Not many players can say they can learn from Cian Healy and Andrew Porter in their position, but Jack Boyle can.
The Leinster prop has had a busy couple of months, from making his first starts in Europe, to being involved in the Ireland set up for the November internationals.
It was a frustrating start to the season for Boyle, who missed out on the Emerging Ireland side through injury. However, he has made up for lost time, starting in Leinster’s two out of three last games, and will start once again against Connacht on Saturday.
Looking back on the last few weeks, Boyle is happy he was able to bounce back from injury.
“The timing with the Emerging Ireland tour, it was pretty big dampener to miss out on that.
“Thankfully, I was lucky enough to get back for that Connacht game, pre-Autumn Nations, and got picked as a training panelist off the back of it. Then we went into camp for a few weeks and I absolutely loved it.
“I was absolutely delighted to get the opportunity to go into camp and experience the atmosphere that the lads are always talking about here.
“I knew a lot of the Leinster lads going into it, but working with Andy Farrell and Simon Easterby for the first time was really exciting as well. I was delighted to get a European start on my belt.
“I want to push on. I’m very ambitious, having a taste of the Irish camp now, that’s ultimately where I want to get to.”
Boyle has plenty of experience around him now to learn from in his position.
While his ambition is clearly to make the number one jersey his own, until that day comes he appreciates all the help he has been given.
“They’ve been unbelievably good to me. Not only this year, over the last two or three years I’ve been in the system.
“I’m extremely grateful, extremely lucky to be in the position I’m in.
“But off the back of that, it’s a bit of a weird mix because you’re competing with the likes of Cian Healy and that kind of thing.
“So there’s a balance to it. They’ve been unbelievably good to me. I continue to learn off them every day, but I suppose it’s trying to get my own stuff right as well and trying to stamp my own way of things on my own game as well.”
It is an exciting time for a number of Leinster’s young players, both in blue and green.
November saw Sam Prendergast, Gus McCarthy and Tom Clarkson make their debuts for Ireland, as Boyle was in the extended squad.
With crucial games coming up, and the Six Nations not far away, Boyle is determined to make memories of his own in the green kersey.
“It gives you a bit of a check that yeah, I belong here.
“It is a very close group, everyone is quite good mates, everyone gets on really well.
“The likes of Sam and Gus, they are pretty confident in their own game, they try express themselves in the best way they can.
“You see how Sam and Gus have gone over the last few weeks, it’s a credit to them and you can tell that their self-confidence, their self-belief has really come through, and you can see that they’re expressing themselves, they’re having fun and they’re obviously adding to the team.
“It is about adding to the team, add to the journey. It is not about slotting in and being a passenger, it is adding your own game to the team.”
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
