Just when Adam Byrne thought he had caught up with all his text messages and well wishes…
The Leinster made his Ireland debut on the right wing and handled himself very well, there, for about an hour. When Chris Farrell limped off with a knee injury, he finished his Test debut as an outside centre. No sweat.
Byrne was a surprise inclusion, for some, in Joe Schmidt’s squad for the November internationals but, after the South Africa and Fiji games, it looked as if he may have just been called in to gain some training and coaching experience within the national set-up. Not so, as Schmidt handed him the 14 jersey for the visit of Argentina.
80 minutes later and he emerged with a burgeoning reputation as a quality operator and had fronted up well against a dangerous Argentine backline. There were some proud, familiar faces in the crowd after the final whistle sounded and the scoreboard read 28-19 to the home side.
Job done for the debutant! Adam Byrne is congratulated by Leinster teammates Josh van der Flier and Peter Dooley following tonight's game. #IREvARG pic.twitter.com/DYmPXFt8Be
— sportsfile (@sportsfile) November 25, 2017
We caught up with Byrne in the Aviva Stadium mixed zone and to say he was buzzing would be an understatement.
He spoke of the pride he felt hearing the national anthem, the experience of match week, how his family handled the occasion and the hundreds upon hundreds of messages he had received.
Asked if there was anything specific Joe Schmidt had said to him before the game, he began by saying Schmidt had treated him ‘just like anyone else’ before the excitement got the better of him and he forgot the question. It played out like this:
Byrne: “He expected me to know my stuff and I liked that he didn’t go easy on me. You know, he’d give out to me if I did anything wrong – same as anyone else – and obviously say ‘Well done’ if I did anything good. It’s been great but (smiling)… sorry, what was the question?”
OisÃn Langan: “Conversations with Joe or work-ons that he gave you?”
Byrne: “Yeah, he stayed in touch and gave me a few work-ons and things that I have tried to bring to my game, especially in camp. There are a lot of things I tried to stay on top of, working with him, Andy Farrell, Simon Easterby and Greg Feek. I’ve tried to stay on top of them and hopefully I’ll bring them back to Leinster as well, and keep pushing on. As I said, I feel I’ve a lot more to show and further to go.”
A lovely, genuine moment and Byrne recovered like a champ.
Was lovely to see how genuinely buzzing @adamsbyrne was after his @IrishRugby debut pic.twitter.com/DXEtI2h6jQ
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) November 25, 2017
One cap down, one victory earned for his country, but Byrne wants much, much more.
