BECAUSE CONVERSATIONS WITH Jack McGrath, the Leinster player, so often found a way of circling back to his rivalry with Cian Healy, the St Mary’s man regularly presented his affable and laid back side to the media.
It was a rivalry alright, and both men held the upper hand in the battle for the number 1 shirt with both Ireland and Leinster at different points through the last decade. Still, McGrath and Healy managed to display a unified front. Stepford Brothers. No hard feelings. Just the business of pushing each other to be better.
McGrath, the Ulster player, probably hasn’t changed much since taking his talents up the road. Yet head coach Dan McFarland doesn’t describe him or his relationship with his new team-mates in the same boy-next-door mold that Healy and McGrath had cast themselves in for so long.
“He’s my kind of player. I like those nasty fellas,” says McFarland with something of a bloodthirsty smile.
Nasty is, of course, meant in the best possible sense here.
To be ‘nice’ in the training ground and on-field environment McFarland has worked to create is to be on the back foot and under the pump. He wants the big dogs growling at one another. And there is bite to McGrath when it comes to pushing standards.
“Jack is a competitor,” began McFarland of the 30-year-old still in his first season away from his native province. He skips through a few paragraphs of praise he could offer up for McGrath’s work-rate, scrummaging and physicality to get to the real value he puts in the Ulster front row.
Off the pitch Jack says it how it is. He doesn’t care what people think of him and if it needs saying, he’ll say it. There aren’t many people like that.
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“You can’t underestimate the power of that when it is backed up by his credibility and the legacy he has in rugby.”
A legacy that includes a litany of silverware, success, high performance, a wealth of experience including three Test appearances for the Lions in 2017. McGrath’s CV reads like a checklist of what a club could possibly want when signing a proven veteran.
From a safe distance we might lapse into saying McGrath left Leinster, where accruing more medals is more likely, to shift focus take on a different challenge with Ulster; a building project. Something less tangible.
However, in McGrath’s eyes the challenge remains much the same.
“Ultimately it was me that made the decision and I’ll make no bones about it; I moved up here to win silverware,” said the prop, looking fresh, heavy and healthy in a virtual press conference ahead of Ulster’s return to action against Connacht on Sunday.
“I saw the quality of players and coaching staff and knew they (Ulster) were stepping in the right direction, having spoken to Dan and everything.
Billy Stickland / INPHO
Billy Stickland / INPHO / INPHO
“I just believed the process they were going through, it’s going to be a successful time for when I’m going to be here.
“It’s been unbelievably enjoyable.
“They’ve taken me in, the guys are unbelievable craic. There’s just a good group of lads and it’s an enjoyable place to come into every day.
“So, yeah, it’s been brilliant for me. Moving out of Dublin having played for Leinster, it’s nice to get outside the bubble as well and test yourself somewhere else.
“Test you they do here, definitely.”
The first half of his first season in Ulster was disrupted temporarily by a dislocated thumb, but rugby’s long hiatus has left him chomping at the bit to turn his competitive instincts to live match situations. However, his team-mates shouldn’t expect a reprieve just because McGrath has another outlet to channel his competitive nature at.
“The main thing for me was to try and fit in and bring my experience, what I had done in the game, and give people confidence that they are doing the right thing.
“There is no point in bigging people up if they haven’t done something right. You need to call them out. That’s the ruthlessness of the sport that we are in. It’s constructive criticism any time I would say.
“I wouldn’t just go at someone for no reason. If you want to get to the next level you can’t leave any stone unturned and that’s what we’re trying to do here, push each to the next level every time we train. It’s been an enjoyable process for me.
“Probably a little bit different from what they were used to before.”
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'He’s my kind of player. I like those nasty fellas'
BECAUSE CONVERSATIONS WITH Jack McGrath, the Leinster player, so often found a way of circling back to his rivalry with Cian Healy, the St Mary’s man regularly presented his affable and laid back side to the media.
It was a rivalry alright, and both men held the upper hand in the battle for the number 1 shirt with both Ireland and Leinster at different points through the last decade. Still, McGrath and Healy managed to display a unified front. Stepford Brothers. No hard feelings. Just the business of pushing each other to be better.
McGrath, the Ulster player, probably hasn’t changed much since taking his talents up the road. Yet head coach Dan McFarland doesn’t describe him or his relationship with his new team-mates in the same boy-next-door mold that Healy and McGrath had cast themselves in for so long.
“He’s my kind of player. I like those nasty fellas,” says McFarland with something of a bloodthirsty smile.
Nasty is, of course, meant in the best possible sense here.
To be ‘nice’ in the training ground and on-field environment McFarland has worked to create is to be on the back foot and under the pump. He wants the big dogs growling at one another. And there is bite to McGrath when it comes to pushing standards.
“Jack is a competitor,” began McFarland of the 30-year-old still in his first season away from his native province. He skips through a few paragraphs of praise he could offer up for McGrath’s work-rate, scrummaging and physicality to get to the real value he puts in the Ulster front row.
“You can’t underestimate the power of that when it is backed up by his credibility and the legacy he has in rugby.”
A legacy that includes a litany of silverware, success, high performance, a wealth of experience including three Test appearances for the Lions in 2017. McGrath’s CV reads like a checklist of what a club could possibly want when signing a proven veteran.
From a safe distance we might lapse into saying McGrath left Leinster, where accruing more medals is more likely, to shift focus take on a different challenge with Ulster; a building project. Something less tangible.
However, in McGrath’s eyes the challenge remains much the same.
“Ultimately it was me that made the decision and I’ll make no bones about it; I moved up here to win silverware,” said the prop, looking fresh, heavy and healthy in a virtual press conference ahead of Ulster’s return to action against Connacht on Sunday.
“I saw the quality of players and coaching staff and knew they (Ulster) were stepping in the right direction, having spoken to Dan and everything.
“I just believed the process they were going through, it’s going to be a successful time for when I’m going to be here.
“It’s been unbelievably enjoyable.
“They’ve taken me in, the guys are unbelievable craic. There’s just a good group of lads and it’s an enjoyable place to come into every day.
“So, yeah, it’s been brilliant for me. Moving out of Dublin having played for Leinster, it’s nice to get outside the bubble as well and test yourself somewhere else.
“Test you they do here, definitely.”
The first half of his first season in Ulster was disrupted temporarily by a dislocated thumb, but rugby’s long hiatus has left him chomping at the bit to turn his competitive instincts to live match situations. However, his team-mates shouldn’t expect a reprieve just because McGrath has another outlet to channel his competitive nature at.
“The main thing for me was to try and fit in and bring my experience, what I had done in the game, and give people confidence that they are doing the right thing.
“There is no point in bigging people up if they haven’t done something right. You need to call them out. That’s the ruthlessness of the sport that we are in. It’s constructive criticism any time I would say.
“I wouldn’t just go at someone for no reason. If you want to get to the next level you can’t leave any stone unturned and that’s what we’re trying to do here, push each to the next level every time we train. It’s been an enjoyable process for me.
“Probably a little bit different from what they were used to before.”
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