RUGBY: JAMES TRACY INTERVIEW
Tracy hoping to build on first Leinster start
By Daire Walsh
LEINSTER’S Guinness Pro12 game against the Scarlets on November 6th represented a significant milestone in the career of hooker James Tracy, as the former Newbridge College student was handed his first start at senior provincial level.
It was just over three years ago that Tracy actually made his debut for the Blues (under the guidance of current international supremo Joe Schmidt), but following six appearances as a replacement under three different coaches, the 24-year-old was selected in the front-row alongside the experienced duo of Cian Healy and Mike Ross.
Such was his performance on that night that Tracy was awarded the official man of the match award.
Tracy was understandably delighted that Leinster head coach Leo Cullen placed his trust in him against the in-form Scarlets, and was particularly pleased to be linking up with two of Ireland’s most recognisable props.
“Yeah, absolutely delighted. You put in all the hard work and all that, so it’s good to finally get out on the pitch. It was brilliant to be part of such a strong team as well,” Tracy remarks.
“Leo has used 50 players over the six-game period. Everyone has got a chance. I had Mike Ross and Cian Healy either side of me, so it’s brilliant to be playing with players like that.”
Scarlets are a team that Tracy will always have fond memories of, as he scored his first ever try for Leinster in a 25-14 away reversal to the Welsh outfit on 16 October. Tracy was glad that he was able to open his scoring account in this fixture, although he was quick to acknowledge the hard work of the entire pack.
“Yeah, always good to get the first try of course. It was at the back of a maul, so all the hard work was done in front of me. But always good to get over for a try.”
Before hanging up his boots, Cullen played with Tracy in Pro12 encounters against Ulster and Zebre during Leinster’s successful 2013/14 campaign. When you consider that Cullen is following in the footsteps of two men that specialised as back coaches (Schmidt and Matt O’Connor), you might feel that this would make a difference to the forwards at the club, but Tracy doesn’t necessarily see things that way.
“No, not really. The set-up has been quite similar. As a forward, you’re concentrating on your own roles anyway, and the team are all the same.
“There wouldn’t be too much of a difference really.”
However, Tracy does recognise that the presence of Girvan Dempsey (who has coached him in the Leinster Academy) in the new coaching set-up is beneficial for the younger players, and he was also fulsome in his praise for scrum coach John Fogarty – someone he greatly admired during his two-year playing spell with the province.
“I suppose it would [help having Girvan in the set-up]. At that level all coaches are good, but it definitely helps having built up a relationship over the years, and knowing what he looks for.”
“Fogs [Fogarty] would have been playing with Leinster when I was growing up in fifth and sixth year in school, and would have been someone I really looked up to. Especially in my transition, I worked really hard with him and he worked hard with me, put in a lot of time and effort.”
In recent years, Tracy has been heavily involved in coaching with Newbridge College, but has opted to take a step back for the coming year. Even though he is still willing to offer a helping hand, he feels that playing and study commitments should take priority at the moment.
“I finished up coaching in Newbridge last year. I’ve just taken a step away from coaching for a year, but I’ll be going down to help them if they need help with scrums or anything like that.”
“I’m doing college in the evenings as well. I’ve a lot on my plate, so I just decided, it’s a big year. Just take a step away from coaching every day, and just to concentrate on my rugby for one year anyway.”
When Tracy first attended Newbridge back in 2004, he quickly became best friends with Sam Coghlan Murray. Since then, they have been team-mates at school, club, provincial and international level, but after failing to make a first-team appearance with Leinster last season, Coghlan Murray transferred to English Championship outfit Nottingham during the summer.
Tracy revealed that he keeps in touch with Coghlan Murray on a regular basis, and fully understands why he decided to move elsewhere.
“Sam and myself are best friends. We started together in Newbridge in 2004 in first year. We became best friends, and we’ve been pretty close since then. I talk to him every other day.”
“In Leinster, it’s so competitive. It’s so hard to get game time, so he made the decision to go abroad, so he could get consistent game time, and at a really good level,” Tracy added.