeating that 29-year-old van der Flier has developed into a key man for Ireland.
He should be in contention for 2022 World Rugby player of the year, while he has continued to pick up awards at home. Last night, the Leinster man was named the Guinness Rugby Writers of Ireland men’s player of the year. The vote was unsurprisingly unanimous.
Having already been named the players’ player of the year by his peers and become an Irish and Leinster fan favourite, van der Flier has earned universal plaudits. His performances for province and country have been consistently brilliant, with every element of his game showing clear improvement over the last two years.
While his game has grown and grown, van der Flier’s ego has remained the same. He is a humble man who doesn’t readily embrace the individual attention of these awards.
“It’s very special, it’s kind of a strange, a funny feeling to get an individual award,” said van der Flier of his Rugby Writers gong.
While he was clearly very grateful last night, the Wicklow man finds it difficult to really appreciate these honours.
“I find it very hard in the middle of the season,” said van der Flier.
“Then by the time you get to the end of the season, you’ve kind of forgotten about it!
“Yeah, it’s something I’ve started doing even in the middle of my injury periods, it’s probably easier when you get back running to go out for a nice dinner or have your favourite sandwich with a few chips on the side or something that’s a bit of a treat.
“It doesn’t have to be something fancy necessarily, but I’ve started doing that a bit more. It’s hard in the middle of the season to celebrate those sort of things, but it’s a nice thing to get.”
As ever, he’s focused on business. His rehab has continued patiently in recent days but van der Flier hopes to be “flying next week” ahead of the visit of the Springboks to Dublin.
This is a game that no one wants to miss.
“World champions, they’ve been the team to beat the last few years,” is how van der Flier put it.
“I’ve never played them, I missed out on a few games through injury so it’s a game I’m very keen for. Even playing against the provincial South African teams [in the URC], the bigger men than we’re used to and that brand of rugby, it’s very exciting.
“Obviously, playing against the likes of [Siya] Kolisi would be class.”
Indeed, a back row battle featuring the Springboks captain and Ireland’s van der Flier would be riveting to watch.
“He’s a brilliant player, first of all, he’s been playing brilliantly in the Rugby Championship and has been for a number of years,” said van der Flier of Kolisi.
“And I suppose the figure that he is, in terms of being a leader in South African rugby, what that meant to the country and how he represents the country in that way, he’s a very impressive person.
“He’s a cool person I’d like to meet, even outside if he didn’t play rugby, I’d love to have a chat with him. And then as a rugby player, as an openside, he’s very impressive.”
Ireland head coach Farrell has challenged his players to embrace their current status as the number one ranked team in world rugby.
It’s an attitude that van der Flier and his team-mates are eager to embody.
“It’s a great place to be,” said van der Flier. “If you’re at the top, everyone wants to knock you down, but it’s what we’ve worked towards and you’d rather be sitting in first than second.
“It’s definitely something we’re pleased to have and we can take a lot of pride that we’ve got to here and a lot of pride in trying to keep that position as well.”
With van der Flier in the side, Ireland have a better chance of doing exactly that.
