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Published 18:31 19 Jan 2023 GMT
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Ireland players Cian Prendergast, left, and Kieran Treadwell celebrate after a win over the Maori All Blacks. (Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile)[/caption]
Peter O'Reilly, in The Sunday Times, told a good story when giving some background to the man that has displaced Treadwell in the Ireland squad. When he brought his squad tonPortugal for some warm-weather training, last January, the coaches were watching in a bar as Cardiff inflicted a rare URC defeat on Leinster. It was Joe McCarthy that grabbed the attention of Farrell. Watching the 6-foot-6 lock make a bruising carry into contact, Farrell was said to have looked around and asked, 'Oo's the big lad?'That was it. McCarthy was on the radar. Farrell was convinced the Ireland second row, aside from the likes of Henderson, James Ryan and Tadhg Beirne, needed a big unit. An enforcer. So it transpired that McCarthy also made the New Zealand tour. He looked raw in his outings against the Maori All Blacks but, like most that featured in those games, much better in the second hit-out. The game that clinched McCarthy's place in the 2023 Six Nations squad was the last game he has played this season. On December 26, down at Thomond Park, the 21-year-old delivered his best game in professional rugby. He looked right at home in an 80-minute performance against Munster and hinted at just what his ceiling could be. Farrell was watching on. Treadwell can justifiably feel hard done-by but that Munster game, and the raw potential of the lad, is what makes McCarthy the right man for this time. Related articles:
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