WILL CONNORS LINES out for Leinster this evening alongside his house-mates Jimmy O’Brien and Conor O’Brien.
The O’Briens – not related – pair up in midfield while Connors gets his fourth start of the season at openside as Leinster take on Glasgow Warriors in the Guinness Pro14 [KO 7.35pm, eir Sport].
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Connors has impressed so far this season. Laszlo Geczo / INPHO
Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO
It’s three years since Connors, O’Brien, and O’Brien were part of the Ireland U20s set-up under Nigel Carolan, although the flanker was unfortunate to miss out on their run to the Junior World Championship final.
While James Ryan, Jacob Stockdale, and Andrew Porter have accelerated on to win a Grand Slam with Ireland at senior level since, Connors is part of a group of players from that U20s squad in 2016 who are now bidding to push on too.
“We’re all at the same stage and we all want to kick on,” says Kildare man Connors. “A few of us played Ireland 7s together, we’re bringing that versatility, we know how each other plays and we’re looking forward to seeing how this group goes.”
Connors missed virtually all of last season due to a serious knee injury that meant he only made two appearances for Leinster late in the campaign.
“The ACL was a freak moment, the ball went between my legs and it was just how I pivoted. It was unfortunate really,” explains Connors of the injury he picked up in August 2018.
“There’s nothing anyone can say to make it better, it’s all about finding your own regime. What I found was studying and I put a lot of focus on that and getting as many modules done as possible, shifting the focus, putting it all into rehab and then college.
“It works for me, I like being busy, being in a routine, I found my feet eventually.”
Connors is now into his final year of Computer Science at UCD and his rugby career is picking up speed again now that his knee injury is well in the rearview mirror.
Connors has played for the Ireland U20s and Ireland 7s. Matteo Ciambelli / INPHO
Matteo Ciambelli / INPHO / INPHO
The hard-working flanker has been among the players to stand out in Leinster’s season so far, with his Sam Underhill-like chop tackling a key feature in his game. Connors says he started to work on this kind of technique during his time at Clongowes Wood College.
“Noel McNamara [now the Leinster academy manager and Ireland U20s boss] was my coach in school, so we used to go out in the rainy freezing days, and we had a net that was up to your hip and you had to tackle under that.
“I didn’t know any different and a lot of my friends who are playing club rugby do the exact same, so it stands to us.
“It’s tough, you have to get your technique right, but thankfully I’ve been working on it for years.”
There are, of course, excellent role models for a young openside in Leinster in the shape of Ireland internationals Dan Leavy and Josh van der Flier, although they’re not exactly veterans at 25 and 26, respectively.
“Me and Scott [Penny] during the summer were doing some work with [Leinster contact skills coach] Hugh Hogan, looking at videos of Dan and Josh.
“We’d be looking at Josh with his linespeed, then Dan is one of the best on the ground, his poaching technique is one of a kind, so we’re trying to build that into our game.
“The lads help you through it, we’re a tight group of sevens, so we’re trying to help each other as much as we can.”
Connors missed most of last season. Laszlo Geczo / INPHO
Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO
Connors has played for the Ireland 7s in the past too, saying it helped his passing game, while the long pre-season before the current campaign helped him to get in better physical condition for the demands of playing for Leinster.
All in all, he is feeling in fine fettle to show his true colours this season and hopes good performances in Pro14 games like tonight’s against Glasgow can earn him a shot at the next level.
“I’ve love to play a game in Europe, and get more games under my belt. I haven’t played that much. I just want a clean run of games and see where it goes from there.”
Glasgow Warriors:
15. Ruaridh Jackson
14. Tommy Seymour
13. Huw Jones
12. Sam Johnson
11. Niko Matawalu
10. Pete Horne
9. Ali Price
1. Oli Kebble
2. George Turner
3. D’arcy Rae
4. Tim Swinson
5. Jonny Gray
6. Rob Harley
7. Chris Fusaro
8. Ryan Wilson (captain)
Replacements:
16. Grant Stewart
17. Aki Seiuli
18. Adam Nicol
19. Kiran McDonald
20. Adam Ashe
21. Nick Frisby
22. Stafford McDowall
23. Kyle Steyn
Leinster:
15. Hugo Keenan
14. Adam Byrne
13. Jimmy O’Brien
12. Conor O’Brien
11. Cian Kelleher
10. Ross Byrne
9. Jamison Gibson-Park
1. Peter Dooley
2. James Tracy
3. Michael Bent
4. Ross Molony (captain)
5. Devin Toner
6. Josh Murphy
7. Will Connors
8. Caelan Doris
Replacements:
16. Bryan Byrne
17. Ed Byrne
18. Jack Aungier
19. Oisín Dowling
20. Scott Penny
21. Hugh O’Sullivan
22. Ciarán Frawley
23. Fergus McFadden
Referee: Craig Evans [Wales].
- This article was updated at 9.31am on 2 December to correct ‘Linester’ to ‘Leinster’ in the opening sentence.
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Chop-tackling Connors keen to take chance as Leinster visit Glasgow
WILL CONNORS LINES out for Leinster this evening alongside his house-mates Jimmy O’Brien and Conor O’Brien.
The O’Briens – not related – pair up in midfield while Connors gets his fourth start of the season at openside as Leinster take on Glasgow Warriors in the Guinness Pro14 [KO 7.35pm, eir Sport].
It’s three years since Connors, O’Brien, and O’Brien were part of the Ireland U20s set-up under Nigel Carolan, although the flanker was unfortunate to miss out on their run to the Junior World Championship final.
While James Ryan, Jacob Stockdale, and Andrew Porter have accelerated on to win a Grand Slam with Ireland at senior level since, Connors is part of a group of players from that U20s squad in 2016 who are now bidding to push on too.
“We’re all at the same stage and we all want to kick on,” says Kildare man Connors. “A few of us played Ireland 7s together, we’re bringing that versatility, we know how each other plays and we’re looking forward to seeing how this group goes.”
Connors missed virtually all of last season due to a serious knee injury that meant he only made two appearances for Leinster late in the campaign.
“The ACL was a freak moment, the ball went between my legs and it was just how I pivoted. It was unfortunate really,” explains Connors of the injury he picked up in August 2018.
“There’s nothing anyone can say to make it better, it’s all about finding your own regime. What I found was studying and I put a lot of focus on that and getting as many modules done as possible, shifting the focus, putting it all into rehab and then college.
“It works for me, I like being busy, being in a routine, I found my feet eventually.”
Connors is now into his final year of Computer Science at UCD and his rugby career is picking up speed again now that his knee injury is well in the rearview mirror.
The hard-working flanker has been among the players to stand out in Leinster’s season so far, with his Sam Underhill-like chop tackling a key feature in his game. Connors says he started to work on this kind of technique during his time at Clongowes Wood College.
“Noel McNamara [now the Leinster academy manager and Ireland U20s boss] was my coach in school, so we used to go out in the rainy freezing days, and we had a net that was up to your hip and you had to tackle under that.
“I didn’t know any different and a lot of my friends who are playing club rugby do the exact same, so it stands to us.
“It’s tough, you have to get your technique right, but thankfully I’ve been working on it for years.”
There are, of course, excellent role models for a young openside in Leinster in the shape of Ireland internationals Dan Leavy and Josh van der Flier, although they’re not exactly veterans at 25 and 26, respectively.
“Me and Scott [Penny] during the summer were doing some work with [Leinster contact skills coach] Hugh Hogan, looking at videos of Dan and Josh.
“We’d be looking at Josh with his linespeed, then Dan is one of the best on the ground, his poaching technique is one of a kind, so we’re trying to build that into our game.
“The lads help you through it, we’re a tight group of sevens, so we’re trying to help each other as much as we can.”
Connors has played for the Ireland 7s in the past too, saying it helped his passing game, while the long pre-season before the current campaign helped him to get in better physical condition for the demands of playing for Leinster.
All in all, he is feeling in fine fettle to show his true colours this season and hopes good performances in Pro14 games like tonight’s against Glasgow can earn him a shot at the next level.
“I’ve love to play a game in Europe, and get more games under my belt. I haven’t played that much. I just want a clean run of games and see where it goes from there.”
Glasgow Warriors:
15. Ruaridh Jackson
14. Tommy Seymour
13. Huw Jones
12. Sam Johnson
11. Niko Matawalu
10. Pete Horne
9. Ali Price
1. Oli Kebble
2. George Turner
3. D’arcy Rae
4. Tim Swinson
5. Jonny Gray
6. Rob Harley
7. Chris Fusaro
8. Ryan Wilson (captain)
Replacements:
16. Grant Stewart
17. Aki Seiuli
18. Adam Nicol
19. Kiran McDonald
20. Adam Ashe
21. Nick Frisby
22. Stafford McDowall
23. Kyle Steyn
Leinster:
15. Hugo Keenan
14. Adam Byrne
13. Jimmy O’Brien
12. Conor O’Brien
11. Cian Kelleher
10. Ross Byrne
9. Jamison Gibson-Park
1. Peter Dooley
2. James Tracy
3. Michael Bent
4. Ross Molony (captain)
5. Devin Toner
6. Josh Murphy
7. Will Connors
8. Caelan Doris
Replacements:
16. Bryan Byrne
17. Ed Byrne
18. Jack Aungier
19. Oisín Dowling
20. Scott Penny
21. Hugh O’Sullivan
22. Ciarán Frawley
23. Fergus McFadden
Referee: Craig Evans [Wales].
- This article was updated at 9.31am on 2 December to correct ‘Linester’ to ‘Leinster’ in the opening sentence.
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Back Row Battle Glasgow Warrir Guinness Pro14 Leinster Will Connors