AS THE 2024/25 season loomed, Gus McCarthy was sitting fifth in Leinster’s depth chart at hooker.
Dan Sheehan, Rónan Kelleher, John McKee, and Lee Barron are the four senior-contracted hookers in Leinster, while McCarthy is still in his second year of the academy.
It was obvious that McCarthy was a big prospect. He had captained the Ireland U20s to a Grand Slam and a World Cup final in 2023, was part of the IRFU Combined Academies team in January 2024, impressed in the AIL with UCD, and then made his senior Leinster debut in April when he came off the bench in a 42-12 defeat to the Stormers.
6ft 2ins McCarthy stood out in pre-season last summer, shining in a friendly game against Northampton in particular, and the province’s coaching staff had a feeling that he would kick on notably this season.
But Leinster or McCarthy surely can’t have expected things to go the way they have since.
On Saturday, 21-year-old Dublin man McCarthy will make his Test debut for Andy Farrell’s Ireland, capping a meteoric rise in recent months. Having grown up on Rugby Road in Ranelagh before his family moved to Blackrock when he was eight, McCarthy is now set to have all of Irish rugby’s eyes on him.
The door started opening as Leinster’s senior hookers picked up injuries. Sheehan suffered a long-term ACL injury last July while playing for Ireland in South Africa, with McKee injured early this season.
To be fair, McCarthy started Leinster’s first two games of the season even when McKee and Barron were also available.
By the time McCarthy had departed on the Emerging Ireland tour to South Africa, Kelleher was back for his seasonal bow with Leinster. It lasted only 12 minutes as he joined the injury list too.
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The next day, McCarthy started for Emerging Ireland against the Force, impressing at hooker after an impactful showing off the bench against the Pumas a few days earlier. There was one more Emerging game to go but with Munster’s visit to Croke Park looming, Leinster needed him back at base and McCarthy travelled home early.
McCarthy was the Ireland U20s captain in 2023. SteveHaagSports / Darren Stewart/INPHO
SteveHaagSports / Darren Stewart/INPHO / Darren Stewart/INPHO
Barron started that clash with Munster but a foot injury forced him off at half-time and McCarthy came off the bench in front of a sold-out Croker, continuing his good form.
So Leinster were down Sheehan, Kelleher, McKee, and Barron at this stage but the man in the number two shirt was catching the eye. McCarthy impressed in URC starts against Connacht and the Lions.
Farrell was watching closely. He knew about McCarthy from his U20s performances, while the reports back from the Emerging Ireland tour in October were glowing.
So with Ireland assessing their options at hooker amid injuries, the young Leinster man suddenly became a viable contender for Farrell’s squad.
Coming into the autumn, Ulster’s Rob Herring hadn’t played at all and Kelleher only had those 12 minutes under his belt. The medical staff were telling Farrell that those experienced hookers would be fit in time to take on New Zealand in the autumn opener, while Connacht’s Dave Heffernan was playing good rugby with his province.
Farrell felt it was prudent to have another hooker around, all the more so because he was liking what he saw from McCarthy. So the Leinster man was one of five ‘training panellists’ who joined the Ireland squad for their camp in Portugal ahead of the All Blacks clash.
Leinster prop Thomas Clarkson was also part of that quintet and made his Ireland debut last weekend against Argentina amid injury issues at tighthead, while Leinster loosehead Jack Boyle has also remained with Ireland despite wing Shayne Bolton returning to Connacht and flanker Alex Kendellen going back to Munster.
Farrell and his assistants, including forwards coach Paul O’Connell and scrum specialist John Fogarty, also liked what they saw from McCarthy in that Portugal camp. They found that McCarthy – who captained Blackrock College to Leinster Schools Senior Cup success in 2022 – lived up to his reputation as being mature beyond his years. The 21-year-old wasn’t cowed by being around seasoned internationals.
They kept him onboard and McCarthy kept doing a good job in training over the past few weeks, convincing Farrell to give him a shot against Fiji this weekend.
McCarthy has impressed for Leinster this season. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
It’s a huge step up from the URC to international rugby but Farrell is generally a canny selector and his decisions – even ones that raise eyebrows initially – usually pay off.
Like Clarkson, who is on the bench again on Saturday, McCarthy hasn’t been formally added to Ireland’s main squad but he has leapfrogged Heffernan to grab the number two shirt this weekend as Kelleher offers experienced back-up among the replacements.
It’s tough on Heffernan, who turns 34 in January and hasn’t played for Ireland since July 2022, but Farrell evidently believes that McCarthy can play a big role for years to come.
The Ireland boss is sometimes criticised for not giving more opportunities to fresh faces but 21-year-old McCarthy starts in the same team as 21-year-old out-half Sam Prendergast – who played in the same Ireland U20s team as McCarthy – as well as 24-year-old debutant Cormac Izuchukwu and Jamie Osborne, who just turned 23. Farrell hopes they can all become core players in the future.
It will be interesting to see what this all means for Leinster as their injury issues at hooker fade. Sheehan is due back in the New Year, Kelleher is now fully fit, while McKee and Barron will be determined to show their quality upon their returns to action.
McCarthy coming back to Leinster as a senior international only adds to the luxury of riches in this position and it’s not hard to imagine that IRFU performance director David Humphreys will be assessing how he might get at least one of them playing first-team rugby elsewhere.
At least three of the four Leinster senior hookers have had a chance to move to another province in the past but decided to stay where they are. There’s another talented player in their academy in Year 1 hooker Stephen Smyth, who has made his first two senior appearances in the URC this season.
But McCarthy is the man of the moment and Farrell will hope to see him step up to the challenge of a powerful, potent Fiji team on Saturday.
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From fifth in Leinster's depth chart to starting for Ireland - McCarthy's rise
AS THE 2024/25 season loomed, Gus McCarthy was sitting fifth in Leinster’s depth chart at hooker.
Dan Sheehan, Rónan Kelleher, John McKee, and Lee Barron are the four senior-contracted hookers in Leinster, while McCarthy is still in his second year of the academy.
It was obvious that McCarthy was a big prospect. He had captained the Ireland U20s to a Grand Slam and a World Cup final in 2023, was part of the IRFU Combined Academies team in January 2024, impressed in the AIL with UCD, and then made his senior Leinster debut in April when he came off the bench in a 42-12 defeat to the Stormers.
6ft 2ins McCarthy stood out in pre-season last summer, shining in a friendly game against Northampton in particular, and the province’s coaching staff had a feeling that he would kick on notably this season.
But Leinster or McCarthy surely can’t have expected things to go the way they have since.
On Saturday, 21-year-old Dublin man McCarthy will make his Test debut for Andy Farrell’s Ireland, capping a meteoric rise in recent months. Having grown up on Rugby Road in Ranelagh before his family moved to Blackrock when he was eight, McCarthy is now set to have all of Irish rugby’s eyes on him.
The door started opening as Leinster’s senior hookers picked up injuries. Sheehan suffered a long-term ACL injury last July while playing for Ireland in South Africa, with McKee injured early this season.
To be fair, McCarthy started Leinster’s first two games of the season even when McKee and Barron were also available.
By the time McCarthy had departed on the Emerging Ireland tour to South Africa, Kelleher was back for his seasonal bow with Leinster. It lasted only 12 minutes as he joined the injury list too.
The next day, McCarthy started for Emerging Ireland against the Force, impressing at hooker after an impactful showing off the bench against the Pumas a few days earlier. There was one more Emerging game to go but with Munster’s visit to Croke Park looming, Leinster needed him back at base and McCarthy travelled home early.
Barron started that clash with Munster but a foot injury forced him off at half-time and McCarthy came off the bench in front of a sold-out Croker, continuing his good form.
So Leinster were down Sheehan, Kelleher, McKee, and Barron at this stage but the man in the number two shirt was catching the eye. McCarthy impressed in URC starts against Connacht and the Lions.
Farrell was watching closely. He knew about McCarthy from his U20s performances, while the reports back from the Emerging Ireland tour in October were glowing.
So with Ireland assessing their options at hooker amid injuries, the young Leinster man suddenly became a viable contender for Farrell’s squad.
Coming into the autumn, Ulster’s Rob Herring hadn’t played at all and Kelleher only had those 12 minutes under his belt. The medical staff were telling Farrell that those experienced hookers would be fit in time to take on New Zealand in the autumn opener, while Connacht’s Dave Heffernan was playing good rugby with his province.
Farrell felt it was prudent to have another hooker around, all the more so because he was liking what he saw from McCarthy. So the Leinster man was one of five ‘training panellists’ who joined the Ireland squad for their camp in Portugal ahead of the All Blacks clash.
Leinster prop Thomas Clarkson was also part of that quintet and made his Ireland debut last weekend against Argentina amid injury issues at tighthead, while Leinster loosehead Jack Boyle has also remained with Ireland despite wing Shayne Bolton returning to Connacht and flanker Alex Kendellen going back to Munster.
Farrell and his assistants, including forwards coach Paul O’Connell and scrum specialist John Fogarty, also liked what they saw from McCarthy in that Portugal camp. They found that McCarthy – who captained Blackrock College to Leinster Schools Senior Cup success in 2022 – lived up to his reputation as being mature beyond his years. The 21-year-old wasn’t cowed by being around seasoned internationals.
They kept him onboard and McCarthy kept doing a good job in training over the past few weeks, convincing Farrell to give him a shot against Fiji this weekend.
It’s a huge step up from the URC to international rugby but Farrell is generally a canny selector and his decisions – even ones that raise eyebrows initially – usually pay off.
Like Clarkson, who is on the bench again on Saturday, McCarthy hasn’t been formally added to Ireland’s main squad but he has leapfrogged Heffernan to grab the number two shirt this weekend as Kelleher offers experienced back-up among the replacements.
It’s tough on Heffernan, who turns 34 in January and hasn’t played for Ireland since July 2022, but Farrell evidently believes that McCarthy can play a big role for years to come.
The Ireland boss is sometimes criticised for not giving more opportunities to fresh faces but 21-year-old McCarthy starts in the same team as 21-year-old out-half Sam Prendergast – who played in the same Ireland U20s team as McCarthy – as well as 24-year-old debutant Cormac Izuchukwu and Jamie Osborne, who just turned 23. Farrell hopes they can all become core players in the future.
It will be interesting to see what this all means for Leinster as their injury issues at hooker fade. Sheehan is due back in the New Year, Kelleher is now fully fit, while McKee and Barron will be determined to show their quality upon their returns to action.
McCarthy coming back to Leinster as a senior international only adds to the luxury of riches in this position and it’s not hard to imagine that IRFU performance director David Humphreys will be assessing how he might get at least one of them playing first-team rugby elsewhere.
At least three of the four Leinster senior hookers have had a chance to move to another province in the past but decided to stay where they are. There’s another talented player in their academy in Year 1 hooker Stephen Smyth, who has made his first two senior appearances in the URC this season.
But McCarthy is the man of the moment and Farrell will hope to see him step up to the challenge of a powerful, potent Fiji team on Saturday.
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