RUGBY: JAMES TRACY INTERVIEW
Tracy hoping for breakthrough season
By Daire Walsh
FOLLOWING a promising 2015/16 season that saw him accumulate a total of 13 first-team appearances, the upcoming campaign should prove to be a significant one for former Newbridge College star James Tracy.
The 24-year-old hooker featured in a brace of European Rugby Champions Cup encounters against Bath last term, and speaking after the pre-season friendly game with the same opposition at Donnybrook on Friday evening, he felt there were plenty of positives for the Blues – as they prepare for their Guinness Pro12 opener at home to Benetton Treviso.
“There is some positives we can take out of today, and we’re looking forward to next week. There’s a lot of new guys coming in. We’re trying to implement a few new systems, so there was a few positive things today in that aspect, and we’re just kind of polishing that off. Hopefully we’ll peak at the right time,” Tracy remarked.
Tracy played during the opening 40 minutes of the contest before making way for Bryan Byrne, but despite ultimately suffering a 20-point defeat (39-19) at the hands of the Aviva Premiership outfit, he doesn’t believe that their confidence will have been dented by this loss.
“No, not at all. As I said, there’s a lot of positives we can take out of it. A lot of young guys playing really well on the last few weeks. A lot of tries scored, and good stuff in defence as well. Anything that kind of went wrong can be solved pretty easily.”
This was the third warm-up game in the space of 13 days for Leinster, who recorded victories over Ulster and Gloucester in Navan RFC and the Tallaght Stadium respectively. This has presented young players with an ideal opportunity to showcase their abilities to head coach Leo Cullen, and although he doesn’t necessarily consider himself to be in this bracket any longer, Tracy acknowledges there is a real togetherness from his time in the Leinster ‘A’ set-up.
“Guys like Rory O’Loughlin wouldn’t have gotten a look in, because Garry [Ringrose] had that year last year. It’s brilliant to see guys like him. There’s a list goes on and on. Everyone, including myself, started in these games, and that’s how you get your name out there. I don’t know if I’d qualify myself as young anymore! I’d be the oldest of the young, I’ll cling onto it!”
“Definitely, we’re pretty tight, and I’ve come together through the ‘A’s, and we’ve been pretty successful through that. A lot of us have played with each other again through that age. We’re kind of coming to the forefront of that now, and starting to play for the firsts as a unit.”
In addition to those who are attempting to work their way through the Academy system, last Friday’s tie also offered summer recruit Jamison Gibson-Park with a chance to build-up his match fitness prior to the beginning of the 2016/17 season.
The Auckland native has only been with the province for a short while, but Tracy is already impressed with the professionalism the Maori All Black is bringing to the environment.
“Yeah, he [Gibson-Park] went really well. He’s really talented. He’s only been around a few weeks, but from what we’ve seen, he’s very good. He’s very positive to have in the environment.”
“He’s been in maybe two weeks, but the guy has played for New Zealand Maori. He’s slotted in seamlessly. Obviously, he’s been pretty impressive. He’s come in, and he’s barely asked too many questions, because obviously he’s done his homework really well. That’s impressive, to see that professionalism,” Tracy added.