Byrne out to stake his claims for a regular starting place
By Daire Walsh
IN the absence of the province’s front-line international stars, Kill’s Adam Byrne is hoping to stake his claim for a permanent spot in the Leinster side.
Because 14 of their players are currently on international duty at the Rugby World Cup in Japan, the Blues were considerably hamstrung for their Guinness PRO14 opener against Treviso at Stadio Monigo on Saturday. Nevertheless, with Byrne crossing over to compliment a hat-trick for fellow winger Dave Kearney, Leo Cullen’s charges secured maximum points in a 32-27 victory.
Having watched on from the treatment table when Leinster had a similar contingent at the previous World Cup in 2015, Byrne is determined to provide competition for the likes of Jordan Larmour upon their eventual return to the fold.
“Everyone wants to own the jersey and we don’t want to give it up when the lads come back from the World Cup. We want to do the best we can in the Leinster jersey so when they come back, there is a bit of competition there and it is not going to be easy,” Byrne explained.
“In certain positions there are a lot of people out. In other positions the younger lads are going to get a chance. It’s an exciting time for the club.”
The 2018/19 season was something of a mixed bag for the former Naas CBS student. After initially being restricted to appearances for the province’s ‘A’ side in their successful Celtic Cup odyssey, Byrne was a rejuvenated figure upon his reinstatement to the senior squad.
From 13 starts in the Leinster shirt, he recorded an impressive haul of six tries – including a pivotal one in their Champions Cup quarter-final win over Ulster at the Aviva Stadium in March. However, a subsequent cameo role against Glasgow Warriors in mid-April marked the end point of his campaign – a quad issue ruling him out for the remaining weeks of the term.
Nevertheless, Byrne is now looking on the bright side of having a full pre-season behind him.
“Coming back from the injury last season, it has been great to get the tail end of pre-season and play in the pre-season games. Some really good experiences, playing away to Canada. It’s not often that you get to play away from home against an international team with your club side, so that was a great experience.
“I want to keep building, keep growing. Get better as a player and hopefully that will bring more opportunities for me within Leinster and hopefully bigger things on top of that. I am just staying very short-term goal focused. I am 25 now. It’s been my dream to play for Leinster since I was 12 or 13 and started getting into rugby.
“I really want to own that jersey, play in the big games. Play in the finals at the end of the season, get on the pitch when we are lifting some silverware. That’s a long-term goal. Short-term, it’s about training and taking it game-by-game.”
Always known for his searing pace and athleticism – which led to him making his Leinster debut under Joe Schmidt as an 18-year-old in December 2012 – Byrne admits he is looking to develop other aspects of his game.
While not necessarily targeting a particular area, he is aiming to become the all-round package that will keep him in Cullen and Stuart Lancaster’s good books when the regulars funnel their way back into the provincial set-up.
“As I was getting back into training it was just building things that I could work on. At the start I had a leg injury, so I worked on my passing skills. Once I am back into it, you are on the pitch in pre-season four times a week and I am trying.
“We have skills windows before and after each session. That’s eight chances. I am trying to grow everything. Tackling, passing, catching, kicking, the main winger’s skills. Then staying on top of the video analysis. Grow in every area, little bits at a time. There is no one specific area. Even things like personal development and all that kind of area,” Byrne added.