‘It feels like a level up' – Joe McCarthy's all-action display puts him in the Lions Test match box seat

Irish Independent

11 hours ago

The second-row's trademark mullet means he fits right in Down Under and he looked as comfortable as he has done in some time as he thundered around the Optus Stadium, skittling blue jerseys as he went.
It was a tour de force from the Blackrock second-row, who made two linebreaks and a total 34m across 15 carries and scored a try off the back of Henry Pollock's brilliant chip and chase. He threw 11 passes including one in the build up that got the Lions moving for Tomos Williams' try that broke the game open in the second half, with two offloads in the mix as well.
Up against retiring former Wallaby Sam Carter and current squad member and enforcer Darcy Swain in the Force second-row, he was a nuisance in contact, turning over a Western Force maul at a crucial stage in the first half, making two dominant tackles and 18 in total in a high work-rate outing.
He was busy in the lineout, taking five throws and the local broadcast team that included former Wallaby second row Justin Harrison and Michael Hooper raved about his performance, awarding him the man of the match award.
On a night when the Lions' discipline was highlighted by their coach, McCarthy coughed up just the one penalty.
Afterwards, his bruised face bore the hallmarks of a tough night's work but there was a lightness about the way he spoke that was light years away from his 'everybody loves to hate Leinster' line from a few weeks ago.
Between the URC title win and a change of scenery, McCarthy looks unburdened and that is a dangerous prospect for the Australians.
'It's such an exciting team to play with – all the players are awesome so you get such a buzz playing with them,' he said.
'I loved it. Once I came in for the first session, the standard of training was so high and I just thought, 'Jeez, I'm going to get so much better, being in this environment.' I just ripped into it.
'It does feel weird [to call yourself a Lion]. It's very, very cool.
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'The atmosphere was class and it's only going to get better. Maybe not all the Lions fans made it to the first game in Western Australia but there were still a lot of red jerseys out there which was cool and there was a good buzz out there.
'It was fun to get a bit of space and get my hands free as well. That's kind of how the Aussies play so that was a bit of a taster today. They look for offloads and linebreaks. It was good to play in a fast-paced game with a lot of offloads.'
McCarthy reckons the Lions is going to bring the best out of him.
'It's hard to put your finger on it, sometimes things just happen for you,' he said.
'But you might prepare super well for a game and things don't happen for you. I don't know.
'Especially here, it feels like a level up. There are people here doing everything for you so you try to lean into that, with the medics and the nutritionists. I try to lean on the support staff we have.
'I was nervous and on edge a bit this week about playing well, but I'm probably at my best when I feel like my back's against the wall a little bit.'
It helps that McCarthy and his Ireland teammates know the coach and what he wants.
Andy Farrell was visibly animated at half time in the dressing-room and he got the required response from the team after the restart.
'Andy was pretty calm, generally, but he's good at getting the boys up,' McCarthy said.
'We started really fast but then we let them off the hook a bit with a few penalties. They were still in the game at half-time but then we kicked on a bit. He got us going a bit – he's really good with the emotion for getting you up. No matter how many games you play for him, he finds a way to do it and we were better for it in the second half.'
'He wants us to be super physical, on the edge, but he tells us, 'Don't be desperate, don't force things – earn the right to get off the line, make tackles and make turnovers.''
This could be a big couple of weeks for the McCarthy family with Joe's younger brother Paddy in the Ireland squad for their tour of Georgia and Portugal.
He'll then travel out with brother Andrew and parents Joe and Paula in time for the Test series where their boy is set to have a big impact.
'I can't wait for that. They're going to come out for the last three weeks, to watch the last four games,' McCarthy said.
'If Paddy's playing my family will travel out to Tbilisi. They'll enjoy that. He was delighted that he made the summer tour and it meant that he could fly to Australia as well. I'm sure he'll bring his boots with him!
'It's huge. I'd love to see him make his Ireland debut – that would be special.'
If he keeps going the way he's going, they'll get bang for their buck and in the meantime he's fully invested in getting the most out of this experience.
His role away from rugby is to come up with the Lions' 'thought of the day' with Northampton Saints winger Tommy Freeman.
Yesterday, they told the squad that 'Today is the oldest you ever have been and the youngest you ever will be'.
McCarthy certainly looked like he's taking an approach that will see him seize his day as a Lion.