2 days ago
'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.
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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.'
