KIERAN TREADWELL’S PHONE pinged. Nothing unusual there. The Ulster lock’s fiancé, Beth, always sent through a good luck message before a game. But this one was different.

“She just said, ‘Go out and really enjoy yourself,’” Treadwell explains, “and I thought, ‘Yeah, I will go out and enjoy myself,’ and that was the trigger for me.”

That moment arrived early last season. Since then, Treadwell has raced up the Ireland pecking order to work his way back into Andy Farrell’s thinking. In this year’s Six Nations he was sprung from the bench twice to win his first caps since 2017. The summer was even better, a place on the plane to New Zealand and a series of impressive cameos against the All Blacks.

It’s a body of work which has left him in a strong position a year out from the World Cup. He was in off the bench again against the Springboks last weekend. The goal now is more minutes in the closing two Autumn games against Fiji and Australia.

Sitting in a corridor off the IRFU’s impressive indoor pitch in Abbotstown, the 27-year-old sips a coffee and explains how that one text triggered a change in mindset which has helped him jump back on board a ship that could have easily sailed out of view.

“I used to put a lot of personal pressure on myself,” Treadwell says.

I was very much outcome-based in what I did. Whereas nowadays I really enjoy going through the process of getting better. I’m going out there to enjoy myself. Obviously I want to play my best rugby. But the main thing for me is to go out there and enjoy myself.

“I think sometimes the pressure is quite a lot and it does get on top of you a little bit.

“Obviously (when you’re younger) your parents will always say to go out there and enjoy it, and when you’re in minis and stuff like that it’s always ‘Go out and enjoy yourself first,’ and you do sort of forget that.

“But it is quite refreshing to think of it that way. That doesn’t mean don’t do your homework, don’t do all the extras that you need to do to be the best player that you can be, but I think it was a massive turning point for me.”

The environment he finds himself helps. Andy Farrell has clearly shaped his Ireland camp into a place where players feel comfortable letting their personality come through. Players are encouraged to be open and express themselves. 

Treadwell speaks to the media in Abbotstown on Tuesday. Dan Sheridan / INPHO Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO

There is a big focus around mindset, too. Treadwell uses his time in camp to sit down with performance coach, Gary Keegan. The chat over veers beyond rugby. He visualises being involved in good and bad moments as part of his pre-game prep, and has learned to focus on his breath in order to ‘centre’ himself in the moments after a decision or call doesn’t go his way.

Of course, mindfulness and breathing techniques can only get you so far. Treadwell has earned his place in the squad through some strong performances with Ulster. The second row explains that also he’s come to enjoy the physical parts of the game more over the years, something which has been evident in his game.

He also knows he needs to grab his chances when they come.

Having won his first Test caps against Japan and Fiji in 2017, the phone didn’t ring again for four long years.

“It was 2017 when I came in first. There were four or five years since then where I was just concentrating on Ulster, my main thing was getting consistency of performances, not having lulls and big drop-offs in performance levels.

So it was a bit unexpected to get that inclusion for the Six Nations (this year). And then I just thought to myself, ‘I have a taste for this. I’m not letting this go again. I’ve got to keep on performing.’

“It took a bit of time (to get back up to speed) obviously, I’m not gonna lie to you. But it’s such a good environment, that you can be yourself. You can try things, not be really loose with the ball, but you can ask questions and be yourself.

“The main thing I’ve got from Faz and the group is, if you’re honest with yourself, you can be honest with others. You actually learn a lot quicker. That’s what I’ve learned from the group.”

Treadwell is expected to feature against Fiji this weekend and a good showing will keep him in the mix for the Australia game on Saturday week – big opportunites in their own right, but next year’s World Cup is never too far from view.

“Look, it’s in the back of my mind but I’m very much focusing on week on week, really,” Treadwell explains.

“It sounds quite clichéd, but that’s the way that I work and I find my best performances when I don’t look too far ahead. It’s obviously in the back of my mind, it’s a goal but I’m very much focused on the weekend and focused on the process and hopefully the rest will look after itself.

“I’ve always said I’ve always wanted to play at the highest level and that, to me, is the highest level, the World Cup. It’s massive.

“Was it out of my mind (before this year)? Probably not, I would always back myself and I think you have to do that in elite sport. You have to use to that time to reassess what you want, but you’ve always got to back yourself.” 

The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!