WHEREAS HE PLAYED some part in all five games they played at the finals in Japan four years ago, Jordan Larmour had a completely different vantage point for Ireland’s 2023 World Cup campaign.
The youngest member of the squad back then at just 22 years of age, Larmour started two games and made a further three appearances off the bench during the course of the 2019 RWC. He continued to be a regular presence in the initial stages of Andy Farrell’s reign as Ireland head coach, but the most recent of his 30 test caps to date came against Japan back in July 2021.
Yet he did feature twice against the Maori All Blacks on the successful Tour of New Zealand 12 months later and despite injury ruling him out of the November internationals at the end of 2022, Farrell named him in his 37-man squad for this year’s Six Nations.
The former St Andrew’s College student had hoped his form was strong enough across 15 appearances for Leinster last season to get him into Ireland’s summer training squad in advance of the World Cup, but it ultimately wasn’t to be.
“Obviously hugely disappointing [to miss out on the World Cup squad]. I thought last season I was playing alright. I found a bit of form again and when you get the call from Faz and you look down at your phone, it’s not a nice feeling because you know what’s coming,” Larmour recalled yesterday ahead of Leinster’s United Rugby Championship clash with the Sharks.
“I got that on holidays and was obviously disappointed. Your brain is going a million miles an hour. You’re trying to chill out and relax, but I took a few days to get over it – just feeling a bit low.
“It is important to flip the page and say it is what it is, because there’s nothing you can do about it. The only thing I can control is what I do, so this season and pre-season is about putting the head down and working away.”
Although he was outside of the match day 23 for the duration of their latest clean sweep of Championship honours this spring, a good run of form for his province could well force Larmour back into the frame when Ireland kick-start the defence of their Six Nations title next February.
Leinster did begin their latest URC odyssey with a 43-25 defeat to Glasgow Warriors at Scotstoun Stadium last Sunday, but that was just the first of 13 competitive fixtures that Leo Cullen’s men are set to play in the lead-up to the next international window.
“The ultimate goal is to get back playing for Ireland. Anyone growing up watching rugby here, that’s what you want to do. This season is just trying to do everything I can to put myself in a position that, if I get the opportunity, I’m ready.
“That starts here with Leinster. You have to be playing well and you have to be putting your hand up. It’s a big season ahead and one I’m looking forward to.”
After winning five major trophies in his opening four years as part of their senior squad (four Pro14 titles and a European Champions Cup), Larmour quickly became accustomed to success with Leinster. However, the past two seasons have ended in disappointment for the Dubliner and his provincial colleagues with a brace of United Rugby Championship semi-final reversals being supplemented by back-to-back Champions Cup decider defeats to La Rochelle.
Leinster had looked set to claim a fifth European star when they raced into an early 17-0 lead against the Top 14 side at the Aviva Stadium last May, but Ronan O’Gara’s men produced a sterling comeback to keep their hands on the top-tier crown.
Though the vast majority of the players who featured that day were part of the Ireland squad that suffered another quarter-final exit at the World Cup – and therefore haven’t reintegrated back into the provincial system just yet – Larmour acknowledged this game was discussed at great length in pre-season as Leinster look to bring some valuable lessons into their 2023/24 campaign.
“In pre-season, you look back at what you did last season and you see where you can get better. In the final, where we could have attacked certain spaces or whatever it is. That was a big emphasis this pre-season, to really try and master the skills that are specific in your position,” added Larmour, who didn’t feature in that final loss to La Rochelle.
“We did a lot of that work and then a few things around attacking inside the ‘22’ for instance. That maybe let us down a little bit in the La Rochelle game.
“You’re always looking back and seeing what you can improve on. I think you have to in order to grow and to learn.”