JOEY CARBERRY INTERVIEW
Carberry ready for the next stage of his development
By Daire Walsh
THERE will be a strong Kildare representation at the World Rugby U20 Championship in Parma, Italy next month, when the Ireland U20 squad will be hoping to at least match their fourth-place finish in last year’s competition in New Zealand.
Six Nations regulars Billy Dardis and Jeremy Loughman are included in coach Nigel Carolan’s 28-man selection, and they will be joined by Athy youngster Joey Carberry. A Leinster Schools’ Senior Cup winner with Blackrock College on St Patrick’s Day last year, Carberry featured from the bench in the U20 Six Nations victories over Italy and France, as well as later defeats to Wales and Scotland.
Although his game-time was somewhat limited, Carberry felt that the Six Nations ultimately proved to be beneficial for him and the squad as a whole.
“I certainly learned a lot from the coaches. Every new coach you learn new stuff, and they see the game differently. I was happy in training and all that. We were quite unlucky,” Carberry remarked.
“We played well in the first two games and in the last three games we didn’t perform to our potential, but I was happy enough. I learned a lot from it anyway. I think as a group, our team did as well.”
Ireland will certainly need to hit the ground running from the opening moments of this forthcoming tournament, as they find themselves in a tricky Pool C, which also includes Scotland, Argentina and New Zealand.
Carberry acknowledged that they will be facing an extremely tough group, but is still confident that this Irish team is capable of beating anyone if they can perform at their very best. He also is pleased that they are able to face Scotland for the second time in 2015, which he hopes will give them an advantage they may not enjoy against Argentina and the Baby Blacks.
“Of course, we know it’s going to be tough. With the team we have, and the potential we have, on our day we can beat anyone. We’ve just got to believe that we can. Of course, every group in a World Cup is going to be tough.”
“We know how they [Scotland] play, and we’ve done plenty of video on them before. We know their strength and their weaknesses. Hopefully we can use it to our advantage and get a good result hopefully.”
With several players from the county involved at the highest level of international and provincial competition, it is encouraging to see young prospects from Kildare coming through the IRFU academy system.
Having known Jeremy Loughman for a number of years, Carberry is comfortable in his current surroundings, although he still keeps a watchful eye on the progress of his local club.
“Well I’ve known Jeremy since I was 12 I think. Jeremy has always been a part of the team, so it’s always good to have someone like him around. Billy [Dardis] I’ve only really gotten to know this year, but still he’s close enough to home, so it’s not so bad.”
“I talk to people involved in it [Athy RFC], and I’d always be going to watch the senior team when I’m home and all that. I still keep a keen interest in it.”
While many players tend to stick to the position that brought them success at schools level, some have expanded their horizons after moving into professional set-ups.
From Carberry’s point of view, he is more than happy to display versatility, but is nevertheless concentrating on the roles of out-half and full-back for the time being.
“Different players are in different stages of their life. It could be people developing a bit later. You never know with positions and all, as you get faster and stronger. I’d be happy enough to be versatile, but I’d like to keep at 10 and 15 really. They’re the two positions I most prefer.”
Carberry is one of 20 players who will be participating at the Junior World Cup for the very first time, which may well make the next month or so a daunting experience. However, with eight players returning from last year’s trip to New Zealand, Carberry believes that they will help to lift the pressure off their shoulders.
“I think it’s definitely a positive having them involved. They can kind of tell you how it worked last year, and what to expect. Especially with the big-game atmosphere.”
“They kind of help you out to be able to expect what’s going to come across, so that it’s not much of a shock. It is a huge standard to be playing in, so it can be kind of overwhelming,” Carberry added.