'I'm in a different headspace from looking to retire a few weeks ago'
Barbarians prop John Ryan can’t believe the bucket moments he is suddenly ticking off his list. Just a few weeks ago, when Wasps went to the wall and his three-year deal was kaput after only four months, the 34-year-old prop thought he was finished. Retirement was contemplated before his world turned upside down again… for far healthier reasons.
A short-term deal was hurriedly struck by his Wasserman agent for him to return to Munster, the Irish province that coldly told him last December there was no contract beyond the end of 2021/22. That had left him stranded on 197 caps, three short of the double-century milestone. Now he is suddenly back in the thick of it, that career highlight he so severely craved is within touching distance again.
Then there is this week’s incredible craic in London. More bucket list capers. Before inking papers with his old club in Limerick, the Barbarians had called to invite Ryan over for this Sunday’s game versus an All Blacks XV at Tottenham. Playing for the Baa-Baas and facing the haka – two more much-desired rugby dreams are about to be suddenly reaslised. No wonder Ryan was jovially in pinch-me mode over a 20-minute call with RugbyPass the other day.
“It has been pretty cool. Getting to know lads from all different parts of the world who are a very high standard of player and being amongst them is very humbling. And then obviously the coaches we have are very good. So far Joe Marler is holding court. He is the man pulling all the strings but Lauret (Wenceslas) from Racing is a very funny guy. Ronan (O’Gara) has been up there too, as has Scott Robertson. It’s been good craic.
“It’s definitely a bucket list thing I thought I’d get maybe kicking on towards the end of my career. I don’t think I’m at the end of my career, I’m 34 but it is something I always did want to do. I didn’t know I would get the opportunity but I’m happy I’m here. It’s definitely a bucket list thing and another one was to play against the All Blacks – both are happening in one week so it’s fairly good,” he chuckled.
Rugby.
We bloody love it ?
New teammates, new friendships ? #Baabaas #rugby #KillikCup ? pic.twitter.com/lflJfwkCM2
— Barbarian FC (@Barbarian_FC) November 10, 2022
“The social element, you hear stories (about the Barbarians) and I’m now thinking 90 per cent of them are true, it’s like nothing you ever do. It’s brilliant, unreal craic… There have been a few incidents in the evenings, there has been a song sung by one of the coaches. I’m not going to mention which one it was but the song might have ruined their dinner but he made ours.
“I’m rooming with George Bridge, a different type of player, but he is a really sound fella,” Ryan added. “He just got in a couple of days ago and is moving to Montpellier so the room is full to the brim of bags and golf clubs. There is no way to move but he is a nice fella, we’ll leave him off.
“Networking is another big part of the week, seeing what it is like out there and just chatting, really getting to know fellas. It 100 per cent opens your eyes up and if I was aiming to get another life experience and move my family, create an experience for the whole family, I have been chatting to lads who are saying France is cool, I have been in England – albeit a small bit of time – so I kind of know that situation. But 100 per cent, the variety of people is definitely helpful with the networking.”
It won’t be just this week either that Ryan will press the Barbarians flesh. The front-rower is the only member of this week’s around-the-world Baa-Baas squad who will see the tour out. He’s staying on for the other games versus Harlequins, Bath and Northampton – an extension he can’t wait for as a number of old Wasps teammates, the likes of Jacob Umaga and Tom Cruse who are still looking for clubs, have been invited to play.
It’s difficult for Ryan to sum up the staggering Wasps unravelling. Redundancy never crossed his mind and he was left devastated when an old Munster colleague rang on October 17 to check on him after news of the collapse broke at the training ground at Henley-in-Arden. That was something the prop missed as he was still en route back to Leamington Spa after spending the weekend of the cancelled Exeter game at home in Limerick with his pregnant wife and two young children.
“Three years signed and four months in, it was all gone. It was quite disappointing. I wasn’t there at Henley. We had a meeting the Wednesday before that I was at that meeting and things were looking hairy enough. They just said, ‘Look, go home, be with your families, do what you have to do, fly home’. So I flew back to Ireland and the flight back was Monday afternoon… and we were going to continue our season.
“We were going into administration but we were going to come straight back out of it, that was my understanding and that was what most people’s understanding was. But then when I got the phone call, it was actually Marcus Horan that rang and broke the news to me and I was shocked. I just didn’t see that coming at all. We weren’t expecting redundancy, we were expecting administration, to recover and finish the season, get relegated, come back and get stronger. That was the idea but unfortunately, it was a lot more sinister than that.
“So I missed the meeting in Henley-in-Arden, which I regret now because I missed a few of the goodbyes but I met a few boys over the couple of days after for coffees and stuff – but we were all organising our lives so I don’t think anyone wanted to be going out on big nights out.”
#NewProfilePic pic.twitter.com/xB5vAtonIO
— John Ryan (@john_ryan_88) September 8, 2022
What helped Ryan was he had yet to move his family over to England, so he was fortunately alone when packing up the car and catching the ferry back to Ireland with retirement thoughts clouding his mind. “My family were staying in Limerick for the first year because we are expecting our third child so from that perspective, we are very lucky, it was an easier transition for me to move home.
“But you are signed up for three years, you are readjusting your life and then all of a sudden you are not getting paid your October cheque and you are under pressure. We all have bills to pay and they weren’t getting paid that month because I wasn’t getting paid. You just have to go panic stations and get your life in order, just logistically get over these little humps.
“I was thinking about retirement because I was kind of half fed up, but I’m in a different headspace definitely from when I was looking to retire a few weeks ago. I was contemplating retirement because there was nothing there for me. Then I committed to the Barbarians and signed the Munster contract on Sunday night at around 7:30. Nobody knew I was coming in (on the Monday), so it was quite nice. A lot of people were shocked to see me but they were happy. It was a really cool welcome back. It’s like never left really.”
Adding to the devastation, Ryan was really enjoying the style of Wasps’ play. Look at his Premiership debut for the club: the prop made an exciting gallop into space, his bust creating a cracking first-half try at Kingsholm. And then there was their only win of the season at Bath, the club where Johann van Grann, the coach who gave him his P45 last December at Munster, now works.
“We won’t get as personal as that now but the Bath game was a highlight as it was the only game I won over there. I didn’t play a whole pile but they played a good style of rugby that suited me and everyone was a ball player. Sometimes it can nearly be a bit black and white. When we played the last few years in Munster there were designated ball carriers but Wasps was everyone plays ball, it didn’t matter who you were.
“I was very happy in that system, enjoying my rugby. I’d do the basics very well and was trying to add something else in my old age. I was happy that (break) came in the Gloucester game and I hopefully can do something now this weekend with the Baa-Baas. You won’t see me kicking any balls but making a little bust or something will be nice.”
TEAM NEWS
Thread ? 1/3
Our @KillikandCo ? team v @AllBlacksXV @SpursStadium:
Forwards ?
1. Marler ???????
2. Chat ??
3. Ryan ??
4. Picquette
5. Tagitagivalu ??
6. Lauret ??
7. Whitelock ?? (c)
8. Mercer ???????Tickets ? = https://t.co/ExuseiT010#Baabaas #rugby #KillikCup
— Barbarian FC (@Barbarian_FC) November 11, 2022
His Munster comeback was as a starter versus Ulster and he saw enough in his fleeting few training sessions to detect a very different setup compared to what he had known there under van Graan. “There is a lot of tempo, training is quite hard… a lot of time last year there was 15-on-15 on the pitch and there were lads who were on the sideline watching, twiddling their thumbs, but now if you are off the pitch you are doing skills.
“We are really working on the skills element, something we probably didn’t do as much before. It’s something that is drilled every single session now and hopefully people will see that, see a few more offloads or better skills, even better passing skills. That is a big difference really, and the new faces, the coaches, they are great fresh faces to have around the place with Graham Rowntree spearheading it.”
It sounds as if Ryan has suddenly landed on his feet despite Wasps folding, but the wolf still isn’t far from the door of the family home that is a stone’s throw away from the UL gates of the Munster training ground. As it stands, the ex-Ireland forward will become jobless again at the end of January. His future needs sorting out.
#OnThisDay 10 years ago @john_ryan_88 was in action for @CorkConRugby against @LansdowneFC in the @EnergiaEnergy All-Ireland League! (? @LorOSullivan) pic.twitter.com/5Yy86Er0Dr
— Inpho Photography (@Inphosports) November 3, 2022
“It [his Munster deal] is only three months, up to January, and my wife is expecting in January so that is convenient enough but I would hope that to be renewed until the end of the season. We will see what happens, I will play my rugby, try and do as good a job as possible and see if there is space for me.
“Where my headspace is at the moment, I would love to see out the season with Munster. I would 100 per cent like to stay in Munster. They are not going so well at the moment but you can see there is so much change and I believe something (good) will happen there. That would be exciting to be a part of but something in France or England would also be appealing. I’d be willing to move again, to see what is out there. I’m ruling nothing out and have a very open mind for 2023/24 season.”
Comments on RugbyPass
This just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
16 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
7 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
16 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
4 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
4 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
26 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
16 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
26 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
16 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
84 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
2 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
4 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
16 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
14 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
16 Go to commentsIts a great idea but one that I dont think will have a lot of traction. It will depend on the prestige that they each hold but if you can do that it would be great. When Japan beat the Boks (my team) I was absolutely devestated but I wont deny the great game they played that day. We were outclassed and it was one of the best games of rugby I have seen. Using an idea like this you might just give the the underdog teams more of an opportunity to beat the big teams and I can absolutely see it being a brilliant display of rugby. They beat us because they planned for that game. It was a great moment for Japan. This way we can remove the 4 year wait and give teams something to aim for outside of World Cup years.
16 Go to comments