AS HE GETS set to face England tomorrow, Josh van der Flier is a much-changed person and player to the young man who made his debut against the English nine years ago.
Everyone changes over the course of nearly a decade but van der Flier has drastically altered the way he thinks about games.
Experience and confidence make a big difference to any player. Winning a World Rugby player of the year award would add to anyone’s self-belief and quieten some of the doubts we all have.
“I wouldn’t be anywhere near as nervous and anxious as I was then before that first game,” said 31-year-old van der Flier this week ahead of Ireland’s Six Nations opener in Dublin.
“I suppose that was the first time I played England, there were a lot of nerves, ‘Am I good enough for this level?’ You always have those doubts that you have to push aside for a game to build your confidence up.
“My preparation for games now looks completely different. I still tried my hardest back then to prepare well but you learn what works for you and what doesn’t and how you can get yourself to the best place for performing at the weekend. That’s something that has definitely improved a lot and you find out, you work out what mindset… like back then, I felt if I wasn’t really nervous I wouldn’t play well.
“Now I’d be happy to be really relaxed knowing what works for me whereas then I would have been anxious, I would have hated being anxious but feel that I needed to be anxious. It was one of those funny ones so definitely that changed a lot.”
It took a while for the penny to drop. He reckons it was 2021 before he changed his mindset. He was named World Rugby player at the end of 2022.
Van der Flier fell into a more relaxed state as a rugby player as he fell in love off the pitch.
“I had lived with five other lads that played rugby for years and all we talked about was rugby,” he said.
“And then I met my girlfriend, now wife, and she wasn’t that interested in talking about rugby so you kind of went away from it and I found that helped me, gave me a much better balance.
“So I started trying to switch off more in the build-up to games. I felt really good, felt more relaxed, and I was able to not be as uptight, read the game better and get into more of a flow state if that makes sense.
“So since then, I’ve been happy being as relaxed as possible. If there is a 24th man or lads who aren’t playing, I like to chat to them because they’re always really relaxed whereas everyone else can be a bit tense. I like to keep it as calm as possible.”
He finds games more enjoyable now, as well as the days beforehand.
“I would always be so strict on what I ate before a game,” said van der Flier.
“I’d still be strict but back then I wouldn’t have any treats whatsoever. Whereas now, on the odd morning of a game, I might have a croissant or something just to relax, something to enjoy. Or a day before the game, I’d have a doughnut or a couple of cookies or whatever. It’s a small thing but it helps me relax, it’s enjoyable.
“That definitely helped me flick that switch. I don’t know if it would work for everyone now but I definitely found that’s where I play my best.”
Van der Flier’s Ireland coaches will be telling him not to mess with his approach now given that he’s arguably playing his best rugby ever.
The openside flanker was in superb form for Ireland in the autumn and has been brilliant for Leinster too.
“It probably feels the best I’ve ever felt playing, to be honest. I’ve been trying to get the body in as good a place as it could. My body feels the best it’s ever been.
“I spoke with Peter O’Mahony a few times and Cian Healy and they’ve obviously had brilliant longevity. I wouldn’t consider myself old by any means, it is certainly something that once you get past the 30 mark, you need to be thinking and they’ve been really helpful to me, they’ve given me a few tips here and there.
“You have to be more efficient, I suppose. Up until three or four years ago, I’d probably finish training and stay out for ages afterwards and then you’d be stiff and sore the next day. You probably get more efficient with what works for you. Try and get the key bits of practice in when warming up, a bit more efficiency, feeling very good, and hopefully keep the momentum going.”
Irish rugby fans have been enjoying watching him in full flow and van der Flier is enjoying every minute of it too.
“Even running out on the pitch, I smile to myself, ‘This is cool.’
“Before, I would always be a bit afraid, ‘Don’t even think of the crowd,’ whereas now I would think, ‘This is unbelievable, my family is in there.’
“You’re just able to really enjoy it.”
Why is there such outrage about aki playing for ireland but there never was for payne strauss etc??
@Jack: It’s because people love a good moan, let the lad do what he does best and play good rugby. It will benefit the national team in the long run.
@Jack: Well the simple answer is that Irish people are very racist, isn’t it?
@Jack: Cause his name and skin colour are different to our idea of Irish.
Picture this. Imagine he came over, as a Kiwi centre from Super Rugby, three years done and invested hugely in the community and culture of his surrounding. But imagine he was white, and had a European name. Like picture all of the same factors but just change those details.
I wasnt describing him. I was describing Payne.
@Havid Dickey: bang on the money.
@Havid Dickey: Spot on man. It’s absolutely disgusting to see. He’s been outstanding for Connacht and has integrated into life in Galway from the off. You’d often see him round town & he’s always smiling & chatty. The guy’s a absolute hero & so talented that we should be glad he can finally play for Ireland.
@Jack: Id say its because he’s black.
The race thing is silly and is simply a way to win the argument because yis know people are afraid to come across as racist. What about the fact that there was a massive push to change the rules last year and it likely changed peoples minds? What about the fact that ireland has good player debth now, so dont need to resort to poaching foreign players? What about the fact that other nations put time and money into developing a world class player only to have another nation with more money lure them away? There are so many reasons to hate the “project player” system that have nothing to do with race. Plenty of non irish sounding/looking players have played for us without any complaint. Niyi Adeolokun moved here as a kid, and developed his rugby here, so he receives no hate from the media (as far as im aware of). Michael Bent got massive abuse on the other hand, despite being of Irish decent, because he played for Ireland before playing for Leinster.
@Ciarán: Spot on. You wouldn’t get this in Wales. There are loads of blacks playing rugby in Wales and people don’t see them as any different.
@Rudiger McMonihan: nonsense. Its clearly obviously a race issue compared to reaction to Payne CJ etc
Also, its very easy to jump to the defence of project player poaching, when an eijit like Neil Francis is attacking it. But the biggest opponent and influencer of its change was Agustin Pichot, who wasnt fighting it out of racism. He was fighting it because it puts teams like Argentina at a massive disadvantage
@bread of heaven: Like who? Falatau grew up in Wales. I cant think of anyone else
@Range Rover: Payne came in immediately after BOD retired and we had no replacements. He still got plenty of people calling for him to be dropped. Also, both players came in before tge push to change the rules which was the main point of my original comment
@Rudiger McMonihan: Sorry, we don’t have any black “project” players, if that’s what you mean. We can produce our own players instead of just poaching them from elsewhere
@bread of heaven: Faletau?
Grand, next time im arguing Adam Byrne should get picked because he scores loads of tries and someone claims his defense is poor i’ll call them racist. I
@Rudiger McMonihan: I think you’re being intellectually dishonest.
@Jack: there was the same for the other foreigners and rightly so, its a financial decision for these guys to play for ireland and its their greed that takes the irish jersey off an irish mans back who grew up with the dream of playing for ireland, its not right. You can dress it up anyway you want but its not right.
@Havid Dickey: every body with an issue on this also had and still have an issue with payne and stander
@Rudiger McMonihan: the only person talking sense here.
@Tommy Bread: But they simply didn’t Tommy. Some did certainly. No doubt. Remember the media uproar over Herring or Roux? I don’t.
@Havid Dickey: thats because the media arent going to talk about average players. If this wasnt an issur with the game then why has it been pushed from 3 years to 5?
@Paul K Murphy: because how would it make sense financialy to go away and have to start your residency period all over again in england or france last summer? … i can remember ben teo coming to ireland too and selling himself as loving ireland and couldnt wait to play, who is he playing for now? …. how naive are you? what about the winger who said while playing league he would never play for england? plays on the wing in union now?
@Tommy Bread: No, Ben Te’o said he was gonna go to England at the start of his Leinster contract. He has English family. Thats why he only signed up for 2 years. Also it is relevant that Aki and Stander are good players . None of our other project players were “poached” because they were never gonna be AllBlacks or Boks. We got that sob story abou CJ being asked to play in the front row and that made everyone justify it, but the reality was different. Look at the number of Super Rugby caps CJ got at a young age, his underage success and the fact that South Africa have changed coaches twice now since then. Hed have certainly been a Bok and Aki in my opinion would have been an AB
@Rudiger McMonihan: no he had two year contract to keep open the option of going back to league, google old interviews and he says if people at ireland think im good enough i will do the extra year as he wanted to play big games. Then he said afterwards a year is a long time in sports so didnt know if ireland would still want him so he played for england as they wanted him right away.
@Sherrypop Curtis: secondarily agreed
@Paul K Murphy: so you think he left new zealand and came to connacht because he had a sudden urge to play for a country he had never been too? or do you think maybe money motivated that decision? i dont think many french teams wanted him then to be honest? saili was in the all blacks team ahead of him amd he wasnt that highly regarded even thou he was in a brilliant chiefs team… as for stander he was offered more in ireland last time round so lets see how he deals with it this time because he is in the last year of his contract.
@Paul K Murphy: why do you think the residency rule was extended from 3 years to 5? surely if it was a good thing for international rugby it would have been shortened?
@Ciarán Ó Dáilaigh: agreed man. Full-on! It’s been horrible on Bundee. I never say this but Jesus it is just a game.
@Jack: pure and simple the reason is one word RACISM!! He’s the first overtly non Irish looking overseas player to be selected!!
@Rudiger McMonihan: Yes but Aki has done his apprenticeship and earned his call up as opposed to Bent who was parachuted in as it was called at the time and proved to be a disaster for Ireland.
@Rudiger McMonihan: Payne and Henshaw were both playing FB but Payne was already experienced in the outside backs. Remember Rob Kearney commenting on how big they were. Wonder what he thinks of Stockdale, Farrell and McCloskey?
@Paul K Murphy: you say they stayed when they could have made more money abroad and then you ask how i know how much stander was offered? back to the drawing board ya numpty…. are you going to answer my question either no? …. and i didnt call any of them a mercenary bud, they are making money and fair play to them. my problem is that the irb have allowed this to happen, they have seen they are wrong and tried to fix it fairness but 5 aint long enough either. if you have to tell yourself these guys love ireland to enjoy the game on satyuday on the high stoll then thats fine but i feel sorry for stuart mcclosky and rory scannell among others over the years who have to miss out.
he’s the first overtly non irish looking player?? What part of Ireland is the Ah You family name from? Look i honestly dont care about the whole denying a hardworkin irishman yarn, “blah blah blah Paddy O’Spudface has been squating sheep and deadlifting cattle for years, only to be bested by a furiner, etc etc”. What i care about is international rugby not turning into club rugby, where wealth determines the best team. Is there racism in ireland? Yes, obviously, just read the comment sections on thejournal on anything to do with muslims, trump or brexit if you want proof of thad. However, i dont agree that wanting players to qualify for citizenship before qualifying for the national team is racist.
@Paul K Murphy: Yes but the majority of people arent saying that he should never get to play for Ireland. The fact is that national teams were taking advantage of the 3 year rule so much that it had to be changed. Now that it has been ruled unfair by the majority of rugby playing nations, Aki is the first player to come through it before the rule is changed in 2 years. To simply say “everyone is against this because they are racist” is wrong, just as its wrong to say “you must be born in ireland, fluent in irish, a member of the Ra and live on a diet of potatoes and guinness if you want to play for ireland”.
@bread of heaven: Shane Howarth, Rupert Moon, Alex Cuthbert, Brent Cockbain, Jason Jones-Hughes, Tony Copsey, Tom Shanklin, Thomas Francis, Colin Charvis… Shall i go on?
People trying to make this a race issue are ridiculous. Are you new to rugby or did you just happen to miss the sh-t the Kearneys, Heaslip, Bowe, Earls, McFadden, carberry(for his kicking) etc. have gotten in the last 2 years especially? Or did you miss all the times stander was the one picked on last year because of the residency rule? Or did you miss no one cared when Adeolokun got a cap because he’s not a project/residency rule player? Or did you miss when Bundee got the call up to Irish camp so did Tyler B and they both got sh-t written about them not just Bundee if Tyler got the call up this week as well he would be in all these articles as well no doubt. It’s not about race it’s about the project player/ residency rule system. The rule was changed recently because people weren’t happy with the 3 years it had nothing to do with race.
Welcome to the love of the green, Bundee. Do it and us proud.
If there is one thing I know for sure after growing up, and spending my whole life thus far in this country, is that Irish people can be embarrassingly racist without even realising that are are doing so.
@Dave Barry: I have felt that way a number of times also.. The only times where I actually felt ashamed of being Irish. It took me by surprise the first time as I was always proud of how sound Irish folk generally were.
@Dave Barry: Rubbish. We are in general a very tolerant lot with other racists and cultures. Every race/culture has its little prejudices against what is seen as “the other lot” and no doubt we do too , but for a small indigenous population we have so far handled the migration into Ireland very well and been very accepting. There are many small towns in Ireland with 15 to 20% immigrant population but little or no ethnic tensions. Very few if any other countries can say this.
@Jg Igoe: I’m not painting the entire country with the same brush, I’m saying certain Irish people can be.
Is there really “intense debate over the contentious ruling” or is it just these media articles that continue to rehash Neil Francis’ viewpoint? It’s not like Francis has a large support base for this particular view, so why make it seem like there is?
@Vincent Ward: totally agree. Intense debate among the media who need to sell papers
@Vincent Ward: Whatever about Francis I thought the joke from Brian O’Driscoll’s rugby app was particularly distasteful. A joke which was liked by the man himself on instagram. He’s certainly someone who should know better than carry on like that.
@Rochelle:
Couldn’t agree more. There’s been some suggestion that some of the furore surrounding aki”s selection is down to racism, I think, for the most part, probably not. There was controversy and teeth gnashing over stander and payne too.
That post though, “tag a mate who thinks he’s irish” on a photo of aki was sickening. The obvious implication being, he can’t be Irish cos he’s dark. As someone born in Belfast to immigrant parents as well it was pretty jolting to see a mainstream commercial app post something like that.
@Rochelle: I was wondering how Rochelle was going to have a go at Leinster on this one. He never disappoints
@Chris Mc: In fairness she has a point, definitely crossed the line between humour and poor taste with that one
@Rochelle: I really it didn’t the reaction to that meme it was a joke. If you go on any of the various rugby Instagram sites the memes are a lot more brutal then making a joke about a man who’s not Irish(Aki has said himself plenty of times he’s doesn’t consider himself Irish) playing for Ireland. It wasn’t that big of a deal. But convenient how you also fail to mention Zebo also liked the meme on Instagram…,
@Vincent Ward: Francis does have a large support base in fact, and not just in Dublin.
He will be a star for Ireland and he is very welcome.
Once he scores his first try he will be a national hero :)
Fantastic player. Delighted to see him line out for Ireland.
As the coach of the Galwegians ladies rugby team, he has invested more time and energy into the local community then most of his critics. But it goes unmentioned and unheralded.
Hope he has a stormer and his partnership with Henshaw is every bit as effective as it was for Connacht.
I don’t think it has anything to do with racism, but more anger about Zebo being left out. If we were all as racist as you’re saying then surely Zebo wouldn’t be so popular. It is very disappointing though that people have turned on Bundee Aki; every other country in the world does this so why do we take such exception to it?
@amusing_musings: Zebo is Irish… it is racism on Bundi
@amusing_musings: have you even seen the abuse Zebo gets on here???
@reg gordon: What about the abuse Kearney, McFadden, Stander, Heaslip and so on get? Nothing to do with race.
I just want to know when he’s being sent to Leinster?
I think most of the ill-feeing towards Aki comes from that interview he did a while ago where he wasn’t 100% sure if staying with Connacht and playing with Ireland was what he wanted to do, which I think is completely fair. No foreign born player is born with ambitions of playing for another country, it takes time to learn the new culture and see if it fits for that particular player.
And at the time for Aki, he wasn’t completely sure about it, but we can clearly see now that he’s committed to Connacht and committed to Ireland which I personally think is a great thing and that he’s an excellent addition to the national squad. Looking forward to seeing what he can do this Saturday.
I’m chuffed that he is going to play for us as he brings an entirely new dimension. He is absolutely world class.
The fact that he was still sitting on the fence as to whether he would declare for Ireland until very recently, you’d have to question his commitment though. How much does it mean to him to be pulling on the green jersey?
@Cathal: You just beat me to this point. Aki will be a great asset to the Irish team but he left himself open to ridicule by not committing sooner to Ireland. I believe his casual approach to the idea provoked the negative attitude of some commentators. However now that he’s playing it’s time we all supported him.
@Tom Reilly: Nope, Aki is just honest. He put his cards on the table and let the IRFU make the decision. They are the ones who decided he is good enough to play for Ireland and he will play his heart out because that is who he is
If you have an issue it should be with the IRFU and Joe Schmidt because they picked him
Bundee Aki is a professional athlete who will always do his job as it should be
Btw I will put money for him to either score a try or get a yellow card on Saturday because he plays with a passion we don’t see that often in professional sport ( obviously I’m hoping for the try)
@reg gordon: I don’t think you understand what I am saying. Again, I believe the reason some commentators have reacted more vociferously to Aki’s inclusion in contrast to other project players is the fact that Bundee did not commit to Ireland sooner. I am not casting any aspersions on the player ,only trying to point out why some commentators have reacted the way they have. Now you assume I have an issue with Aki’s inclusion.I don’t by the way;I am very happy he has decided to join us and I am excited to see how he goes.
@Tom Reilly: You are completely right I missed your original point and see that now.
Apologies!
Because that Racist clown Neil Francis doesn’t think he’s white enough to be Irish
If it was Bundi McCaki there’d be no bother.
Jeez, 42 you sure are flogging this horse to death. How many more times are you going to recycle this story? Move on please……
Irish people live to be racist while anonymous.
@Range Rover: sure would you blame them really? Everyone’s entitled to an opinion but when it’s about a black man you’re declared a racist. Why would any man tarnish his name by revealing who he is when his reputation/job could be brought into question because he posted an opinion on an online forum. The PC brigade are grtting way too out of control
Don’t remember any of this guff when Charlton got Cascarino playing for Ireland?
It’s a complicated issue with multiple view points but one which is certainly influenced by common, sometimes deep seeded, Irish racism in my view.
Jesus what will we be like when someone from the traveller community gets an international cap…
Aki came here to play Rugby. Stayed the 3 years. Qualified to play. End of. WR have changed the rule to 5 years starting in a couple of years. If “Irish born” players were better they would have been selected.
Schmidt is trying to get results and picking who he thinks can best bring that home. (I don’t agree with many of his selections but I ain’t the coach)
Franno has a short memory. An Australian out half, Brian Smith, played 9 rugby internationals for Ireland between 1989 and 1991. He had previously played 5 times for Australia. It was not as if Franno refused to play with him??
come live in ireland for three years you can play but leave ireland to play else were your dropped even if your one of the top players in the world funny group these rubgy guys
Once Saturdays game is over the subject will be too. People love a moan but if scores the match winning TRY they’ll be calling him Bundi McAki