HAVING MADE HAY while the sun shone earlier this year, Calvin Nash had to deal with an altogether more frustrating November with Ireland.
The Munster wing started all five of Ireland’s Six Nations games earlier this year, scoring two tries as Andy Farrell’s side retained their title.
Nash was also on the right wing for both July Tests against the Springboks in South Africa as Farrell’s men claimed a dramatic victory in the second game in Durban.
But with Connacht man Mack Hansen returning from the shoulder injury that had opened the door for Nash, the latter found himself dropping out of the starting XV for the autumn.
27-year-old Nash was part of Ireland’s squad throughout their Autumn Nations Series campaign but didn’t get a chance to add to his eight caps as Hansen started all four games for Farrell’s team.
“It was obviously tough but I tried to take the good with the bad,” said Nash this week in Limerick.
“If I got stuck down on selection all the time, I’m going to affect the lads on the team as well and probably it won’t be a great atmosphere or attitude around training.
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“So I tried to take some positives out of it, like rarely you’d get to train against such high-quality internationals and training’s always a quicker pace than a game so I thought if I can focus on training at such a quick pace then hopefully when I come back into Munster or if I get a game, I’ll be ready to go and I’ll be sharp.
“I just tried to focus on that and I still have a lot I’d like to improve in my game so there were areas I was trying to focus on in training and get better in training and try to bring back into Munster and practice that here. So just take as many positives as I can, I suppose.”
Nash at Munster training. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
Nash underlines that Hansen is “an unbelievable player” who has been “class” for Ireland in the past. He knew it was going to be competitive but Nash was hoping for another chance to build on his form in green earlier this year.
There were conversations with Farrell and backs coach Andrew Goodman but Nash just had to get on with being a positive influence in training.
“I had a conversation with Goody and I had a conversation with Faz as well and yeah, it’s grand. I’ll get better from it.”
Nash is back in Munster mode now, having returned for the province in last weekend’s pleasing Champions Cup bonus-point win over Stade Français.
He was disappointed not to get more touches of the ball and wanted to feature on the scoresheet but it wasn’t for lack of trying. The GPS data showed he was doing a lot of running but sometimes the ball doesn’t seem to pop up to reward that effort.
And yet, Nash is cognisant that he can’t go chasing things or trying too hard to make magic happen.
“I think at the start of the URC campaign that’s probably what I fell into the trap of, trying to be the standout of every second of the game and putting too much pressure on myself,” he said. “That’s what I felt in the first few games.
“I started to relax then towards the Sharks game and felt like I had a great game against the Sharks so that’s probably something I need to do, just stop putting so much pressure on myself and just back myself.
Nash scoring against the Ospreys in the URC. Laszlo Geczo / INPHO
Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO
“I feel like I do put pressure on myself because I just want to get better all the time and be better all the time. I don’t want people to catch up to me or pass me out so I try to put pressure on myself to be better as much as I can, sometimes maybe too much. I think it’s good for me, still, I probably just need to catch myself sometimes.”
Nash has been impressed with new Munster wing Thaakir Abrahams, who is starting to show his class after returning from injury, while centurion Shane Daly remains a key part of the back three.
They’re gearing up for a big challenge tomorrow night as Munster face Castres in France.
“Well definitely at home it’s going to be a massive physical battle,” said Nash. “We know they can be very clinical when they get inside oppositions’ 22s so trying to limit their entries will be key for us.
“Just matching their physicality. At the end of the day it’s a game of rugby and a lot of it comes down to physicality so managing that and hopefully things will fall into place.”
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'It was tough with Ireland but I tried to take the good with the bad'
HAVING MADE HAY while the sun shone earlier this year, Calvin Nash had to deal with an altogether more frustrating November with Ireland.
The Munster wing started all five of Ireland’s Six Nations games earlier this year, scoring two tries as Andy Farrell’s side retained their title.
Nash was also on the right wing for both July Tests against the Springboks in South Africa as Farrell’s men claimed a dramatic victory in the second game in Durban.
But with Connacht man Mack Hansen returning from the shoulder injury that had opened the door for Nash, the latter found himself dropping out of the starting XV for the autumn.
27-year-old Nash was part of Ireland’s squad throughout their Autumn Nations Series campaign but didn’t get a chance to add to his eight caps as Hansen started all four games for Farrell’s team.
“It was obviously tough but I tried to take the good with the bad,” said Nash this week in Limerick.
“If I got stuck down on selection all the time, I’m going to affect the lads on the team as well and probably it won’t be a great atmosphere or attitude around training.
“So I tried to take some positives out of it, like rarely you’d get to train against such high-quality internationals and training’s always a quicker pace than a game so I thought if I can focus on training at such a quick pace then hopefully when I come back into Munster or if I get a game, I’ll be ready to go and I’ll be sharp.
“I just tried to focus on that and I still have a lot I’d like to improve in my game so there were areas I was trying to focus on in training and get better in training and try to bring back into Munster and practice that here. So just take as many positives as I can, I suppose.”
Nash underlines that Hansen is “an unbelievable player” who has been “class” for Ireland in the past. He knew it was going to be competitive but Nash was hoping for another chance to build on his form in green earlier this year.
There were conversations with Farrell and backs coach Andrew Goodman but Nash just had to get on with being a positive influence in training.
“I had a conversation with Goody and I had a conversation with Faz as well and yeah, it’s grand. I’ll get better from it.”
Nash is back in Munster mode now, having returned for the province in last weekend’s pleasing Champions Cup bonus-point win over Stade Français.
He was disappointed not to get more touches of the ball and wanted to feature on the scoresheet but it wasn’t for lack of trying. The GPS data showed he was doing a lot of running but sometimes the ball doesn’t seem to pop up to reward that effort.
And yet, Nash is cognisant that he can’t go chasing things or trying too hard to make magic happen.
“I think at the start of the URC campaign that’s probably what I fell into the trap of, trying to be the standout of every second of the game and putting too much pressure on myself,” he said. “That’s what I felt in the first few games.
“I started to relax then towards the Sharks game and felt like I had a great game against the Sharks so that’s probably something I need to do, just stop putting so much pressure on myself and just back myself.
“I feel like I do put pressure on myself because I just want to get better all the time and be better all the time. I don’t want people to catch up to me or pass me out so I try to put pressure on myself to be better as much as I can, sometimes maybe too much. I think it’s good for me, still, I probably just need to catch myself sometimes.”
Nash has been impressed with new Munster wing Thaakir Abrahams, who is starting to show his class after returning from injury, while centurion Shane Daly remains a key part of the back three.
They’re gearing up for a big challenge tomorrow night as Munster face Castres in France.
“Well definitely at home it’s going to be a massive physical battle,” said Nash. “We know they can be very clinical when they get inside oppositions’ 22s so trying to limit their entries will be key for us.
“Just matching their physicality. At the end of the day it’s a game of rugby and a lot of it comes down to physicality so managing that and hopefully things will fall into place.”
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calvin nash Castres Munster wing man