Endurance and tenacity may not be the most celebrated of rugby tools. But in 2015, when Cian Healy injured his neck and began to lose feeling in parts of his arm, the word retirement was not far from concerned lips.
He persevered. After losing 10 kilograms and returning to play for Leinster, Healy regained his position as first choice in the 2017–2018 season and played a key role in Leinster winning its fourth European Cup.
With Devin Toner, Johnny Sexton and Isa Nacewa, Healy is in an elite group with four European Championships. He is also joint-third with Rory Best on 124 Irish caps. The 35-year-old multipurpose frontrow continues to quietly chase standards. He’s going nowhere just yet and is peering in at his fourth World Cup with Ireland.
He could overtake Ronan O’Gara (128 caps) if he plays in France and Brian O’Driscoll’s 133 record number could be in jeopardy too. Healy has no plans to stop playing for Leinster or Ireland next season.
“Ideally so, yeah,” he says about another rugby season post-World Cup.
“It is a nice thing. I don’t massively count caps,” he adds. “I’ll look back at the end and rate my career and medals and silverware and that’s how I will hold that. It is nice to have been in for that long and had that many opportunities in green. I actually love pulling the jersey on. First, 100th or whatever, I’ve enjoyed every one of them.”
A wonder frontrow, Healy has played both prop positions as well as hooker at international level. Against Scotland in this year’s Six Nations Championship, he slipped into the two position when regulars Dan Sheahan and Ronan Kelleher were injured. Being forward-looking, he does not dwell on serious injury or the ghosts of 2015. But a recent scare jolted Healy into realising just what a challenge it has been to find himself where he is now.
“I had an issue a while back because I got a more minor knock, a similar nerve thing, and I went straight into panic mode,” he says. “It was obviously because I hadn’t debriefed the previous one. But no, I put it in the rear-view mirror and the decision to make then is do you finish or can you give more? Can you be a positive influence on something?
“I decided to try be a positive influence and bring the best version of yourself to a group, and that’s what I always try to do. I try not to mope in on a tired morning but bounce into a building, be a bit of craic and have the right energy for pitch sessions, and make sure I’m not the person who’s making someone else feel, ‘Jeez, this is a long day.’”
“I think it’s important not to be like that because I’ve trained with people in the past who were more energy vampires than energy givers. It has all been looking forward for me since then.”
Perhaps more than he might have expected, Healy’s experience and utility nature have made him as important at 35 as he was a few years ago, especially in a tournament environment. When everyone is fit, he’s relaxed about Andrew Porter, Sheahan or Kelleher and Tadhg Furlong grabbing the starting shirts for the frontrow places.
But in the changing role, he has also nudged more towards the team mentor than the vampire.
“If you’ve been in a lot of scrums and now having been on the other side, I have got a bit more of an understanding of what loose heads actually do, how it feels when you do something,” says Healy. “I never knew how it felt until I went against Ports [Porter] really, Ports and Eddie Byrne. Ed scrummages kind of similar to me and he nearly took the neck off me. It’s good to have that bit of experience to be able to chat to them and maybe have an opinion that can further them.
“If I have a feeling about something someone’s doing in a scrum that’s good or bad that can be worked on, I’ll probably pull them aside and have a chat and get on the tape and figure it out with them and figure out how they’re feeling. It’s something I like doing and I guess it’s important.”
Attitude and good health are important drivers. Healy has done it all and sticks to the simple wisdoms. In March he said it is important to play the game not the occasion. Even more so when a team enters a World Cup bubble in which expectations are high.
“If you get lost in the occasion you can struggle a little bit. I think players have started doing that across the board really well,” he says. “Munster last season, they did unbelievably well. They brought their game. They didn’t get fazed by occasions and they had a great outcome. Then the next ingredient is the physicality and speed and I think every one is doing that pretty well at the moment.”
Healy brings a full toolbox, something you’d imagine Farrell will want with him next month.
