IT HAD BEEN a while since Ireland fans had enjoyed the sight of Andrew Porter punching onto the ball in the way he did on Friday night.
Firstly, that’s because Porter hadn’t worn an Ireland jersey for a year due to his calf issues last season. The loosehead prop missed the Six Nations and the summer tour to Australia and New Zealand.
But there’s also the sense that Porter’s previously explosive contributions on the ball had been somewhat stunted even before his injuries, mainly because of the heavy workload asked of him at the set-piece and in the rucks.
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Porter had almost gone from being a ball-carrying threat in his own right to someone who allowed team-mates to prosper in that regard.
So the sight of Porter bringing real pop in the carry during Ireland’s 42-12 win over Argentina was enjoyable for Irish fans.
Most of his nine carries were into dense traffic, but Porter made it beyond the gainline with the majority of them.
“When I was injured, I wasn’t able to do a lot of the on-field stuff,” said Porter after Ireland’s six-try win.
“It’s checking in with coaches and working on a bit more video, a bit more visualisation with [performance coach] Gary Keegan as well, he’s been great. In my time off, I was in contact with him a bit.
“Then it’s just bringing it to training and building the habit at training. You have great coaches and great players to be able to do that and try to emulate as well. You see Big Joe [McCarthy], you see James Ryan, you see how great a carrier they are; they’re more than happy for you to pick their brain and get their mentality on it.
“There’s usually not too much to it. They make it very simple in their terms, they just love carrying the ball but you just watch them, you watch some of the lads at the top of their game who are the best carriers, you look at them and try to manage your own game.”
Porter after Ireland's six-try win. Ben Brady / INPHO
Porter’s exuberance in his ball-carrying was probably also as much down to simply being so excited to get back in an Ireland jersey.
The 30-year-old missed the feeling during those stints watching from the outside last season.
And yet, he reflects that having the summer off may have been to his benefit. Porter made it back from his first calf injury last season, playing in the Champions Cup final and up to the URC semi-final with Leinster, before being ruled out again.
“There’s never a good time to get an injury, but having the summer and having that time where I wasn’t rushed back in, I could get everything right and work on parts of my game and even just that kind of mental side,” said Porter.
“You always have that hunger as a player, but I suppose it’s the time off that makes you even hungrier to get back.”
Porter was focused on not allowing himself to become too emotional as he made his comeback on Friday, although he had plenty to keep him occupied once the action got rolling.
Injuries meant Argentina had a huge number of switches in their front row, with one scrum incorrectly going uncontested just before half time.
Porter was replaced by Tom O’Toole with 24 minutes remaining but then returned to the pitch at tighthead temporarily later on when Sam Illo was in the sin bin. To be fair, Porter has lots of experience on that side of the scrum.
“It was a bit unexpected to come back on at tighthead, but I always enjoy just being on the pitch,” he said.
“I hadn’t really done many reps this week at tighthead, so it was more like, ‘Oh, see how you go’ when I got back on.”
Ireland will face a big set-piece battle in two weekends. Ben Brady / INPHO
Porter said the Irish pack were happy with their set-piece efforts against Argentina, even if there weren’t too many scrums in the game.
The big test in that regard is still to come in two weekends when South Africa come to Dublin, a year on from their scrum hammering of Ireland at the Aviva.
Ireland will play Fiji next weekend but that Springboks clash is looming large.
“Yeah, it’s always in the back of your mind just to keep pushing and keep getting better in all areas, especially as a forward,” said Porter. “That’s your bread and butter, your set-piece.
“It’s something that we’re definitely focused on all the time but I think even more so, I suppose, what games are coming up, what you’re going to need to be on the ball for.
“It’s great to be able to test yourself against the best. What better opportunity, what better challenge to be able to do it for.”
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Porter is 'even hungrier' as he comes back with a bang for Ireland
IT HAD BEEN a while since Ireland fans had enjoyed the sight of Andrew Porter punching onto the ball in the way he did on Friday night.
Firstly, that’s because Porter hadn’t worn an Ireland jersey for a year due to his calf issues last season. The loosehead prop missed the Six Nations and the summer tour to Australia and New Zealand.
But there’s also the sense that Porter’s previously explosive contributions on the ball had been somewhat stunted even before his injuries, mainly because of the heavy workload asked of him at the set-piece and in the rucks.
Porter had almost gone from being a ball-carrying threat in his own right to someone who allowed team-mates to prosper in that regard.
So the sight of Porter bringing real pop in the carry during Ireland’s 42-12 win over Argentina was enjoyable for Irish fans.
Most of his nine carries were into dense traffic, but Porter made it beyond the gainline with the majority of them.
“When I was injured, I wasn’t able to do a lot of the on-field stuff,” said Porter after Ireland’s six-try win.
“It’s checking in with coaches and working on a bit more video, a bit more visualisation with [performance coach] Gary Keegan as well, he’s been great. In my time off, I was in contact with him a bit.
“Then it’s just bringing it to training and building the habit at training. You have great coaches and great players to be able to do that and try to emulate as well. You see Big Joe [McCarthy], you see James Ryan, you see how great a carrier they are; they’re more than happy for you to pick their brain and get their mentality on it.
“There’s usually not too much to it. They make it very simple in their terms, they just love carrying the ball but you just watch them, you watch some of the lads at the top of their game who are the best carriers, you look at them and try to manage your own game.”
Porter’s exuberance in his ball-carrying was probably also as much down to simply being so excited to get back in an Ireland jersey.
The 30-year-old missed the feeling during those stints watching from the outside last season.
And yet, he reflects that having the summer off may have been to his benefit. Porter made it back from his first calf injury last season, playing in the Champions Cup final and up to the URC semi-final with Leinster, before being ruled out again.
“There’s never a good time to get an injury, but having the summer and having that time where I wasn’t rushed back in, I could get everything right and work on parts of my game and even just that kind of mental side,” said Porter.
“You always have that hunger as a player, but I suppose it’s the time off that makes you even hungrier to get back.”
Porter was focused on not allowing himself to become too emotional as he made his comeback on Friday, although he had plenty to keep him occupied once the action got rolling.
Injuries meant Argentina had a huge number of switches in their front row, with one scrum incorrectly going uncontested just before half time.
Porter was replaced by Tom O’Toole with 24 minutes remaining but then returned to the pitch at tighthead temporarily later on when Sam Illo was in the sin bin. To be fair, Porter has lots of experience on that side of the scrum.
“It was a bit unexpected to come back on at tighthead, but I always enjoy just being on the pitch,” he said.
“I hadn’t really done many reps this week at tighthead, so it was more like, ‘Oh, see how you go’ when I got back on.”
Porter said the Irish pack were happy with their set-piece efforts against Argentina, even if there weren’t too many scrums in the game.
The big test in that regard is still to come in two weekends when South Africa come to Dublin, a year on from their scrum hammering of Ireland at the Aviva.
Ireland will play Fiji next weekend but that Springboks clash is looming large.
“Yeah, it’s always in the back of your mind just to keep pushing and keep getting better in all areas, especially as a forward,” said Porter. “That’s your bread and butter, your set-piece.
“It’s something that we’re definitely focused on all the time but I think even more so, I suppose, what games are coming up, what you’re going to need to be on the ball for.
“It’s great to be able to test yourself against the best. What better opportunity, what better challenge to be able to do it for.”
Andrew Porter Argentina Fiji Ireland Loosehead Nations Championship Rugby