Garry Ringrose can afford to feel pretty pleased with himself after a testing nine months which eventually led to an historic Grand Slam.
The centre spent considerable time on the sidelines after picking up serious shoulder and ankle injuries, following Ireland’s summer tour in Japan.
Ringrose was afforded the opportunity to work his way back into the Irish fold after Robbie Henshaw and Chris Farell both suffered injury heartache of their own.
And Ringrose pointed to one man in particular for helping him ease back into the international scene.
“Thankfully, I had the summer tour in Japan and had a couple of weeks in training so I knew all the calls and the systems,” Ringrose told Off The Ball’s Will O’Callaghan.
“Playing alongside Bundee Aki made it that bit easier for me, with how helpful he’s been and how hard he works on and off the pitch.
“Thankfully I was able to keep my head above water in that Scotland game.
“He’s proven his quality [by playing with a number of different centre partners].
“He’s got the physical capabilities to run over someone, but I certainly underestimated how hard he works off the pitch [with] the analysis he does.
“I certainly picked up a few things off him.”
Historic a Grand Slam may be, Ringrose was forced to steer his attentions towards a Champions Cup quarter-final with Saracens.
Ringrose and Leinster proved victorious at the Aviva Stadium as they booked their place in the final four of the competition.
And the centre believed the magnitude of the fixture against Saracens helped re-focus his mind after a memorable triumph in the green jersey of Ireland.
“I think the senior players and the senior leaders of the group at Leinster, set the example and the tone,” Ringrose added.
“We were in on the Tuesday after the Grand Slam and we were under no illusions as to what it would require to beat a quality team like Saracens.
“Certainly from my perspective – and the other young lads – we’ve just got to follow the leadership group and the senior guys.”
Written by James Hopper
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