LONG READ Brendan Fanning: 'Getting games into Niall Smyth would add another layer to Ireland's insurance policy.'

The opening of the new stand in Connacht’s Dexcom Stadium last weekend generated more column inches than rugby in the west of Ireland is accustomed to measuring. All told, there were a clatter of journeys down memory lane as various hacks presented Galway’s Sportsground as it used to be, and how it looks now: from the local dog track to an impressive rugby venue with the prospect of earning its keep.

If you were remotely interested in the welfare of Irish rugby you would have enjoyed the spin. Not least the excellent piece by David Kelly in the Irish Independent where he dialled up Frano Botica in Auckland. The outhalf recalled a game there for the All Blacks when the venue was better known for its alter ego as a racing circuit for greyhounds.

“We used sand then (for goal-kicking) and every time the bucket came out there was (dog) shit in it,” he said. “So I had shit on my hands and I was walking in shit before taking the kicks.”

Appropriately the game to cut the tape on the new-look stadium featured Leinster as the opposition: the local underdog against Ireland’s leader of the pack. Given the context it was understandable that more attention focused on the show rather than on the actors on stage. So Leinster giving a debut to tight head Niall Smyth was well down the match programme.

As the night unfolded however the health and wellbeing of prop forwards dominated the news agenda with the departure of Leinster loosehead Jack Boyle. Preparing for a Six Nations opener without your top three number ones will be a uniquely heavy load for Ireland to carry.

Smyth, on the other side of the scrum, thankfully came through unscathed. Why should we be bothered? Because if this fella’s form and impact as an adult is anything like they were as a schoolboy a couple of seasons ago then he has an outside chance of going to the World Cup in Australia next year. A wide, outside chance.

If you look at the depth of the current drill-down in search of bodies on the loosehead side of the scrum then you appreciate the importance of this if it happens to the tight heads. Smyth is one of the satellites. He is one of those outside the magnificent seven tight heads named by Andy Farrell last week to serve in the Six Nations and the Ireland XV against England A, the latter taking place in Thomond Park the night after the opener in Paris.

Of the satellites though, Smyth is the young man with the most promise. He has the size and the skills and the look of a tight head prop who knows his role and is equipped to carry it out.

So, with 20 months to the World Cup, those excluded from that group understandably might be looking towards the tournament in the US four years later. Or not. The events of the last couple of weeks, illustrated perfectly by Connacht loosehead Billy Bohan rocketing up the rankings, illustrate that injury is the greatest game-changer when it comes in sudden bursts. Leinster loosehead Jerry Cahir has also become a busy boy on a short term contract given what’s been happening to those around him.

Of the satellites though, Smyth is the young man (20) with the most promise. He has the size and the skills and the look of a tight head prop who knows his role and is equipped to carry it out. The conundrum is how you develop that talent in the time available.

Others in the group ahead of him are well down the path. Oli Jager in Munster for example at one stage looked like he was heading for a silver fern on his chest before coming home to Ireland after a decade in Christchurch. He is 100 per cent in the right weight class, but one cap for Ireland suggests he won’t be making a big impact.

Sam Illo (Connacht) and Scott Wilson (Ulster), in the Ireland XV squad along with Jager, are also further along the line than Smyth in gathering game time. The Ulster prop is a big lump with a strong carry, who has blossomed under forwards coach Jimmy Duffy. Illo, for his part, is mobile and willing. Neither however has the star potential of Smyth.

With Smyth now up and running in the senior side Humphreys will need to see more of the Blackrock boy over the next four months.

If you want to back him as a contender for green in RWC 2027 then you’ll be put off by the queue in blue ahead of him. Tadhg Furlong and Thomas Clarkson are Irish Lions; Rabah Slimani is a grizzled French international (36) who was all set for retirement when Leinster managed to persuade the IRFU to let them sign him. That deal was done before David Humphreys took over as Director of High Performance in the IRFU. Soon after Slimani was getting to grips with improving his English in Dublin Humphreys was shutting the gate on non-Ireland qualified front rowers fetching up in this country. Humphreys described the Slimani signing as “a short-term decision to address a couple of issues in Leinster over the next 12 months”.

Those 12 months stretched into another season for the Frenchman who has delivered well on his end of the deal. But with Smyth now up and running in the senior side Humphreys will need to see more of the Blackrock boy over the next four months, in which Leinster would hope to be playing 15 games between URC and Europe.

The speed with which the picture changes is something Farrell and Humphreys are experiencing currently on the loosehead side of the scrum. If that fire catches across the front row then they will care less about getting the balance right between old campaigners and young hopefuls and more about finding someone fit and willing. Getting games into Niall Smyth would add another layer to that insurance policy.