Gus McCarthy has never been on the losing side in a Test match or a Champions Cup game. It is a striking statistic for the 21-year-old Leinster and Ireland hooker. On Saturday he will look to maintain that record when Ireland take on Portugal in Lisbon (7pm Irish time).
He has played 20 matches in senior professional rugby and suffered defeat just twice, both in United Rugby Championship (URC) games.
McCarthy is a serial winner. He led his school, Blackrock College, to a Leinster Schools Senior Cup crown. He captained the Ireland Under-20s to a Six Nations grand slam and a place in the World Junior Championship final, where they lost to a brilliant French team.
McCarthy’s progression from Leinster to Ireland debuts came in just under six months, via an Emerging Ireland tour. The ACL injury suffered by Dan Sheehan in July 2024 provided an opening, which the young hooker followed up on.
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He scored a try in his first cap against Fiji last November, provided an assist for three others and finished the match in the backrow because of injuries. The Leinster man then followed up with another try-scoring cameo in the 22-19 victory over Australia.
McCarthy won two further caps off the bench in the Six Nations. That was a major achievement in itself as the two players ahead of him at Leinster and Ireland are currently away with the Lions − Sheehan and Rónan Kelleher.
McCarthy said of his rapid rise from rookie to the Test environment: “I’ve been delighted with the opportunities I’ve got, but obviously I’m in Leinster and it’s a very, very tough challenge. I’ve got two probable Lions Test players in the same position as me.
“I haven’t played a whole amount. I didn’t really get involved in any of the URC knockout stages and the latter end of the Champions Cup, but I did get quite a bit of game time in the middle of the season. It’s good to learn from the best, some seriously good talent. The competition is endless; it keeps you on your toes.
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“I wouldn’t say it’s frustrating. Obviously, I would like to play but I’m still very inexperienced. I try to take every opportunity I get and just bide my time.”
He smiles when the word “meteoric” is mentioned. “It did happen sooner than I would have thought. I thought I was just going to be training for the first week of Portugal (in November) but then I got held on.
“For the week of the Argentina game, I was back with Leinster and then I thought I was done, but I got the call on the Sunday night asking me to come into camp again and then I got named to start in that Fiji match. I wasn’t expecting it, but I was delighted to get a shot.”
He was part of an Irish front-row alongside Jack Boyle (2) and Thomas Clarkson (6) that had a combined 12 caps when Ireland faced into last week’s Test in Tbilisi. Whatever about the callow nature of the team, squaring up against Georgia in a scrum is not for the fainthearted. It is a rigorous technical examination.
While Ireland did experience issues initially in that facet of the game, they successfully worked their way through them and won the game 34-5. So, what was the scrum Test like?
“I really enjoyed the experience of playing against that Georgian pack,” he said. “The Georgians are known for being a seriously strong scrum, big front-row, abrasive players. It was a great test for us as a young and relatively inexperienced pack. Everything wasn’t perfect but I think we did a good job and got stuck into them physically.”
Saturday will provide a contrasting test, fast and loose in the sweltering temperatures of Lisbon and a Portugal side that will engage Ireland in a different way to Georgia. McCarthy can’t wait. He’s where he loves to be, in the match environment.
