Leinster's Jack Conan. Image: Ben Brady/INPHO Leinster's Jack Conan. Image: Ben Brady/INPHO IT WAS AN historic summer for Irish rugby, but Jack Conan admits to leaving New Zealand with mixed feelings.
Conan, 30, still played an important role for the tourists, coming off the bench in all three Tests against the All Blacks and clocking up a total of 56 minutes. However, the previous summer he started all three Tests for the British and Irish Lions in South Africa. Between August 2021 and July 2022, something changed.
After an extended summer break, Conan is now back at work with a Leinster squad who for the first time since 2017, embark on a new campaign without a trophy to defend, the hurt of last season’s Champions Cup final and URC semi-final defeats still hanging in the air at their Dublin 4 training base. I think as well something he speaks about a lot is communication. You can always hear him, even now when he’s on the sideline. His ability to have small conversations while on the move when training or in games was something that was really impressive. It might seem like such a small thing, but it allows other people to be on the same page with you, it allows lads to get off the line defensively together, it allows lads to be in the right shape for attack.