WHEN JJ HANRAHAN told his father that he had signed for Connacht last year, there was only one real concern.
“He text me after and he was like, ‘Delighted. Kicking’s going to take a hit though!” says Hanrahan.
The wind coming in off Galway Bay is notoriously wild, meaning place-kickers can have tough nights at Connacht’s Dexcom Stadium, but Hanrahan has managed it well.
His record of 88.6% off the tee in the URC makes him one of the most accurate kickers in the league. There were challenging days in the Champions and Challenge Cups for a combined 61% in those competitions, but Hanrahan is among the top scorers in the URC.
The 31-year-old has started nine of Connacht’s 14 league games so far, with seven of those starts coming in Galway.
“I went to Clermont and it was beautiful weather all the time but I was actually kicking quite poorly because you get kind of relaxed when the ball travels 55 or 60 metres all the time,” says Hanrahan.
“Whereas here, you have to be so on your strike. It’s like links golf essentially. You have to be really, really focused on your ball striking.”
Hanrahan has been playing some good rugby in Connacht’s number 10 shirt in his first season with the province, having been granted an early release from his contract with Dragons last summer.
That meant Hanrahan only did one year of the three-year deal he signed in Wales following his one-season stint with Top 14 side Clermont.
The Kerry man has had a unique journey in the game. He burst into the wider rugby consciousness with the Ireland U20s, earning a nomination for the World Rugby U20 player of the year award in 2012.
That was the same year he debuted for Munster, making 64 appearances for the province in his first spell before he opted to join Northampton in the English Premiership in 2015.
Two years later, he was back at Munster to rack up a further 77 appearances in the four seasons that followed and then he took the horse to France.
“It is unique,” says Hanrahan of his rugby pathway.
“I have had people asking me what it’s like away, would you go away again, but I just say, ‘Far away fields aren’t always greener and everyone’s scenario is not always the same.
“Irish rugby is a great place to be at the moment. The development you get, the coaching you get, the S&C, the medical, all that side of things is excellent, even down to being looked after in terms of the way the contract situations are, the insurance sides of that.
“People don’t think of that. It’s really good in this country and that’s a real positive now.”
Hanrahan is happy to be back in the Irish system and yet, while the moves abroad weren’t the roaring successes he might have hoped for, he’s not kept awake every night by regrets.
“I’ve learned loads about myself, I’ve learned loads about rugby and different cultures.
“I’ve learned loads about myself in terms of how you get on with stuff off the field when you don’t have loads of people around you, when it’s just you and your missus in different countries and that’s it.
“That has definitely made me a more rounded person, which has probably helped me in the rugby aspect, but I wouldn’t change that because of where I am now. I would never look back now and change anything but maybe there’s an easier road to take!”
He feels at home in Connacht. Hanrahan recalls walking in for his first day and finding the players’ lounge and changing rooms nearly empty even though there was no scheduled training at the time. He soon realised that the players were doing their own ‘extras’ – working on mobility or rehab in the gym or out practicing their skills.
“That was an eye-opener that everyone here is on their own mission and that no one is taking anything for granted and you’ve got to be at that level as well.”
Hanrahan comes across as comfortable in his own skin, content with what experience has added to his game.
When Connacht have been at their best in this up-and-down season, Hanrahan has often been steering the ship calmly from the number 10 shirt.
He admits that it wasn’t always the case that he knew what to do and what to say as an out-half.
“I remember when I went to Northampton first and at one stage, Tom Wood turned around to me and he was like, ‘What are you doing?’ And I was like, ‘I actually don’t know.’
“I went over there and I was 21 years old. They expected the finished product and I didn’t really understand rugby that well. I was a talented young player but I didn’t understand rugby that well.
“I was privileged as a young fella at Munster that I had Paul O’Connell, Billy Holland, Donnacha Ryan, these fellas calling a lot of plays, fellas outside me telling me what to do, and I was just allowed to play.
“You then have to go and learn it, experience rugby, experience how you lead a team through different areas of the field, understand scoreboard pressure, understand time pressure. There’s loads of things that go into it but over time in the saddle, it’s better and better. You get a natural feel for it and hopefully it allows you to be freer and thinking less because you’ve seen it before.”
When exciting Connacht scrum-half Matthew Devine comes up in conversation, Hanrahan expresses his hope that the 22-year-old isn’t stifled by others’ expectations and opinions.
Hanrahan hopes that Devine doesn’t listen to any talk about ‘game management’ when the former Ireland U20s scrum-half is at his best playing instinctively and at speed.
“I think people get carried away with ‘game management,’” says Hanrahan.
“What is game management? Everyone talks about it but I think it’s one of these things where if people don’t understand rugby at a very, very deep level, it’s easy to throw it out there as ‘just kick the ball.’
“But I remember listening to Rob Baxter [the Exeter boss] talking about if you kick the ball, you get five seconds relief before you’re defending again or they’re going to kick the ball back down on top of you in the same scenario.
“So there’s a lot that goes into game management in terms of the way your team is set up, what kickers you have on the field, what’s your philosophy and how you want to play the game. There’s lots of bits to it.”
With Jack Carty sidelined for Connacht’s visit to the Dragons this weekend, Hanrahan looks likely to be at number 10 again as the URC run-in heats up.
He’s happy to be calling the shots in the green jersey as he returns to Rodney Parade.
“As a 10, it’s an unwritten rule that you have to have that leadership aspect when you’re on the field particularly,” says Hanrahan.
“We have many different leaders off the field in terms of the Monday to Friday, it’s not like I’m the only person talking. I like to do a lot of my talking on the grass and out there with the boys, direct traffic that way.”
While I’ve been quick to say he hasn’t impressed me at all in some aspects of his play, no denying he has been a great addition. Carty can be up and down with form and fitness and, save a purple patch by Conor Fitzgerald in the middle of 19/20, has had to play when he could do with a break for physical and mental form. Like Carty was flogged last year when Hawkshaw and Fitz were injured, but there was no real alternative. Having someone of Hanrahan’s level there too is great, and I was delighted when he signed.
He also has strengths that you could question Carty can be weak on. While I critique JJ’s attack-manship, another side of that very coin could argue unlike Carty, who seems to put the whole weight and responsiblity of Connacht’s whole attack on his shoulders, JJ is great in trying to utilise playmakers in the centre and SH. As well as having some days where his boot is almost laser guided.
With all respect to himself and Carty though. Post 2025 Connacht need to have a new 10 making strides. Perhaps Harry West or Sean Naughton (who looks like a superstar) can step up? If not maybe look at the 4th or 5th choice in Leinster? Prendergast, Tector, etc.
@David Hickey: Where is Conor Fitzgerald?