Finding yourself in the right place at the right time requires a degree of good fortune, but plenty of patience.
At 26-years-old, Andrew Conway has been waiting a while for his chance to shine, and now that he has it, he’s now starting to make hay.
It seems a long time ago since the former Blackrock College student was hailed as the ‘next big thing,’ not just for Leinster, but indeed for Ireland. Like so many ‘next big things’ it just didn’t happen. When you consider Leinster’s back three depth in Conway’s early years at the province, it’s understandable; Isa Nacewa, Rob Kearney, Luke Fitzgerald, Shane Horgan and Fergus McFadden, breaking into a back-to-back Heineken Cup winning team was always going to require patience.
Snapped up by Munster at the start of the 2013/14 season, a move down south brought with it a fresh beginning, although as he revealed last week an affinity for the province since his childhood always made it an attractive move for him. It takes a brave man to admit having ‘Lunster’ roots.
The problem was, he was leaving a province stockpiled with back three options for another who looked settled with their own. Keith Earls was beginning to consistently perform on the wing after his early career had been spent between there and the centre. Simon Zebo was coming off the back of a breakthrough year which saw him selected for the Lions tour the previous summer, and the fit-again Felix Jones getting back to his best form.
Still, he stayed patient. He waited a year for his first European appearance for the province, scoring one of his four tries that season in that game against Sale. Year-on-year, he’s added minutes to his experience, and an eventual Irish debut against England in March.
His biggest opportunity has come in the last few weeks. A Keith Earls hamstring injury threw him into a starting jersey for Ireland’s opening Autumn International against South Africa, which he marked with a brilliant opportunistic score, setting Ireland on their way to a dominant 38-3 win.
Just one of two players retained in the team for last night’s edgy win against Fiji, he showed his versatility by switching to 15, and still coming away with the Man of the Match award. One would expect him to keep his place in the side for next Saturday’s final game against Argentina.
Joe Schmidt is clearly now a fan of his. He cut a frustrated figure in his post match press conference last night in the Aviva Stadium, but was full of praise for the fullback.
“Obviously he started last week as well, he was one of the few that backed up. Again, he’s so industrious, he reads the game well, and he’s brave to a fault.
“He competes for everything in the air, he’s quick to seize upon ball that’s on the ground, and his acceleration makes him a real running threat whenever he’s got a bit of time and space.
“He really threatened the Fijian line a few times tonight and asked a few questions of him.”
Competition is still fierce for a back three place at Munster, when you consider Darren Sweetnam’s fine form which has led to a try on his first test start last night.
But Simon Zebo’s impending move to France in the summer means the opportunity is now there for Conway to become Munster’s long-term option at fullback. With his Munster contract also due to expire this summer, keeping him down south in what are likely to be the peak years of his career is now a vital piece of business for the province.
He’s waited long enough for his turn, and now he’s making the most of it.
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