GETTING TO GAMES early for the warm-up is always more interesting when Cian Healy is playing.
The loosehead prop will drop a few goals from 40 metres out, pull off some stunning bits of skill that are sometimes difficult to understand, and then display the remarkable flexibility that indicates he is physically still in fine fettle at 33.
The Leinster man never looks anything but supremely relaxed.
Tonight, as Healy warms up at Stade de France ahead of Ireland’s Six Nations finale against France, it would be fascinating to know what goes through his mind. He is set for Ireland cap number 100 almost 11 years on from his debut as a rampaging 22-year-old against Australia at Croke Park.
Healy could reflect on his near-retirement in 2015 or his length list of honours in the game, but the likelihood is that he will be looking ahead to what promises to be a full-blooded battle with the likes of Cyril Baille and Julien Marchand in the French pack.
The Irishman hasn’t ever been the kind of person to look for the limelight, so it has unsurprisingly been up to others to underline his contribution to Irish rugby – both on and off the pitch – before he becomes the sixth member of Ireland’s ’100 Club’ alongside Brian O’Driscoll, Ronan O’Gara, Paul O’Connell, Rory Best, and John Hayes.
“Firstly, Cian is an amazing personality, he’s such a unique character and a hugely authentic person,” says Leinster boss Leo Cullen.
“He’s a very caring person in our environment, which a lot of people might not see.
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“Obviously, I played with Cian. He was the loosehead and I was his loosehead lock. I’m not sure did I help or hinder his progression in his early years! But we have a good relationship, living in close proximity, we had very different tastes in music in the early years. He would be wearing the big headphones, it was like a radio beside his ear with music blaring out of it.
“He’s so explosive and powerful but it’s also his mindset that separates him from the rest. He has this mindset of being the best and when you’re playing a contact sport, that physical part of the game and dominating your opponent at scrum or on the carry or in the tackle, whatever that facet is, he wants to deliver that for his team.”
Cullen hails the “mental resilience” Healy showed to come through that spell where retirement was very much on the cards.
Healy is a popular figure in the Leinster and Ireland squads. Billy Stickland / INPHO
Billy Stickland / INPHO / INPHO
Stuart Lancaster arrived in Leinster in 2016 when Healy was still working back towards his best and has been blown away by the prop’s contribution ever since.
“My experience of him was obviously coaching England,” says Lancaster. “He was a player we always earmarked as a danger because of his sheer physical power – scrummaging power but also his capacity in the loose to carry.
“The 2013 Lions when he did his ankle, he was playing absolutely amazing that particular year and we were playing against Ireland at that time.
“So when I came, it was fascinating to coach him and since I’ve been at Leinster, I can count on one hand the number of training sessions he’s ever missed – never mind games. So his durability, his ability to look after himself and get the best out of his body, so to speak, and play at the highest level is amazing.
“In my days, if you were playing 100 games for your club you were doing well. But now he’s playing 100 games for his country, at loosehead, with that injury he had, so it’s an amazing achievement for him.
“And when I speak to him about what his ambition is and what he wants to achieve, he sounds to me as hungry as I guess he was when he was 20. He says, ‘I want to keep playing for Leinster and Ireland and I want to win things.’ He’s just single-minded in that regard.”
It’s no shock that Ireland themselves have been talking about Healy’s milestone this week. There are other obvious motivations this evening but Andy Farrell’s set-up would have been foolish not to harness the power of playing to ensure Healy’s 100th is a happy one.
Healy starts at loosehead this evening. Bryan Keane / INPHO
Bryan Keane / INPHO / INPHO
“We have seen a few things during the week, some of his highlights from the past 10 or 11 years since he made his debut,” says Ireland assistant coach Simon Easterby.
“He is a real inspiration to everyone. He has battled through some really tough times with injuries, times when he thought things might not continue for him.
“What an unbelievable inspiration to all of us and in particular his team-mates, to run out tomorrow for his 100th test. I think there’s definitely some motivation.
“The players are desperate to get a result but also to make sure that he remembers this game like he should.”
Pragmatists Bernard Jackman and Murray Kinsella join the deludedly optimistic Gavan Casey to look ahead to the big one in Paris:
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'He's so explosive and powerful but it's also his mindset that separates him'
GETTING TO GAMES early for the warm-up is always more interesting when Cian Healy is playing.
The loosehead prop will drop a few goals from 40 metres out, pull off some stunning bits of skill that are sometimes difficult to understand, and then display the remarkable flexibility that indicates he is physically still in fine fettle at 33.
The Leinster man never looks anything but supremely relaxed.
Tonight, as Healy warms up at Stade de France ahead of Ireland’s Six Nations finale against France, it would be fascinating to know what goes through his mind. He is set for Ireland cap number 100 almost 11 years on from his debut as a rampaging 22-year-old against Australia at Croke Park.
Healy could reflect on his near-retirement in 2015 or his length list of honours in the game, but the likelihood is that he will be looking ahead to what promises to be a full-blooded battle with the likes of Cyril Baille and Julien Marchand in the French pack.
The Irishman hasn’t ever been the kind of person to look for the limelight, so it has unsurprisingly been up to others to underline his contribution to Irish rugby – both on and off the pitch – before he becomes the sixth member of Ireland’s ’100 Club’ alongside Brian O’Driscoll, Ronan O’Gara, Paul O’Connell, Rory Best, and John Hayes.
“Firstly, Cian is an amazing personality, he’s such a unique character and a hugely authentic person,” says Leinster boss Leo Cullen.
“He’s a very caring person in our environment, which a lot of people might not see.
“Obviously, I played with Cian. He was the loosehead and I was his loosehead lock. I’m not sure did I help or hinder his progression in his early years! But we have a good relationship, living in close proximity, we had very different tastes in music in the early years. He would be wearing the big headphones, it was like a radio beside his ear with music blaring out of it.
“He’s so explosive and powerful but it’s also his mindset that separates him from the rest. He has this mindset of being the best and when you’re playing a contact sport, that physical part of the game and dominating your opponent at scrum or on the carry or in the tackle, whatever that facet is, he wants to deliver that for his team.”
Cullen hails the “mental resilience” Healy showed to come through that spell where retirement was very much on the cards.
Stuart Lancaster arrived in Leinster in 2016 when Healy was still working back towards his best and has been blown away by the prop’s contribution ever since.
“My experience of him was obviously coaching England,” says Lancaster. “He was a player we always earmarked as a danger because of his sheer physical power – scrummaging power but also his capacity in the loose to carry.
“The 2013 Lions when he did his ankle, he was playing absolutely amazing that particular year and we were playing against Ireland at that time.
“So when I came, it was fascinating to coach him and since I’ve been at Leinster, I can count on one hand the number of training sessions he’s ever missed – never mind games. So his durability, his ability to look after himself and get the best out of his body, so to speak, and play at the highest level is amazing.
“In my days, if you were playing 100 games for your club you were doing well. But now he’s playing 100 games for his country, at loosehead, with that injury he had, so it’s an amazing achievement for him.
“And when I speak to him about what his ambition is and what he wants to achieve, he sounds to me as hungry as I guess he was when he was 20. He says, ‘I want to keep playing for Leinster and Ireland and I want to win things.’ He’s just single-minded in that regard.”
It’s no shock that Ireland themselves have been talking about Healy’s milestone this week. There are other obvious motivations this evening but Andy Farrell’s set-up would have been foolish not to harness the power of playing to ensure Healy’s 100th is a happy one.
“We have seen a few things during the week, some of his highlights from the past 10 or 11 years since he made his debut,” says Ireland assistant coach Simon Easterby.
“He is a real inspiration to everyone. He has battled through some really tough times with injuries, times when he thought things might not continue for him.
“What an unbelievable inspiration to all of us and in particular his team-mates, to run out tomorrow for his 100th test. I think there’s definitely some motivation.
“The players are desperate to get a result but also to make sure that he remembers this game like he should.”
Pragmatists Bernard Jackman and Murray Kinsella join the deludedly optimistic Gavan Casey to look ahead to the big one in Paris:
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100 100 club Cian Healy Ireland Leinster Leo Cullen Simon Easterby Stuart Lancaster