Share
27th April 2022
03:29pm BST
Joey Carbery of Munster celebrates with Conor Murray after kicking a penalty against Exeter Chiefs, at Thomond Park. (Photo by Harry Murphy/Sportsfile)[/caption]
"That he is going to be the top guy, up with Johnny. I still have it in my head, that Gloucester performance, from three years ago, and how well Joey Carbery played that day. Going back to that 2019 World Cup, he'd had this shocking [2018/19] season, dealing with injuries. There was nothing like where he should be. "And I just think that if Ireland are going to go and compete at a World Cup, he's the guy that is going to push Johnny, or step in if Johnny gets injured. From an Irish point of view, and a Munster point of view, it's really good to see him back. I didn't think he did anything spectacular [against Ulster]. He just controlled the game really well."So, for myself and the likes of O'Shea and Cave, Joey Carbery is a player that sets the pulse racing and the mind wandering when he gets it going. The list below contains seven other players that do the same. Some are well established, but have had their ups and downs. Others are young players that have shown glimpses of greatness. We are trying to keep a lid on it, but a comeback special or couple of big performances and we're right there with them.
The injury Gods have been as cruel and heedless with the utility back. Addison made 10 Ulster appearances and three Ireland Test outings in his first season on the island, having moved over from Sale Sharks. Injuries started cropping up around the 2019 World Cup and he has played just 15 times since then.
Every time he is back and gets a run of games, he makes things happen in attack. Andy Farrell clearly has not quit the guy either as he brought him back in, last summer, for a home win over the USA. He played the first four games of this season before injury struck again.
John Hodnett and Josh Wycherley of Munster. (Photo by Harry Murphy/Sportsfile)[/caption]
During his first media appearance, last week, after being announced as Munster head coach in-waiting, Graham Rowntree was asked about young talent like Gavin Coombes, Alex Kendellen and Thomas Ahern. "Ah, don't forget about Josh Wycherley," he chided.
Ever since the young loosehead took the fight to Clermont, on his first Champions Cup start, we had his name circled red. Still only 22, most of his outings this season have been as a sub, but we were right back aboard when he started against Exeter at Thomond Park and threw his weight about the place.
May yet play back row, but put him alongside a tall, hefty drink of water in the second row and we could be set for the guts of a decade. Paul O'Connell is already a fan, but wants him to add more timber to his frame. Injuries have slowed his progress but, when he gets those legs and arms pumping, it is hard not to get excited about the young Dub.
Credit: Premier Sports[/caption]
Has all the parts and pieces. Already starting to put them together and has a knack for making big plays when they're needed. A part of me [the excitable one] already has him notched in for 100+ Test caps.
Jacob Stockdale celebrates after Ireland beat New Zealand, at the Aviva Stadium in 2018. (Photo by David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile)[/caption]
'THE FUTURE OF IRISH RUGBY IS ALREADY HERE'
So proclaimed Pat McCarry, back in September 2017. Stockdale, then just 21, had two Ireland caps to his name and had scored a try on his Ireland debut. The next 18 months were incredible for the Lisburn lad. His start to Test rugby even surpassed Brian O'Driscoll.
When he scored seven tries to help Ireland win a Grand Slam, in 2018, almost everyone was on-board. When he made Kieran Read when a chip and chase try to beat the All Blacks for the first time ever in Dublin, EVERYONE was on-board.
Over three years on and it has not been plain sailing. It has not been the same since. Maybe that standard that looked so impossible to sustain was just that - impossible to sustain. Injuries have not helped, playing hurt has not helped and neither did a temporary move to fullback. There have been glimpses, but such is the backline talent coming out of Ulster than it could be easy to forget.
Still, we have a lad who is only 26 and holds the best try-scoring strike-rate in Irish rugby history. If others have jumped on another passing star, I'm staying put.
I may never leave.
OTHER YOUNG STARS ON THE 'EXCITABLE' RADAR: Alex Sokora, David McCann, Charlie Tector, John Hodnett, Jack Crowley, Scott Penny, Reuben Crothers, Diarmuid Kilgallen, Alex Kendellen, Nathan Doak, Daniel Okeke, Scott Buckley
Explore more on these topics:
