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The 42
16 hours ago
- 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.'
Times
21 hours ago
- Sport
- Times
Nick Timoney: I still think I can break through with Ireland
Pro rugby can be such a brutal and unforgiving job that its practitioners surely need an occasional reminder of why they fell in love with the sport in the first place. Nick Timoney may have had one of those moments last week, when Mamuka Gorgodze's name popped up in conversation. The context was Georgian rugby — naturally, given that Timoney is in Tbilisi preparing for next Saturday's Test. The 29-year-old Dubliner has played these opponents at U18 level and also in sevens, but when he thinks of Georgia, his first thought is Gorgodze, a rampaging loose forward and one of his childhood heroes. 'I have hours of Mamuka Gorgodze footage watched from when I was a kid,' Timoney says. 'I used to watch that ten-minute highlight video of his pretty much every week, loads of clips of him playing Poland and Russia and Spain. He was a tank. 'It was the same with other players in your position that you looked up to. I used to like the [Sébastien] Chabal clips on Rugby Dump. I used to love David Wallace, the Seán O'Briens of the world, [Stephen] Ferris back in the day. My favourite one was 'Try-Savers and Rib-Breakers 11'.' A classic, no doubt. Timoney now has his own highlights reel, and it features a try-scoring debut appearance for Ireland, against USA this time four years ago when, once again, the eyes of the rugby world were on the Lions. In most of the clips, however, he's charging around in an Ulster shirt. There have been just two more opportunities at Test match level — first, when he was a very late call-up to sit on the bench against Argentina in November 2021 and then 12 months later, when he scored two tries in an underwhelming victory over Fiji, following which Andy Farrell made it plain that he'd been displeased with the team's performance. Since then, nada — unless you count inclusion in most squad announcements (barring the World Cup) and a peripheral presence on tours to New Zealand and South Africa. His desire to play more for Ireland is intense, though. It's one of the reasons behind his decision to stay in Ulster for another two seasons for significantly less money than was on offer in Gloucester and from another club, in the Top 14. Once he's in the mix with Ireland, he's staying put. Timoney seemed mildly surprised when it was put to him that that players might show any complacency or fatigue approaching this end-of-season assignment, which also features a Test against Portugal in Lisbon on Saturday week. Yes, 15 front-liners are away with the Lions, but this only creates precious opportunities. 'I don't think there's any hint of really taking any complacency into this, just with the nature of the group that we have,' he says. 'Essentially everyone has a point to prove in some way. I'm sure there will be some lads disappointed not to be picked in the Lions squad. There will be some lads who are hoping to get the chance for the first time in a while, like myself, and there are some lads who are the first time in. So everyone's mad keen. 'In my head there's absolutely no hint of this being anything other than a chance to represent my country, which is a massive honour. We take this incredibly seriously. And to be fair to all the young lads in, like, they're desperate for their chance. Maybe desperate is the wrong word, but they're keen.' It might be the right word for him, though. Timoney can be forgiven for feeling a bit unlucky to be playing at the same time and in the same position as Josh van der Flier, who has maintained a machine-like efficiency and durability despite spending so much time in the collision zone. Discounting World Cup warm-ups, Ireland have played 40 Tests since Timoney's debut. Van der Flier has played 39 of those, starting all but two of those games. How does his understudy maintain the same level of ambition in those circumstances? 'Just by the value of the goal that's there,' he says. 'It can be tough. Being a realist, you come in to a lot of camps knowing you're not top of the pecking order. But if the other lads are desperate to play in a Six Nations opener against England, I'd be the exact same. And it still kills you inside a little bit every time a team is announced and you're not in it. But ultimately, if you really value playing for Ireland enough there's no choice but to put more emphasis on getting better and working harder.'The belief is still there. Like, I still come into every single camp thinking this be the one I break through and I'll be into it properly then. I still feel like I have loads of improvements to make and I still have the same appetite for it.' The younger Timoney set high expectations for himself, not unreasonably given that he captained Blackrock College to a Leinster Schools Senior Cup. That 2014 side included several players who would become successful full-timers: Caelan Doris, Hugo Keenan, Conor Oliver, Joey Carbery and Jeremy Loughman. But if you view Timoney as the kid who was ditched by the Leinster academy and didn't make much of an initial impact after his move to Ulster, then his career has been a resounding success. The way he tells it, he is almost an accidental pro. 'I didn't really feel like I was getting much purchase at Ulster,' he says. 'I'd signed a two-year academy deal and I was coming towards the end of my second yea. I hadn't gotten a game and hadn't gotten really that close. I remember playing an AIL game with Queen's [University] away to Corinthians, who were bottom of Division 2A, and we got absolutely hammered. 'This was five, six weeks from the end of the season and I hadn't heard anything about the following year. I thought it was coming to an end. But somewhat randomly I got a chance off the bench then the following week for Ulster against Cardiff and then got a few more chances and ended up managing to stick around for a few years. ' It's easy to wonder what if. What if Timoney had been born in Scotland or Wales? How many Test caps would he have then? What if he didn't play for a club that is often mired in mediocrity? But Ulster has worked pretty well for Nick Timoney. Yes, the club lost their last five games of the season and yes, he had to spend the next five weeks training in the Ravenhill gym along with the other six Ulster players selected for Tbilisi and Lisbon. But his consistency was also acknowledged at Ulster's awards night, when he won Player of the Year and Supporters' Player of the Year. Besides, he loves what he does. You'd have to, right? 'It's hard to watch a URC game with the same enthusiasm as when you were a child, because it's now work,' he says. 'You watch things with more of a serious face. But like, I'm still into it. Yeah, I still like keeping up-to-date what's going on, seeing who's doing what. And I think you sort of have to love it a little bit if you want to keep getting better. Like you've got to be properly into it. So I still am, yeah, for now.'
