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1st September 2020
03:28pm BST
"It changes around a fair bit and we get the auld body-shields on! But there's no two or three people in particular. It changes around quite a bit."The internal competition for places, Doris says, is exciting. "You play rugby to challenge yourself," he adds. "You want to be coming up against, and playing with, quality players. It is definitely going to be exciting. With the breakdown so important right now, that area is going to be so important for the back rows." [caption id="attachment_215410" align="aligncenter" width="2000"]
Chris Farrell is tackled by Scott Fardy and Caelan Doris during the Guinness PRO14 match between Leinster and Munster at the Aviva Stadium. (Photo by Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile)[/caption]
The 22-year-old made his Leinster debut in April 2018 during an inter-pro clash with Connacht. On the day that Leinster won their fourth European Cup, in Bilbao, Doris was at Vallis Way with Leinster 'A'.
He made the bench for the British & Irish Cup final loss against Ealing Trailfinders. Also in the Leinster squad that day was Ed Byrne, Ciarán Frawley, Josh Murphy, Conor O'Brien and Will Connors.
2018/19 was a massive season for Doris, who was born in Ballina but moved up to Blackrock College when he was ready for secondary school. He made 15 appearances, including a sub appearance in a Champions Cup semi-final win over Toulouse.
The versatile back row missed out on selection for the Champions Cup final, however, and the business end of the Guinness PRO14 as Leinster went through Munster on their way to beating Glasgow Warriors to clinch the league title. He helped lay the foundations but had to take on a supporters' role for the three biggest games of last season.
This season, after 14 appearances (11 starts) and having made his Test debut with Ireland, Doris has a glint in his eye. Others can take the spotlight as long as he takes his place in the starting XV. He says:
"Yeah, absolutely. I got a taste for it before lockdown and it's special being involved in those big games, and that is why we play the game. "Getting that taste for it drove me on, and motivated me, through the lockdown. So I definitely want to try and keep my place, and keep performing as well as I can."With no fans set to be in attendance for these knock-out games, it is noticeable how the Irish provinces are trying to gee themselves and teammates up by what Doris calls 'celebrating small victories'. That throws more wood on the breakdown fire, this Friday, and those battles will be fiercely contested. Leinster will back themselves to have more ways to skin Munster than that, but they will also back themselves to neutralise and pre-occupy some of their opponent's big guns.
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