Paddy McCarthy will be hoping it’s second time lucky after being named in Andy Farrell’s Ireland squad for the four November Tests. The 22-year-old prop was one of 11 uncapped players who travelled to take on Georgia and Portugal during the summer but while nine made their debuts, McCarthy and Ulster scrumhalf Nathan Doak missed out.
That fate is unlikely to befall him again, with a crack at Japan at the Aviva Stadium on November 8th a likely occasion for his first cap. Paddy is the youngest of three McCarthy boys alongside Leinster, Ireland and Lions secondrow Joe and the eldest, Andrew, a former Leinster culture captain and a member of the Seapoint Dragons mixed ability team.
Paddy started in Old Belvedere minis before attending Blackrock College where he won a Leinster Schools Senior Cup under the captaincy of hooker Gus McCarthy, who has gone on to represent Leinster and Ireland.
Centre Hugh Cooney, also from that Blackrock schools side, has featured for Leinster while Ruben Moloney, Liam Molony and Oliver Coffey are in the Leinster academy. Tom Brigg is in Ulster’s academy, while Conor O’Shaughnessy and Mikey Yarr are in Connacht’s.
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McCarthy’s talent, athleticism, speed, power, capacity to break or beat tackles and facility to play both sides of the frontrow made him a standout player in the Ireland Under-20’s Grand Slam-winning team in 2023. That team went to South Africa that summer and reached the World Junior Championship final, where they lost to France.
He made his Leinster senior debut in October of that year, coming on as a replacement against Glasgow Warriors, and won a further three caps before Christmas. Injuries limited his involvement thereafter and he made just two further appearances, but he played for Ireland in an A international against England at Bristol and was then selected for the summer tour to Tbilisi and Lisbon.
Having come on against the Stormers in the first game of the season, he made his first start for Leinster in his seventh cap for the province against the Bulls. McCarthy then retained his place in the run-on team for last weekend’s win over the Sharks at the Aviva Stadium. His latest performance was a tour de force that showcased all of those qualities listed above.
There’s little doubt he benefits from being in an environment where he is subjected to rigorous daily challenges laid down by his fellow Leinster props in the Ireland squad – Andrew Porter, Jack Boyle, Tadhg Furlong and Thomas Clarkson. The call-up is a fitting reward for an outstanding prospect.
