Racing certainty Ross Byrne focused on Champions Cup clash rather than Farrell squad call
Despite being firmly in the mix for selection, Leinster out-half Ross Byrne has insisted a potential call-up to tomorrow’s Ireland squad for the forthcoming Six Nations Championship is very much at the back of his mind.
Across the 2020 and 2021 editions of the hotly-contested international competition, Byrne made seven appearances off the bench. The former St Michael’s College student subsequently found himself slipping down the pecking order, before seizing upon an unexpected chance against Australia in the Autumn Nations Series last November by slotting over a late match-winning penalty.
Yet with Racing 92 arriving in the Aviva Stadium on Saturday to face Leinster in a Champions Cup pool stage encounter – a game he is due to start with Jonathan Sexton still ruled out of contention – Byrne isn’t fixated on Andy Farrell’s squad announcement that takes place two days earlier.
“Haven’t really thought about it, to be honest. Focus is fully on Racing this weekend, that’s all I can control. Hopefully put in another good performance this week and we get another win. Whatever happens, happens. The only thing I’m thinking about is Saturday and that’s against Racing,” Byrne said of his potential inclusion for the Six Nations.
“I’ve probably spent enough time over the years worrying about elements outside, things that aren’t in my control. For me, I’m in a pretty good headspace at the moment and that’s just focusing week in, week out.”
The circumstances that surrounded Byrne’s sudden re-entry to the international scene have been well-documented. After beginning the week of the Australian game at Leinster preparing for a friendly encounter against Chile, Byrne was drafted into the Ireland squad to replace his Munster counterpart Joey Carbery.
Having only just recovered from a dead leg, the aforementioned Sexton injured his calf in the warm-up to the duel with the southern hemisphere giants. While Cork native Jack Crowley took over from the Ireland captain in the starting 15, Byrne was thrust into the action on 72 minutes and went on to become the hero of an eventual 13-10 triumph.
“Obviously there was a lot of emotion. I’ve gone from not being in the squad to Monday evening, I was in. I wasn’t expecting to play the day of the game and I ended up in, like that. I was just training at Leinster, I think we actually had a game against Chile that week. So we were really just preparing for that game, just trying to get better here,” Byrne recalls of a hectic week on a personal level.
While he is doing his best not to think about his possible involvement in the Six Nations, Byrne is nonetheless aware that people’s perception of him has changed since his dramatic intervention against the Wallabies. Whereas before he wasn’t viewed as a likely option in the test arena, it would now be seen as a surprise if he doesn’t make the cut when Farrell unveils his Six Nations selection tomorrow morning.
“Someone can do something one week and they are a hero and then the next week they are the villain. It’s the same with teams. Things change very quickly in sports. I suppose it’s just trying to be consistent, it is the key thing. That’s probably what keeps people onside,” Byrne added.