Josh van der Flier is more than capable of doing a job for the British & Irish Lions this summer.
The 23-year-old is just seven caps into his international career but two of those have been against the world champion All Blacks. He was looking good to force his way into the Lions picture following a positive November Series but injury has hampered him in recent months.
He featured off the bench in the Scotland and Italy games and is back making a difference for Leinster. Still, missing three Six Nations games won’t have done his Lions chances any favours.
We caught up with the flanker at the announcement of Irish Rugby Union Players Association’s name-change to Rugby Players Ireland. With the Lions squad announcement just a week away, we asked if van der Flier had spent too many of his waking hours distracted by it.
In fairness, it is hard not to be distracted when Lions officials show up at Ireland camp during the Six Nations to measure and fit you for official jerseys, training gear and suits. Van der Flier says:
“They came into Irish camp and we tried on jerseys and suits, and that sort of thing. It was very surreal and weird, I suppose, but it was cool.
“No-one was really thinking about it [in February] and it was really far away but you were there trying on Lions jerseys, which is just a strange experience altogether. It still feels far away but it was still a strange experience.”
The Lions officials visited Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales camps during the Six Nations and get measurements, and snaps, so they can get all the gear ordered and sorted in time for the summer tour. It must be an exciting afternoon for the players involved but spare a thought for those [in the majority] that don’t make the cut.
Just because he has worn the famous red jersey does not mean he is getting ahead of himself. Van der Flier adds:
“About two or three hundred lads from all the [home nation] countries have tried it on, probably more. So it was like ‘Oh I must be really close’. Everyone knew it was a just in case thing.”
He jokes that all attempts to take selfies were strictly forbidden.
Warren Gatland has a host of back row options but van der Flier has recent pedigree of turning over New Zealand and can cover multiple positions. One would not be surprised if he gets a call to wear the jersey for real, sooner or later, this summer.
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