'It takes a camp or two to get used to it. It can definitely be daunting'

The 42

6 hours ago

WITH A BREAKTHROUGH season behind him, Jack Boyle can target the year ahead as the one in which he truly makes his stamp with Leinster and Ireland.
The former St Michael's man has ticked a lot off the bucket list recently. The 23-year-old came into Ireland camp last month with a URC medal in his pocket, and he was centrally involved in that success. While Boyle only played six minutes in the URC final, he notched up 15 URC games across the season, with his total number of appearances across the campaign shooting from nine in 2023/24 to 17 in 2024/25. It was also the season he made his Champions Cup debut and won his first two caps for Ireland, coming off the bench twice in the Six Nations.
Today he reaches another milestone, with the loosehead starting a Test match for the first time as Ireland take on Georgia in Tbilisi this evening [KO 6pm, Virgin Media]. He's not one of those players who sits down to plan out his goals for the season ahead, but these are the experiences he would have been targeting when he arrived back in for pre-season last summer.
'I suppose, in a weird way, I'd be a goal setter,' Boyle says. 'I wouldn't necessarily write them down or constantly be thinking about them but they'd definitely be at the back of my mind.
'I knew there's obviously two world-class players in front of me with Cian Healy and Andrew Porter, so I knew there would be a bit of being patient and biding my time, but ultimately I knew I wanted to play in an Irish jersey and I was lucky enough to do that over the Six Nations.
'The start of the year, it's tough to gauge where you're at, and you kind of have to take it week by week. I know that's quite cliché, but you really don't know where you stand until you get into the season. So for the most part it was week-on-week, but ultimately you have to keep performing well, keep pushing hard and if you get opportunities you just have to take them.'
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Boyle was a URC winner with Leinster last season. Ben Brady / INPHO Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
Looking to the future, there's one less obstacle in Boyle's way, with the long-serving Cian Healy now retired. That the 37-year-old managed to stay at the highest level for so long highlights not just his own impressive longevity, but also the fact that Ireland haven't exactly been blessed with looseheads.
There's an opportunity there for Boyle to grab, and while he's still one of the newer faces around the Irish squad his time in camp earlier this year has helped him take a more confident approach into this two-game summer tour, which continues in Portugal next week.
'It's always tough coming into camp for the first time. So making sure that you don't take the feedback too seriously, you don't take criticism too seriously, you enjoy the experience and you get to know the way Irish players play and the way that the coaches want to see you play.
To be honest, it does take probably a camp or two to get properly used to it. It can definitely be daunting.
'The main thing is being yourself. Faz would always speak about being yourself and making sure that you don't try too hard, you don't get in your own way, you don't overthink things too much, you enjoy the experience and you get to know the lads. The better and closer you are with the lads, the easier it will be, on the pitch they'll pick you up, they'll give you a bit of feedback, they'll help you out.
'So yeah, not getting in your own way and probably not taking it too seriously at times as well (is important).'
The loosehead was capped twice during the Six Nations. Dan Sheridan / INPHO Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
This evening Boyle starts in an all-Leinster front row alongside hooker Gus McCarthy and tighthead Thomas Clarkson, with a total of 12 Test caps shared between the three.
Given the pride Georgia place on their own scrummaging, it's a game that will put the spotlight firmly on the Ireland front-rowers.
'Yeah, Georgia obviously traditionally very strong up front, but I suppose we're not going to shy away from that. We're going to impose ourselves and make sure we have a real crack at it.
'There's plenty of Top 14 experience and all that kind of thing, but at the same time we're not going to take a step back from that, we're going to enjoy the challenge and hopefully get on the right side of them really.
'There's obviously a young enough group front row-wise, but the competition and the hunger in the group to keep improving is there, definitely.
'We spoke with Cullie (Tucker) when we first came into camp about Georgia's strengths and what they'll look to look to do there, so we know exactly what they're going to bring and we just need to make sure that we match it.'