Select Edition

Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
NZ NZ

RugbyPass December Player of the Month - Caelan Doris

By Alex Shaw
(Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

There have been plenty of impressive performances over the past month and no shortage of candidates for the December RugbyPass Player of the Month award, making Caelan Doris’ eventual triumph all the more noteworthy.

ADVERTISEMENT

The 21-year-old No8 has risen rapidly through the ranks at Leinster since standing out at under-20s level with Ireland, and he looks at home among the star-studded provincial and international back rows that he finds himself lining up alongside.

His winning of this award follows immediately on from Marcell Coetzee having picked up the gong in November in what has been a strong start to the season for the Irish provinces, with their array of back rowers in a particularly rich vein of form.

Doris was highly influential in Leinster’s back-to-back wins over Northampton in the Heineken Champions Cup earlier this month, laying a platform for his side’s backs to go to work from. Saints’ defence repeatedly struggled to stop the Mayo native from getting over the gain line and giving his side quick ball.

From a statistical standpoint, the back row made 140 metres on 32 carries across the two games, as well as 29 tackles, winning a turnover and grabbing a try. The numbers back up the all-action performances he put in.

(Continue reading below…)

RugbyPass sat down recently with former Ireland and Lions star David Wallace

Video Spacer

In addition to those two standout displays, Doris also returned to the starting XV for Leinster’s Christmas league trip to Munster, playing a pivotal role in not only delivering them the win but also bragging rights.

ADVERTISEMENT

It was a much tighter game than the two against Northampton and Doris revised his role well, breaking the line closer to the ruck and providing Leinster with secure ball moving forward as Munster’s defence asked more strenuous questions of the reigning Guinness PRO14 champions than Saints did.

The youngster has some challenging competition moving forward, with Ireland international Jack Conan and likely international-in-the-waiting Max Deegan both vying for the same spot in the back row as Doris.

That said, if he continues to turn in performances such as the ones he put on in December, it won’t just be their provincial spots under threat, it will also be CJ Stander’s tenure as Ireland’s starting No8.

With Rhys Ruddock, Josh van der Flier, Dan Leavy and the fast-rising Scott Penny also on the books at Leinster, the Dublin-based side boast potentially the best array of back row forwards anywhere in club rugby. Doris is beginning to show that he isn’t there just to make up the numbers in that stellar group, he is there to lead them.

ADVERTISEMENT

A $100 donation from RugbyPass will be made to the charity of Doris’ choosing to reward his performances on the pitch over the last month.

WATCH: RugbyPass travelled to Brecon to see how life after rugby is treating Andy Powell

Video Spacer
ADVERTISEMENT

Join free

Aotearoa Rugby Podcast | Episode 6

Sam Warburton | The Big Jim Show | Full Episode

Japan Rugby League One | Sungoliath v Eagles | Full Match Replay

Japan Rugby League One | Spears v Wild Knights | Full Match Replay

Boks Office | Episode 10 | Six Nations Final Round Review

Aotearoa Rugby Podcast | How can New Zealand rugby beat this Ireland team

Beyond 80 | Episode 5

Rugby Europe Men's Championship Final | Georgia v Portugal | Full Match Replay

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Features

Comments on RugbyPass

J
Jon 7 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

35 Go to comments
j
john 9 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

39 Go to comments
A
Adrian 11 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

39 Go to comments
FEATURE
FEATURE Andy Christie: 'Diversity breeds strength in a group rather than weakness' Andy Christie: 'Diversity breeds strength in a group rather than weakness'
Search