With the World Cup now well and truly behind us, the domestic leagues and upcoming European action will give rugby a fresh look over the coming months.
The start of a new season always brings opportunities for other players to get exposure to first-grade rugby. The season after a World Cup offers even bigger opportunities because there isn't another influence around player selection and with internationals being out of the loop for pre-season and their extended break, younger players get a chance to fill the role for a longer period of time. That’s why you’re likely to see more breakthroughs in the first year after a major tournament.
It’s understandable at various stages of that cycle for the internationals to get some priority when it comes to club selection because international coaches need consistency with their personnel. However, it’s all to play for across the URC and European games to throw a spanner in the works when it comes to international honours because some changes will be needed and there should be more openness to further changes too.
Players like Cathal Forde at Connacht and Jake Flannery in Ulster are bursting onto the scene and taking their opportunities with selection at their clubs, hoping to make these changes more permanent in the coming weeks.
There are others in the Munster pack, like Edwin Edogbo and Tom Ahern, with huge futures ahead of them. Now might be the chance to make bigger impacts.
It was also supposed to be a fresh start for Joey Carbery. Time to put that disappointing World Cup cycle behind him and forge a path back into Andy Farrell’s plans. With Sexton’s retirement, there’s a big gap in the Irish out-half pathway.
There’s no shortage of young talent to fill that hole. Jack Crowley is the one in most control now, finishing the World Cup as Sexton’s understudy, getting some of the big calls in the tournament. If there was a game next week you’d think he’d be starting.
Sam Prendergast (above) is highly thought of and could easily take a similar route to Jack Crowley into the next World Cup, albeit he should be further down the tracks by then if his development goes as people expect.
Jake Flannery is finally seeing selection going his way in Ulster and it’s time that we see why he was brought on the Emerging Ireland tour.
There are loads of options at out-half, but Carbery seems to be a player with the right skillset to fall into Andy Farrell’s plans, should he get a run of games and continue his upward trajectory of form.
If Farrell wants to keep a more experienced out-half there are options along with Carbery, with Jack Carty and Ross Byrne some of the more experienced in the position. Carbery seems to be the one that suits the mould most.
Except, Carbery’s career has just been dealt another tragic blow with more time on the sideline. This means that he’ll have limited rugby, if any, before the next Six Nations squad is announced and it could well mean that he’ll be out of those plans.
After all his injury trouble between the last two World Cups, it looked like Carbery was back where he needed to be. He had a clean run at getting his provincial jersey back, considering Crowley's later return after the World Cup, and a new season to reach the heights that everyone knows he can get to.
Being injured as a player is a very uncertain time. You feel useless. You can’t fulfil the role that you’re supposed to. You question whether you can call yourself a rugby player. You do some training, but you can’t play. Your job title is actually a bit false at that stage.
Depending on the player and their recent history, being injured can be quite a dark place. Players and staff tend to rally around those that need it most and I’m sure there’s a lot of sympathy out there for Carbery, from his peers, coaches, staff and the general public. He’s been plugging away in the background, getting himself back up to speed after injuries and selection disappointments. To be dealt a blow like this so soon into a new season is cruel.
RG Snyman (above) is unfortunately set to join him on the injury list, with shoulder surgery expected soon. With respect, it might be an easier blow for Snyman to handle after his successful World Cup campaign. It doesn’t take away from the long road that he has travelled with two ACL injuries and a facial burn which all took a few years away from his playing career.
Injuries are a multi-factorial issue for a professional player. You have to watch how the team are getting on without you, the opportunities others are getting to take your place and there might be contractual negotiations that are beginning to fall further out of your control.
Rugby’s market is already quite volatile with the fallout from other clubs going into financial disarray. Which means that there is currently a higher supply of players than there is demand. It’s not a nice place to be if you’re a player facing uncertainty around your future.
That’s the overall picture. There’s the day to day frustrations too of trying to hit your rehabilitation markers which don’t always go to plan. When you’re injured you don’t always think of the bigger picture. Regressing in your programme or being told you’d be progressing, only to hit a setback along the way, that can be the single most frustrating thing as an injured player.
It's because you can feel the time slipping away. A week lost here, no guarantee you’ll be back up to speed by next week, and maybe another week somewhere else. It’s all time. The block of games slips away, opportunities to get your jersey back as well, and before you know it, it’s another season where you might not get back to your best. That’s what injuries can mean to players, which is why there can be an increase in emotion around the injury itself or the news of results a few days later.
While the league season brings excitement and opportunity, it’s hard not to feel for those that are in the shadows once again.
Many supporters will eagerly anticipate further news on Carbery’s progress, hoping that he can return sooner than expected.
Irish rugby will be in a better place with a fit and confident Carbery. Time will tell, but I’d back him to get there, even after another setback.
Watch Dragons v Leinster in the URC on Sunday from 1pm on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player
Watch Ulster v Munster in the URC on Friday from 7pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, follow a live blog on RTÉ.ie/Sport and the RTÉ News app and listen to live commentary on RTÉ Radio 1 Extra
