Josh van der Flier’s emergence as a starter for club and country in 2016 has been one of the success stories of the season for Irish rugby.
In a short space of time the 22-year-old has nailed down his spot in the Leinster starting team, he has also made his bow on the international stage.
The flanker made his debut in Ireland’s Six Nations defeat to England at Twickenham before starting in the win over Italy. Injury kept him out of the final game against Scotland.
He put in a Man of the Match performance, scoring one of the tries as Leinster downed Edinburgh 30-23 in the Guinness Pro 12 on Friday.
The display capped off an incredible few months for the young flanker, who admits he even struggles to comprehend his transformation from fringe player at the province to starter.
After the game he spoke to 98FM’s Darren Cleary at a rainy RDS about his rise up the ranks:
After an injury plagued 2015, the 22-year-old returned hungrier than ever, and that was apparent early on as he put in a number of fine performances in the Guinness Pro 12 for Leinster.
The Dubliner managed just six appearances for the province last season, with just two of them as a starter. In contrast he’s already played 17 times for Leinster this year, scoring 3 tries.
He revealed a meeting with recently retired Leinster player Shane Jennings during the Rugby World Cup had a big impact on him:
“I had a good chat with Shane Jennings at the start of the season. I met up with him during the World Cup and he just kind of talked me through what he used to do. He’d be a lot better professional than me and I learned an awful lot from him.”
“Then you see people like Johnny Sexton, Jamie Heaslip, all those lads, you can see with all the players that play well that they put the preparation in. I’m learning from all the players around me.”
Fellow players, fans and pundits are all pondering the secret to van der Flier’s success, and it could rest in the simplicity of pen and paper.
The studios flanker is known to bring his notebook everywhere. It accompanies him to training, team meetings and analysis sessions.
“I do write a lot. I always keep my notebook around with me. I try and take down whatever is relevant for that week.”
“I probably have to work a bit harder to remember things, I wouldn't be as good at remembering stuff. I have to work that bit harder to make sure I have everything in the head.”
