Ultan Dillane has barely had time to reflect since joining La Rochelle from Connacht last summer.
His decision to leave the Irish province after a decade campaigning in their colours was not taken lightly but it did acquiesce to a wish from his late mother, Ellen, that he might some day play in France, the country of his birth.
He lived in Asnières-sur-Seine on the outskirts of Paris – his father still lives in the city – until he was seven before moving to Tralee with his Kerry-born mother.
Speaking in an interview with Sud Quest’s Benjamin Deudon last month, Dillane explained that in 2017, “she [Ellen] told me she would be delighted if I could play in France”.
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His mum died in February of the following year. Dillane added: “She would be very happy, that’s for sure.”
Ellen had been the catalyst for Dillane and his brother, Cian’s, involvement in rugby, as she offered the pair a fiver each if they would join Tralee Rugby Club, the sport an outlet for their high energy levels.
Ultan played Youths for Munster, but it was his switch to the Connacht academy in 2012 that firmly set him on the path to a professional rugby career. He made his Connacht debut against Leinster in 2014, played 127 times and was a member of the team that beat Leinster in the final to win the 2016 Pro12 title.
Joe Schmidt gave Dillane his Ireland debut against England at Twickenham (2016) and the 29-year-old went on to win 19 caps, including scoring his one and only try on his first start of four, against Canada.
His last Test match appearance was against Japan at the Aviva Stadium in the summer of 2021 but there is no doubting his favourite moment in an Irish jersey, Ireland’s victory over New Zealand at Soldier Field, Chicago.
Dillane knew that joining La Rochelle would effectively exile him from international rugby.
“That was explained to me when I was finalising my decision last year. I hope the boys do well in the World Cup, but I knew well I wasn’t going to be involved when I made the decision to come here.”
He would have liked to have won more caps but nevertheless did realise a childhood ambition.
“It was my dream to play for the national team,” he says
But being overlooked for the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan hurt.
“It broke my heart a bit. I didn’t want to go through that again. And I had a very, very good opportunity: to come here, work on myself and produce my best game. I’m sure I made the right choice.”
The player that he replaced that day against England on his debut, Donnacha Ryan, is now his forwards coach at La Rochelle, a touch of serendipity. But, on a more practical level, it was the Tipperary native who provided arguably the most important direction since Dillane’s arrival – to the shop in the town that stocks Barry’s Tea.
Ryan and La Rochelle’s head coach Ronan O’Gara made the wrench of leaving Connacht a little easier, helping Dillane to settle in his new apartment that he shares with a cat called, Fudge, a legacy from the previous owner.
The fact that he speaks excellent French, his fluency and vocabulary returning over time, also helped him to acclimatise, as has the weather.
“Climate-wise, you’re winning the lottery with the summers you get here compared to what you might get most of the time in Galway.
“My personal goal is just to play my best, to improve as a player. I’m here to be better and help the guys cement a legacy. There’s fitting in first, and once I’ve done that, play my top rugby.
“It was always one of my rugby dreams before going pro that I would one day play in France, because of my origins. But you never really know what’s coming, so I suppose it was a faraway dream, until it wasn’t.”
There’s no doubt that he’s made a positive impression having played 606 minutes in 15 appearances with six starts, five at flanker and one in the second row. Athletic, versatile, diligent in his work-rate and a punishing tackler, Dillane possesses many of the qualities required to thrive in the French Top 14.
He made his Heineken Champions Cup debut for the reigning European champions against Ulster in Dublin last month and on Saturday will hope to be part of the La Rochelle match-day 23 that welcomes the Irish province to Stade Marcel-Deflandre (5.30, Irish time).
The home side have a few injuries, hooker Pierre Bourgarit and centre Jonathan Danty will be out for a while giant secondrow Will Skelton may also miss the game.
Dillane will still have to compete with secondrows like Romain Sazy, Thomas Lavault, Remi Picquette and academy hotshot, Thomas Ployet, not to mention players like Gregor Alldritt and the versatile Fijian, Levani Botia.
Rather than reflecting on a promising first six months in La Rochelle, he is determined that he can be “much better” to sustain an ambition to “add another star to this jersey”.
Dillane and La Rochelle should take another step in the right direction tomorrow.
