Leinster star’s attitude to preseason will be familiar to so many rugby players

Fair play to him. He definitely earned it.

One of the greatest pleasures of retirement, Ronan O'Gara and James Downey recently agreed on The Hard Yards podcast, was missing out on those hell days of preseason. The shuttle runs and sideline sprints. Over and back. Back and over again. And again. Each and every player - professional or amateur - knows it is coming but that knowledge is a big part of the fear. Jack Conan's preseason started a little later than a few of his Leinster teammates, on account of his summer tour endeavours for Ireland. That did not make it any easier. Not in the slightest. The back-row had a refreshing attitude to his summer holidays, however, and was willing to suffer for it back at Leinster HQ. At the official launch of Ireland's new Canterbury-designed home jersey, Conan told us:

"I'm getting there. I'm being whipped into shape. "I probably lost the run of myself a little bit there on my holidays but, sure look, that's what it's there for. There's pre-season for a reason. "I had a bit of a niggle there for the last couple of weeks but I'm back into the frame now, fully, but I do feel like the lads are little bit ahead of me. I was blowing there [on Tuesday] when I was running around but I'm feeling good and looking forward to getting into the season."

Conan was one of Ireland's star men on the summer tour to America and Japan, starting all three games and running amok off the back of dominant scrums and turkey shoot rucks. O'Gara and Kevin McLaughlin, his former Leinster teammate, singled him out for praise and he is grateful for it. "It's great to get any plaudits from former professionals... I had the pleasure of training under ROG in America and Kev is a great bloke that I played a good bit with," he said. "It is great to hear about that praise from lads whom you have held in such high esteem." Conan's performances in that Ireland No.8 jersey have ensured their will be some competition for it come the November internationals, with CJ Stander and Jamie Heaslip two star men in contention too. As for Stander's preseason grind, it's all ahead of him. https://www.instagram.com/p/BX0ukiIAjfc/?hl=en&taken-by=cjstander Poor buck.