RUGBY: BILLY DARDIS INTERVIEW
Dardis constantly looking to improve
By Daire Walsh
THERE was disappointment for the Ireland U20s in Donnybrook last Friday evening, when world champions England brought their unbeaten start to the Six Nations Championship to an end.
However, with every team having already dropped points, the competition remains wide open. One of the leading lights for Ireland in the competition to date has been Naas native Billy Dardis, but although he has been pleased with his own contribution thus far, he feels there are areas of his game that require improvement.
“I’ve been happy enough [with my own performance]. There’s a few things I need to work on, which is always good I suppose. There’s things you can improve on,” Dardis remarked.
“You can always get better and learn more, but I get loads of help from Stevie Aboud, Nigel Carolan, Girvan [Dempsey, his Leinster ‘A’ coach] and other coaches back in Terenure that have helped me out with my game.”
Dardis – who represented Newbridge College in the Junior Cup before lining out for Terenure College at senior level – is one of eight UCD players in the current squad.
He feels that this familiarity is a big help to them when they move into the international environment, and also explained why playing in the Ulster Bank League can work to their advantage.
“There’s a good spine of the team that is from UCD, and I suppose it’s good. Because we all play with each other week in, week out. We have that good connection, and we can talk between us. It’s nice to play together, and what we do at UCD, we can bring it to this as well.”
“The AIL is such a high standard. Coming into the U20s, we’re ready for the physical side of the Six Nations. I think last year a few of the lads had only played 20s rugby before the Six Nations, and they said it was a big shock to the system. I think we’re ready physically. We’ve a few experienced heads in the team. It’s going in the right direction, all the right ingredients really.”
In addition to the Ireland U20s and UCD, Dardis also features at provincial level for Leinster ‘A’, who are currently aiming to secure their third consecutive British & Irish Cup triumph. The elevation of last year’s captain, Dominic Ryan, to Joe Schmidt’s senior international side has shown the importance of the academy set-up, and offers plenty of encouragement to upcoming stars like Dardis.
“It’s incredible. The amount of players that have come from the Academy and then the first year out of the Academy they’ve gone to the senior Irish set-up. You have Jordi Murphy, who was captain the year before [Dominic Ryan]. Marty Moore was on that side.”
“Noel Reid played in the final of the B & I for the ‘A’s last year, then won a senior cap for the Irish senior side that summer, a few weeks later. It’s really encouraging for us. It’s such a high standard, that players are able to step up to the senior international level,” Dardis added.