To start all three Tests in a Lions series is quite an accomplishment. To retain the jersey four years later makes you an incredible rarity. But Jack Conan looks likely to achieve that in Brisbane on Saturday, and on a tour that is the real deal in comparison with that grim, Covid-affected voyage behind closed doors in 2021.
Although he was 28 then, Conan went to South Africa with just 20 caps to his name and as, seemingly, the second-choice number eight for the Test series behind Taulupe Faletau, a two-tour veteran and star of the trek to New Zealand in 2017.
Four years on, as well as those three Lions Tests against the Springboks, Conan now has 51 caps for Ireland, and at 32 hopes he is wiser than he was then.
Slow Lions build-up finally culminates in Test week
“I like to think I am. It is how you deal with the occasion and the nerves of it all and everything. It was massively different four years ago with no one in the crowd, it felt eerie and strange not to have anyone there in what should be the biggest occasion of your career. So maybe, a bit older and a bit wiser.”
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Looking back on that career-defining but soulless tour, Conan maintained: “It was a great experience. No one can ever take away being a Lion from me and playing in three Tests and whatever else, but it is definitely not the same as now. This has been an incredible joy and the best few weeks of my career.”
On another warm if slightly cloudier day in Brisbane, Conan’s audience with camera crews and journalists amid the colonial splendour of “Churchie”, an Anglican grammar school, had to be moved outside from the main auditorium in the library building as a class was continuing for a few more minutes.
Conan, Dan Sheehan, Richard Wigglesworth and the Lions management were maintaining that the squad would not be informed of the first Test line-up until the next day, perhaps for fear of it being leaked to Joe Schmidt and the world in advance of the Thursday announcement at 3pm local time (6am Irish).
But it would be a surprise if they had not already been informed before Tuesday’s training, and certainly Conan, not in an arrogant way, had the air of someone who knew he was starting. His spirits may also have been lifted by the arrival in Australia of his wife Ali, and one-year-old baby girl Remi, at the end of last week.
Continuing his comparisons with four years ago, Conan said: “It’s chalk and cheese. It’s been an unbelievably special, unbelievably enjoyable few weeks with the lads, moving about, getting to see so many different places, getting to see the ‘sea of red’ at the games, the atmosphere has been incredible.”
As the countdown to this latest career-defining few weeks nears, Conan himself is also a calmer individual now, one who has learned to better deal with his prematch nerves.
“I used to be pretty nervous before I played. Everyone would be a little bit nervous, but excited by the challenge as well and I think it’s all right having nerves but you can’t let them get in the way of being at your best and being within yourself. So you’ve got to banish them in whatever way or use them in whatever way you can, to make sure you’re on it on the day, because it’s not the time to shrink away from the challenge.”
He feels he’s put this best foot forward in the last few weeks, “notwithstanding a few mistakes but that doesn’t bother me too much”.
Familiarity with Andy Farrell and most of the coaching ticket has been helpful too.
“I don’t think things are massively different with how we do them in Ireland, with attacking style and structure and things like that.
“Obviously, there’s some different names and different bits but there is definitely a level of comfort in knowing the way we want to play. It’s second nature to a lot of the Irish lads because it’s what we do day in and day out in camp.
“But then you have different coaches, JD [John Dalziel] and Wig [Richard Wigglesworth], who do things a little bit differently than maybe we would do in Ireland, so there’s always learning and there’s always upskilling.
“Ireland is one step, and the Lions is then another step above so you’re always being challenged by the coaches to be better.”
Like everyone else, Conan has enjoyed having a week in one base, without either travel or a midweek match, so as to focus on one almighty game.
He acknowledges the threat posed by the Australian openside Fraser McReight, who had four turnovers against Ireland last November, and the Wallabies generally at the breakdown.
Citing how the Waratahs and Brumbies had joy there, he said the Lions would “have to be all over our ruck ball” and “squeaky clean” at the breakdown.
Then there’s the Schmidt factor, although Conan believes insider knowledge works both ways.
“He’s had success no matter where he’s gone whether it be with Leinster, with us and the All Blacks and now Australia. Being coached by Joe for a number of years and Johnny [Sexton] has been coached for even longer by him, we kind of know how he likes to do things, the emphasis he puts on certain areas of the game.
“The media might give them [the Wallabies] a bit of a hard time but we know they are an unbelievably good side with incredible athletes across the park. We had a really tough day in November against them. I wasn’t playing then but myself and Dinny [David Kilcoyne] were down watching that day, Faz had brought us in so it was great to back in the mix for that one day.
“But they are an unbelievable side with unbelievable athletes so it is not going to be easy, it never is, and how motivated are they going to be for this? The first Test match in 12 years on home soil against the Lions. So we will have to make sure their motivation isn’t higher than ours.”
