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The 42
29-06-2025
- Sport
- The 42
'I still come into every single camp thinking this will be the one I break through'
PLAYING IN GEORGIA will be a new experience for Nick Timoney but the Ulster flanker has long held a soft spot for Georgian rugby. 'I have hours of Mamuka Gorgodze footage watched from when I was a kid,' explains Timoney, speaking during a media day at Ireland's pre-tour training camp in Abbotstown. 'I used to watch a highlight video of his pretty much every week. I'm not like massively familiar with the place and stuff, but Georgian rugby, we all know what it's about. They're big, they're physical, they're passionate, and you're not going to get an easy game against them.' It's not hard to see why Timoney found an interest in the bruising Gorgodze, who played for Montpellier and Toulon. 'Just back in the day when you're a kid, as you would with loads of different rugby players that were in your position and you kind of looked up to, you'd look up some of their clips, their highlights, but there was a 10-minute compilation video of Mamuka Gorgodze playing a lot of European countries for Georgia. There's loads of clips from them playing Poland and Russia and Spain and stuff. So I used to watch that a bit when I was younger. He was a bit of a tank.' Gorgodze wasn't the only player on repeat on Timoney's YouTube. 'I used to like the Chabal one, I mean the stereotypical ones you'd think of, back rows back whenever I was a teenager. I used to love David Wallace, the Sean O'Briens of this world, Ferris back in the day. I was into all my highlight clips when Rugbydump was a website that was going round back in the day, 'Try-savers and rib-breakers 11′ was my favorite one.' Those compilations were the inspiration around the time Timoney was pushing through as a promising young rugby player at Blackrock. In 2014 Timoney counted Caelan Doris, Joey Carbery, Hugo Keenan, Jeremy Loughman and Conor Oliver among his teammates as he captained Blackrock to Leinster Senior Cup success. Advertisement Timoney lifts the Leinster Schools Senior Cup in 2014. Colm O'Neill / INPHO Colm O'Neill / INPHO / INPHO Then some bumps in the road. Although selected for the Ireland U20s, Timoney didn't get a place in the Leinster Academy. Kieran Campbell, academy manager at Ulster, picked up the phone and Timoney was heading north. 'The first couple years were tough, I didn't really feel like I was getting much purchase and towards the end of my second year, which was going to be my last on the two-year academy deal, and I hadn't gotten a game and hadn't gotten really that close. 'I remember playing an AIL game at Queens away to Corinthians, I think, and we got absolutely hammered. They were bottom in the league. This was 2A and I was sort of thinking there's maybe five, six weeks left in the season. 'I hadn't heard anything about the following season, thought it was maybe going to come to an end at that stage, but somewhat randomly got a chance off the bench then the following week against Cardiff and got another couple chances and ended up managing to stick around for a few years. 'I wouldn't say the first two years were a resounding success, but just about got myself kept on and just about got a chance then in the end, and I suppose then when you're featuring week in, week out…' Now his value to Ulster is beyond any doubt, with the 29-year-old capped over 150 times for the province. Ireland has been a more testing battle, with Timoney vying for action in one of the most competitive areas of the squad. He won his first Test cap four summers ago but has added just two further appearances since, the most recent of which came against Fiji in November 2022. Even during spells when he's been in good form, there have been times when Timoney hasn't been able to even make the wider squad. 'I'd be lying if I said there wasn't times where I was frustrated, but I certainly have had times where I feel like I'm incredibly close to it, and I've felt like if I had a chance, I would've taken it and run with it. 'I still feel that way, but at the same time, you get to every single Test match and it's a Six Nations game, and Irish Rugby's not in the business of just dishing out caps because you've had a good game. Like he's still picking the best four lads for the squad, and if those lads stay fit and are playing well the whole time, I mean that's just the way it goes. Obviously it's tough in my position, but that's part of it.' Timoney speaking to the media in Abbotstown. Ben Brady / INPHO Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO Cap number four should arrive over the next fortnight, with the Ireland coaches hoping to hand every squad member gametime across the Tests with Georgia and Portugal. The long wait between caps has only heightened his desire to make the most of such opportunities. 'It can be tough because, being a realist, you come into a lot of camps and you know that you're not necessarily top of the pecking order. The same way that all the other lads are desperate to play, and then the game against England is opening the Six Nations or something like that, and it's still kills you inside a little bit every time you're not announced and you're not in the team. 'But ultimately, if you really value playing for Ireland enough, then there's no choice but to put more emphasis on getting better and working harder. So that's just what I try to do.' As Timoney sees it, this window is not just a fly-by opportunity to get back in the green jersey. The Ulster player still holds ambitions of making the Test arena a more regular part of his life. Timoney debuted for Ireland in 2021. Ryan Byrne / INPHO Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO 'There's examples of it all over. There's the Deon Fouries of the world who are uncapped to 35 and captain their team in a World Cup final. Maybe that's a bit of an extreme example, but the way it is in Irish rugby the coaches are good enough and they value progression and what they see in front of you. It's not a case of them making their mind up about you and deciding that you're not the one when you're 25, 26, 27, 29 hopefully. If you're playing well enough, they'll pick you. 'The belief is still there. I still come into every single camp thinking this will be the one I break through and I'll be into it properly then. That's been slower obviously than I would've liked, but I still keep backing myself and believing I'm going to still keep trying to get better. 'As soon as I think that I've peaked and I'm down the other side of it, then maybe I'll lose a bit of hope. But I feel like I still have loads of improvements to make and I still feel like I'm feeling good and have the same appetite for it.'
The 42
26-06-2025
- Sport
- The 42
St Michael's Dan Ryan one of five Leinster youngsters to join Connacht Academy
CONNACHT RUGBY HAVE brought in five players who came through the Leinster schools system, including St Michael's rising star Daniel Ryan, as part of their Academy for the 2025/26 season. Ryan, who impressed in the Leinster Schools Senior Cup this season, is joined by his Michael's team-mate David Walsh as part of Connacht's Year 1 intake. Blackrock College duo Conor O'Shaughnessy and Mikey Yarr have also agreed Academy deals with the western province, as has Aaron O'Brien of St Mary's. They'll be joined by three players who have come through the Connacht schools pathway: Diarmaid O'Connell of Sligo Grammar, Bobby Power of Coláiste Iognáid, and Sean of Coláiste Éinde. Advertisement Connacht Rugby Academy 2025/26 Year 1 Aaron O'Brien – Back Row Diarmaid O'Connell – Back Row Conor O'Shaughnessy – Out-Half Bobby Power – Back Row Daniel Ryan – Back Three David Walsh – Lock/Back Row Seán Walsh – Centre Mikey Yarr – Hooker Year 2 Billy Bohan – Loosehead Prop Tomás Farthing – Scrum-Half Max Flynn – Back Row Éanna McCarthy – Back Row Year 3
Irish Times
26-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
It's finally here, the day that I meet my brother slash half-brother
So it's finally here, the day that I meet my brother slash half-brother, and Sorcha has gone into full Fussapalooza mode. She goes, 'And don't keep bringing the conversation back to rugby.' I'm there, 'Hey, I'm capable of talking about more than just rugby, Sorcha.' She's like, 'Ross, you literally took out your Leinster Schools Senior Cup medal when we sat down with the priest to talk about getting married.' READ MORE I'm there, 'He asked me what did I have hanging around my neck. He thought it was, like, a cross of some sort.' 'I'm just making the point,' she goes, 'that Brett might not want to talk about rugby.' I'm there, 'I wouldn't blame him. The States didn't even quality for the last World Cup. The first time it's happened since 1995.' She's like, 'See what I mean? You're incapable of talking about anything else.' This is us sitting in the cor – on the way to the airport , by the way? I'm there, 'So what else is there then?' She's like, 'What, to talk about?' 'Yeah, no,' I go. 'I'm asking that as someone who has zero interest in anyone who (a) doesn't like rugby or (b) doesn't want to sleep with me.' She smiles and she whips out her phone, suddenly in her element. She goes, 'Oh my God, I wrote a huge piece on conversational etiquette for the Mount Anville Alumni Business Networking Alliance blog last year. It was based on research I did for the Mock Interviews we sat at school.' I'm there, 'Why do I suddenly feel like you were steering the conversation in this direction?' If you could choose one superpower, what would it be? 'In my case, I would say the ability to do a one-ormed push-up. Like Heaslip' 'Okay,' she goes, 'here are some conversational ice breakers.' I'm like, 'Be quick, Sorcha,' because – yeah, no – I'm just about to take the exit for the airport. She's there, 'What book are you currently reading, including audiobooks?' I'm like, 'That's easy. Obsessed by Johnny Sexton – for, like, the third time.' 'I'm not asking you , Ross – this is what you're going to ask Brett.' 'I'm going to morch up to a brother I didn't even know existed until a few months ago and I'm going to ask him what book he's currently reading?' 'Including audiobooks.' 'Doesn't sound very me, Sorcha.' 'Well, it doesn't have to be the first question you ask? There's others here. Your dream dinner porty, for instance. Who's at the table?' 'Campbell, Ward, O'Gara, Sexton, O'Driscoll, O'Connell, D'Arcy, the two Kearneys, Lowe, Cullen, Furlong, Cheika, O'Brien and Schmidt. Next?' 'Again, it's a question that you're going to ask him ?' 'Well, I'll have my answer ready if he goes, 'And what about you, Ross?'' 'Okay, what's the most memorable holiday slash vacation you've ever taken.' 'That's a no-brainer in my case. The Rugby World Cup in Australia in 2003. Me and the goys in a camper van.' 'You wouldn't have said our honeymoon, no?' 'Keep going, Sorcha. We're at the airport roundabout already.' 'Here's one – a fun one, if you feel like the conversation is becoming a bit too heavy. If you could choose one superpower, what would it be?' 'In my case, I would say the ability to do a one-ormed push-up. Like Heaslip. Did I say Heaslip when I was talking about my dream dinner porty?' 'Er, I don't think so.' 'What the fock is wrong with me? You better put Heaslip down. He'd be very hurt if he found out I didn't invite him. And Zebo! Put Zebo!' 'What was the last film you watched and what did you like slash dislike about it?' 'This dude is going to think I'm a weirdo.' [ 'I hate my children too. Like, how could three kids of mine turn out to be such dicks?' Opens in new window ] 'Again, these questions are just for if the conversation storts sagging. What's the most valuable piece of advice you've ever been given?' 'Something by Father Denis Fehily. I would have thought that was obvious.' 'But what, Ross?' 'They're all written in my Rugby Tactics Book. We must never stop learning – because life never stops teaching. ' 'I like that one.' ' Hord work beats talent when talent doesn't work hord . I could rattle off 30 or 40 of these just off the top of my head.' 'Well, definitely don't do that.' 'I only will if he asks me to.' I pull into the short-term cor pork. As we're getting out of the cor, she goes, 'Tell me something that's on your Bucket List.' I'm like, 'Me? I was going to say lift the Webb Ellis trophy – except I did that when me, Christian and Oisinn got pissed and gatecrashed that HSBC corporate fun-day in Corlton House in 2015. Before I was famously wrestled to the ground by a bouncer.' She goes, 'I don't think you should tell him any stories that end with you being wrestled to the ground by a bouncer. Not this early in the relationship.' 'It actually ended with me telling him that Hennessy Coghlan-O'Hara was going to take him to the focking cleaners,' I go, 'even though the dude was perfectly within his rights to do what he did. If you pushed me for an answer on the Bucket List question, I would say kick a penalty from halfway at the Aviva. Although I did that as well, bear in mind – when it was still Lansdowne Road.' [ Most schools fear Hennessy Coghlan-O'Hara like they would a typhoid outbreak Opens in new window ] Ten minutes later, we're standing there at the arrival gate. 'Okay, this is a random one,' Sorcha goes. 'If you could be any animal, what would you be and why?' And that's when I suddenly spot the dude, walking through the electric doors, pushing a trolley with two suitcases on it. I recognise him from his photograph on LinkedIn and – yeah, no – the slight resemblance he bears to my old dear, except for the moustache and the thinning hair, neither of which he has. I'm like, 'Hey!' except he doesn't say shit. He walks straight up to me and he just, like, throws his orms around me and we end up standing there for, like, 60 seconds – randomly, just holding each other. And that's when I realise that I'm crying. Behind me, I can hear Sorcha going, 'Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!' Eventually, I tap out and we end up just holding each other at, like, orm's length, looking into each other's eyes. We don't need any of her Mount Anville Alumni Business Networking Alliance questions. It's one of those times when words are totally unnecessary. But because I'm not comfortable with silence, I end up going, 'Did you happen to see Leinster make shit of the Glasgow Warriors?'
Irish Times
24-04-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Clontarf's Conor Kelly out to banish the ghosts of 2023 in Sunday's league final
If you play for Clontarf there's a good chance you've experienced the high and lows of winning and losing Energia All-Ireland League finals. Their outhalf Conor Kelly is a case in point, having been a replacement in the defeats of 2019 and 2023, while scoring 19 points as the starting 10 in the win over Terenure three seasons ago. He knows which one he prefers. 'That was a great day all right. It is absolutely, one hundred per cent, the highlight' of his career, says the 23-year-old who has played for the Ireland Under-18 and Under-19 sides. But representing a parish and a community, among friends and family, and winning silverware at the end of a 20-match campaign over 10 months is different. 'I think that's the special thing about Clontarf. It's why people come there and stay there so long. It's more than just a team.' But it's also true that if finals are the best days to win, they're the worst days to lose. READ MORE 'We've erased the memories of 2023 as best we can,' says Kelly ruefully in advance of his fourth final, when Clontarf meet the holders Cork Constitution at the Aviva Stadium on Sunday (kick-off 4pm) as the second half of a double header featuring the women's final between Railway Union and UL Bohemian (1.30pm). Kelly was deservedly the starting outhalf on the Ireland Club XV's win over Portugal in Lisbon last month. An ever-present this season and the top flight's leading points scorer by a distance with 185 and an 85 per cent kicking ratio, Kelly has been critical to 'Tarf reaching their ninth final out of the last 11, excluding the two postponed pandemic-affected seasons of 2019-20 and 2020-21. Kelly hails from Portlaoise, where he started playing mini-rugby at the age of six and is part of a strong contingent from there in Clontarf; as well as Kelly, there's Jim Peters, James Conroy, Willie Reilly and, until moving to La Rochelle last December, Richie Whelan. Kelly's dad, Aidan, is treasurer in Portlaoise RFC but despite this commitment he, Kelly's mum, Niamh, uncle Declan, sisters Gillian and Alison (who plays with Ballincollig), and other family members attend Clontarf games regularly. His parents did miss last week's 17-15 semi-final win at home to Lansdowne due to a holiday Kelly senior had booked months ago. Clontarf's Conor Kelly and Dylan Donnellan celebrate after their game against Lansdowne last Saturday. Photograph: Tommy Grealy/Inpho 'He was thinking of cancelling it, which wouldn't have gone down too well with mum. But I got them on FaceTime in the dressingroom after the match, which was brilliant. Mum's family, interestingly enough, are all Dolphin, all Cork people, so they have two reasons to shout for Clontarf.' Always an outhalf, Kelly had his dad as his coach on underage sides with Portlaoise through to under-14s, at which point he went to Cistercian College Roscrea. He was injured toward the end of his transition year when Roscrea won the Leinster Schools Senior Cup for the sole time in 2015 and played in the side which lost the final a year later to Belvedere. [ AIL wrap: Clontarf produce another great escape Opens in new window ] That meant plenty of slagging at his expense when moving to Clontarf after school, a choice prompted by contact from the journalist Brendan Fanning and made easier by Clontarf's long-time coach Andy Wood also coaching the Leinster Under-19 side. 'There were very few outhalfs in the club and there was a route to playing AIL as quick as possible.' He was two years in the Leinster sub-academy as well as Leinster and Ireland Under-18s and 19s sides, and his outhalf contemporaries were David Hawkshaw, Harry Byrne, Ben Healy and Jake Flannery. 'A lot of guys who went on to bigger things,' says Kelly with a chuckle, but he has no regrets. 'I had opportunities to go to the UK when I finished up in Leinster but I was two years into an engineering degree at that stage, and I wasn't willing to make the sacrifice. And to be honest with you it's not something I regret. 'I'm quite happy with how my life is and where my rugby is. I'm really enjoying playing with Clontarf and in the AIL every week. It's such a high standard and when you can do that and balance it with work, it's great.' Clontarf's Conor Kelly kicks the ball in the Terenure College vs Clontarf match. Photograph: Andrew Conan/Inpho Having completed his degree, Kelly enjoys the busy nature of being a project manager in Dublin Airport, 25-30 minutes away from his home in Clontarf. Now 23, this is his seventh season as such with Clontarf. He won a Celtic Cup with Leinster A when, as he puts it, 'Dan Sheehan ran amok every week'. But winning an AIL with Clontarf three seasons ago was comparably more meaningful, as would repeating the feat next Sunday. 'In a way it means more. You're involved with it for the season. You're playing with your friends every week. It's not just the players on the pitch, it's the people behind the bar, the people who come to home and away games. And it's a social outlet as well. That's what makes it more special.' 'Tarf finished just four points above Con and won both meetings this season, by 20-16 in Temple Hill last October and 15-13 in Castle Avenue in February, but both games went down to the wire. 'This is going to be no different,' says Kelly. 'We beat them down there in the last play of the game and we were incredibly lucky to beat them in the last play of the game in Clontarf as well. We know exactly what they're going to be. They're massively physical, they've been there and done it last year. We've had a big turnover in the last two years so we probably don't have the experience of people playing in the final. [ AIL round-up: Clontarf beat Cork Con to make it tight at the top Opens in new window ] 'But it's going to be incredibly tight. I'd be very friendly with some of the Con guys on and off the pitch, so I'm really looking forward to it.' Including those two meetings, Clontarf have won five matches with the last play of the game, which tells them that this Sunday will be ferociously tough, but that they've come through such examinations before. As Kelly puts it: 'You get that belief that when it's tight you've been here before and done it, and that you can do it again with guys that put their body on the line every week for the club and for the team. That helps as well.' It must do, all right.
