Sometimes a player makes a case so compelling that his coach simply has to select him.
It remains to be seen whether Josh van der Flier would have made his Ireland debut off the bench had Sean O’Brien not torn his hamstring in Paris. As it stands, the 21-year-old flanker has been pitched in from the start against England.
After 20 senior appearances for Leinster [eight as a sub], van der Flier will earn his first Ireland cap on Saturday. Given what his coaches and teammates say about him, it is just another gust in an impressive ascent.
The Wicklow native forced his way into Leinster’s starting line-up after a number of barnstormers in the Guinness PRO12 and Champions Cup. He missed out on the Wales and France games but, by all accounts, has been lighting up teammates in training.
He was not prepared to wait a moment longer.
Ireland coach Joe Schmidt will have been aware of van der Flier coming through the Leinster ranks before he stepped into the national job. Working closely with him has proved rewarding for both parties. Schmidt said:
“Josh van der Flier has been a guy who’s really impressed right through the season. His application in training, in the environment, has been first-rate, and he’s rewarded with an opportunity and a huge responsibility to go out and capture that seven jersey in what will be a really tough test for him.”
Leinster and Ireland teammate Mike Ross is somewhat in awe of van der Flier. He told us:
“He was always very good. He just got a couple of injuries. Near the end of last season, he took a bit of time off with a bad concussion.
“He just worked his arse off in the gym and became an absolute monster. During pre-season, I was looking and thinking ‘Oh my God’.
“Josh was soon delivering on it. He works his absolute arse off in every game. He’s a good chop tackler, is a pest around the rucks and he picks a pretty good line – those of you who would have watched the game against Bath [van der Flier scored a try] will have seen that.”
Ross added, “Josh van der Chopper!
“He’s pretty quiet off the pitch. He wouldn’t be very chatty but he lets his action speak for him.
“It’s what you want to see in a young fella but as time goes on, you’d expect to see him open his mouth a bit more.”
Ross, who is back in the Irish front row this weekend, attests to van der Flier admonishing himself for not already having a Test cap. Such is his determination to be the best. Ross said:
“We’ve got such a huge amount of competition in the Leinster back row, first and foremost.
“The fact that he has come through that will really stand to him. He is a great option to have. Tommy O’Donnell is pretty unlucky to miss out but we are lucky to have both lads.”
Van der Flier’s immediate foes will be Chris Robshaw, James Haskell and Billy Vunipola.
If ever there was a time to prove you are ready for the biggest stage, facing England at Twickenham is it.
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