Gavin Coombes: ‘I've been waiting four years for this'

Irish Times

2 days ago

Gavin Coombes
knows what it's like to win in Georgia. Eight years ago in Kutaisi, he was part of an Ireland Under-20 group that finished ninth in the World Championship, a squad that included Caelan Doris, Rónan Kelleher, Fineen Wycherley and Calvin Nash, a team-mate at the Mikheil Meskhi stadium in Tbilisi for Saturday night's match.
The previous year Nigel Carolan's 20s had reached the World Cup final, but it was to be an altogether tougher experience 12 months on. Coombes and his cohorts lost all three pool matches, going down to Italy and Scotland before taking a shellacking from New Zealand. Victories over Samoa and Georgia rescued a ninth-place finish.
He has mixed memories of the experience on the pitch. Off it, they're more pleasant. 'We had some not great results, and we won a few games. I think when you're playing 20s rugby it's very enjoyable. You're playing with a lot of people you grew up with. I have fond memories.'
Coombes was in the vanguard of a glut of young players that established west Cork as a rich source of rugby talent, alongside Darren Sweetnam, his cousin Liam Coombes, Jack Crowley, John Hodnett, Jack Crowley and the Wycherleys, Fineen and Josh.
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Coombes is a cousin of Irish rowing royalty, the O'Donovan brothers,
Paul
and
Gary
, and he grew up on a dairy farm in Betsboro, about 3km outside Skibbereen. He played all sports, but a significant part of his childhood was spent on the sidelines at Skibbereen RFC, watching his father Eric and uncle John. His aunt Mags was the first woman to be elected club president. Liam is her son.
There was no bushel that could hide Gavin Coombes, who was always tall for his age and now stands at 6ft 6in. His power game was evident from a young age, and so too his athleticism. But there were gaps in his game, which were not evident as much when playing with Munster but became more apparent as he progressed from age-grade internationals to playing in the senior national side.
When he won a brace of caps in the summer of 2021, against Japan off the bench and a try-scoring start against the USA, the expectation was that he would become a feature.
Ireland's Gavin Coombes scores a try during the game against the USA. Photograph: Donall Farmer/PA Wire
It didn't materialise despite a stellar try-scoring rate for Munster and his largely consistent excellence. There were also a couple of blokes called Jack Conan and Caelan Doris who were reluctant to accommodate his international ambitions.
Sitting in a hotel in Tbilisi he's guarded rather than evasive. In four years since those caps he's had to listen to a list of his playing shortcomings. Some of it could be considered fair appraisal, some of it a little picky and ignoring the substance of his performances.
The Georgia match has been inked on his calendar as a chance to regain a foothold once again in Test rugby. He explained: 'It's huge. It's probably been my target for the season, to get here. So now I've got to take that opportunity with both hands.
'It's been a while since I've played, so I want to put my best foot forward and hopefully, farther down the line, it gives me more opportunities.'
He has scars from the knock-backs, but he's used them as fuel. 'I guess after I played four years ago, I had put a lot of pressure on myself to try to get in and play regularly, but when you get disappointed a few times, I think you have to step back from the situation and look at the players that you're competing with.
'I'm competing with two of the best 'eights' in the world, so, just looking at myself and focusing on myself and then all I can do is improve what I'm doing. I can't control what they're doing. I'd say I'm a good bit different. I made a lot of mistakes in those four years. It is experience gained.
'I feel like four years ago I might have taken it for granted and thought that was the normal thing to do; when you're 23, you're picked for Ireland and then your career goes in that trajectory. I'm definitely going to be a lot more grateful for the opportunity this time and hopefully I can grab it.'
Gavin Coombes in action for Munster. Photograph: Laszlo Geczo/Inpho
When asked about the mistakes or missteps, he listened to the feedback from people whom he respected. 'There were a lot of mistakes on the pitch, mistakes off the pitch maybe with regards to preparation, planning and different things like that.
'I would be in conversation with Paulie [
Paul O'Connell
] a good bit and the coaches in
Munster
would be constantly chatting with the coaches up here [with Ireland], so I'm well aware of the areas of my game that I need to work on.
'I've definitely gone after a few of those areas, but I think for any player that sits up here they can never say they're a complete player. It's just about planning those little one-percenters wherever you can.'
He acknowledges that his point of difference in his ball carrying, which is something his team-mates in Tbilisi will rely on when it comes to the gainline. He'll relish the physical confrontation and collisions. 'I guess that's something I pride myself on week-in, week-out with Munster, so if I want to go where I want to go, I have to bring it to this stage.'
The veil descends a little as if he catches himself saying too much. He knows the pitch is the proving ground. He needs to make it his time.
'I've been waiting for four years.' That's it in a nutshell. It's about actions now.