Ireland's Joe McCarthy: 'I was subbing for the junior fourths team'

Promising Ireland forward Joe McCarthy has spoken about his initial difficulties making his way in the game, revealing that as a teenager he was only good enough for the bench at his school’s junior fourths rugby team and that he even quit the sport for a few weeks the year after.

The 22-year-old attended Blackrock College and his enthusiasm for rugby wasn’t matched by his on-field exploits until his final year at the Dublin school.

Only then did things eventually fall into place and he stepped on the accelerator that has since won him seven Ireland Test caps, including a run off Andy Farrell’s bench in the recent Rugby World Cup quarter-final loss to the All Blacks.

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Ahead of the upcoming Guinness Six Nations, which has a February 2 start for Ireland away in Marseille, McCarthy has reflected on his career progress and his backstory is a lesson for teenagers everywhere not to lose heart when not getting picked.

The Leinster lock told the latest edition of Rugby World magazine: “I meet people from school now and they are kinda shocked that I’m playing professional rugby,” he explained.

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“I mean, I wasn’t even near the junior cup team. I always loved rugby and had a drive to get better. I really wanted to be on the first team the whole time but I was on the thirds.

“I was always trying to push on but it never happened. I remember the summer before the junior cup. I was eating loads, trying to bulk up, gymming like crazy and I didn’t even make the squad. I was absolutely gutted.

“I ended up finishing the year coming off the bench for the junior fourths. I was subbing for the junior fourths team. We won our cup competition with the fourths. It wasn’t the highest level but it was still a trophy. I came off the bench in the final, but then the following year I was nearly giving up rugby altogether.

“That lasted a few weeks. I was saying to myself, ‘Jeez, am I getting screwed over by coaches here? Is there any point in playing rugby?’ I’d put in the effort and I wasn’t anywhere near it and I was kinda considering giving up.

“But without rugby, I didn’t know what to do with myself, so I went back. I was gymming loads, every day after school. I’ve always loved the gym, to be fair.

“I loved the physical side of the game and being able to dominate in contact and in sixth year it started to happen for me. I made the first team. I stuck at it and, eventually, it came good.”