AFTER A GRUELLING season that stretched across 13 long months, Andy Farrell’s Ireland squad were deserving of a decent break when they returned from their two Test tour of South Africa.
For Caelan Doris, the summer unwind has involved a three-week trip alongside his brother, parents and girlfriend which started in Los Angeles, before moving on to Mexico and finishing in New York. With the pressure of Test rugby parked for the summer, the 26-year-old found different ways to get his kicks.
“We went swimming with whale sharks off an island called Isla Holbox [in Mexico], which was class,” says Doris, who is still shaking off the jet lag.
“It was like Jaws, one of them was coming straight for me! Then we went swimming with turtles, which was pretty cool. Seeing Mexico in general was cool, nice bit of sun and pretty relaxed overall.”
It was well-earned. Doris went into Ireland camp ahead of last year’s World Cup in June 2023, and played all the way through to the victorious second Test against South Africa on 6 July.
“I think it probably is the most demanding [season I've experienced]. Plenty of highs and lows throughout it, but overall, after a couple of weeks of reflection I look back on it very fondly.
“Obviously some heartbreak in there, going back to the World Cup, going back to how things finished with Leinster, but lots of highs as well, playing in Croke Park and winning the Six Nations, some big games throughout, beating La Rochelle over there [in France] and then in the Aviva as well. Plenty of highlights, but plenty of rough times.”
It was a significant season for Doris personally, too. The backrower has become an increasingly important leader for both club and country over the last few years and in the season just gone, he hit new milestones by captaining both.
Doris captained Leinster for the first time in January and was then handed the Ireland captaincy for the Six Nations win against Italy, before Farrell made a big call in promoting Doris to captain for the second Test in South Africa, as Peter O’Mahony dropped to the bench.
“I enjoyed it a lot more second time around [with Ireland], I think the first time I was probably more stressed and less present and kind of thinking forward to the next thing I had,” Doris says.
“Whereas for that second week [in South Africa], maybe partly because it was the last week of the season, partly because we were away on tour, because Pete was still the tour captain and was very much by my side through it all, I was able to stick to my normal preparation processes and be more present during the week and enjoy it all more than I did the first week.
“I think probably those whatever it was, three or four times that I got the opportunity to captain Leinster while James (Ryan) and Gary (Ringrose) were away, I think they helped me get a little bit more comfortable in the role and with extra responsibilities. That helped when I got the opportunity with Ireland.”
It was a strong end to the season for Doris, who was excellent in both Tests against the back-to-back World Cup winners. Having lost by seven points in the first Test, Ireland fought back to take the second thanks to Ciarán Frawley’s late drop-goal heroics.
As usual, Rassie Erasmus provided plenty of off-field entertainment. The South Africa boss had a go at predicting Ireland’s matchday squad ahead of the opening game and suggesting Farrell’s men had “unfinished business” against the Springboks.
Yet as the hype around the tour ramped up around them, Doris feels Farrell handled the noise perfectly as the Ireland head coach took a light-hearted view on Erasmus’ efforts to get into Irish heads.
“I think generally the lads don’t really look externally in terms of reading stuff or looking at what other teams are saying too much.
“Sometimes you might not be able to avoid it through WhatsApp groups or through social media or what not, but I think generally lads try and avoid it and try and keep things internal and listen to our messages and what we see and say.
But given how much of it there was, I think lads were aware that it was there. But yeah, generally, it’s like he’s [Erasmus] probably trying to initiate the narrative and trying to let it bother us or let us get into a little bit of back-and-forth.
“So I think the way Faz dealt with it was definitely the best way to go about it.”
“I think there’s respect there [between South Africa and Ireland], definitely,” Doris adds.
“We’ve had some great tests against them. When you’re playing against South Africa it’s always extremely physical and you know you’re going to need to match or go beyond them physically if you want to win the game.
“I think there’s good respect amongst both teams for each other, from playing the games and knowing how tight and how tough they’ve been.”
Caelan Doris has been announced as ambassador for the Ohk Energy group. To celebrate their partnership with Caelan, Ohk Energy is also teaming up with Caelan’s charity, Childline by ISPCC, to Power a Brighter Future by raising vital funds for the organisation. From 6 August to 6 September 6th, €50 from every Ohk Energy sale of solar PV systems and air to water heat pumps will be donated to Childline.
