If Johnny Sexton had made this claim last April, there may well have been scoffs across the press conference room.
Saturday at Lansdowne Road and James Ryan was, not for the first time this seen, a bloody colossus.
The Leinster lock topped the chart for carries and tackles and scored a vital first half try. The likes of Aaron Shingler, John Barclay and Tadhg Beirne all tried and, in most collisions, failed to halt his momentum.
Another fearful carry after the break punched a big enough hole for Scott Fardy to pick, go and score. The final whistle sounded with Ryan on the bench, withdrawn for the final 10 minutes, but he was soon found by the Leinster lads that had finished on the pitch – they knew how vital the 21-year-old had been to their semi final win. Ryan topped our player ratings, just ahead of Sexton and Scott Fardy.
Following Leinster’s 38-16 dismantling of Scarlets, Beirne was asked what he made of the young Blues lock.
“I played with him at Lansdowne a couple of times,” he replied. “He has been scouted since he was around 15 and everyone knows he has been a prodigy in this country. He’s an exceptional player and he has shown that in the last year with Ireland and Leinster. And he proved it again today.”
Sexton, Leinster captain for the game, agreed that Ryan had been “immense”. Then came the claim that is making more and more sense with each and every passing minute the former St Michael’s College lad is playing:
“If we had James last year then some of those games could have been very different, he’s had that big an impact.
“He’s been outstanding in his first season, and off the pitch in his preparation and making sure he’s switched on in everything that he does. He’s probably one of those players like Seanie [O’Brien]; you’re going to pick up knocks the way he plays the game.”
Ryan was in the Leinster senior squad last season but badly damaged his hamstring and missed most of the Blues’ campaign. He was always destined to make the cut, such was his form in Leinster and Ireland’s underage teams and his sheer physical prowess, but it came as a surprise to some when Joe Schmidt capped him for Ireland ahead of his senior provincial debut.
Ryan was eased into the Leinster XV this season but there is no stopping him now. This season has seen him play 12 Leinster games and 8 for Ireland. He was won every single one of them.
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