Leo Cullen presented Max Deegan with a bottle of champagne in the aftermath of his 100th appearance for Leinster in the victory over the Sharks, an occasion the number eight further embellished with his 29th try for the province, an impressive strike rate in any context.
There followed a low-key celebration at home that night, extended family and friends, “nice and chilled”, according to the honoree. The champagne remains unopened, and, in some respects, it represents a metaphor for where Deegan is at present in his rugby career and the ambition that he harbours: plenty done but much to do.
It’s eight years since he won the Player of the Tournament at the under-20 World Cup, number eight on an Ireland team captained by James Ryan. The squad, which also included Jacob Stockdale, Hugo Keenan, Jimmy O’Brien, Shane Daly and Andrew Porter, went all the way to the final, before losing to hosts England.
Deegan won two man-of-the-match awards and scored tries in wins over New Zealand and Argentina and the defeat to England. A brilliant athlete, he had the pace and footwork of a back – he once formed a centre partnership at underage level with Jordan Larmour while playing underage rugby with Wanderers – coupled with a predatory size that thrived in the open spaces.
The Counter Ruck: the rugby newsletter from The Irish Times
Stacey Flood inspires Wolhounds to impressive bonus-point win over Clovers
No decision yet if Connacht’s Mack Hansen will be sanctioned for his criticism of referees
‘It’s really f***ing starting to get to us as a team’ - Mack Hansen hits out at how Connacht are refereed
The headlines of his senior career include a Lansdowne first-team debut as a teenager, a first Leinster cap in 2017, an Ireland debut under Andy Farrell in 2020 and a wheelbarrow load of impressive rugby content in between.
Two things scuppered further progress, well three. The considerable talents of provincial team-mates Jack Conan and Caelan Doris limited regular access to the Leinster backrow for many of the marquee matches, and Deegan’s been ridiculously unfortunate with the timing of a couple of major injuries.
There was one further stumbling block – he needed to become more effective in the close-quarter duels around the rucks. He’s been diligent in developing that aspect of his game. “Yeah, it’s something I have been working hard on, not just the physical aspect of it but thinking ‘get in amongst it’ because I know I’m strong.
“I know I can do the stuff out wide, that’s the easy stuff. But getting in amongst it and doing the dirty stuff, it’s something I’ve been trying to push forward to bring into my game. A lot of the ball skills and footwork come naturally.
“Then I naturally started to drift out there because that’s where I felt comfortable, but I had to tell myself that’s not where games are won. You need to get in the mix, do the hard yards because that’s where games are won, ultimately; especially the big games where the gainline matters so much, you’ve got to have your big ball-carriers in there.”
That change in emphasis within Deegan’s game was especially prominent when he captained Emerging Ireland in two of their matches in South Africa last autumn under the watchful gaze of Farrell and the Ireland senior coaching cadre. They were impressed with him, and he loved every minute.
“Coming back from my knee injury, out for a year and then a slow year trying to get back up to speed, for something like that to be there for me to go after and get back in the mix, was fantastic.
“I learned a lot and gained a lot from it. Obviously captaining over there was fantastic because I was working so closely with the coaches like Simon [Easterby], Paulie [O’Connell], Fogs [John Fogarty] and Catty [Mike Catt]. It was a great way to get back in the mix and I really enjoyed it. It obviously led into that Autumn Nations period where I felt really good.”
Deegan won a second Ireland cap when coming on as a replacement against Fiji last November, and also played for Ireland A against the New Zealand XV at the RDS. But again injury intervened, this time while playing for Leinster against Munster, thwarting his chance of making the Six Nations squad, which had a knock-on effect in terms of any World Cup hopes.
“I believe I get on well with the [Irish] coaches and I love the set-up there – it’s a great environment. But to get back in there I just really need to focus on how well I’m doing here [Leinster] and pushing the players around me.”
He’s comfortable with a leadership role, especially now surrounded by a younger cohort in the opening throes of the URC. “I enjoy being a leader in the team but when it comes to that leadership it’s ensuring that I’m focusing on myself and making sure my own game is right, first and foremost, before I start going around telling people what to do. I have to set the standard from the outset, and then, off the back of that, to lead them.”
Deegan has eagerly embraced the challenge to diversify and play blindside flanker, a conscious decision to broaden horizons. “Blindside flanker is something that I’m really enjoying at the moment. The lineout role of a blindside flanker is something I’m really pushing in my game, and I feel like it could be a good point of difference for me offensively and defensively.
“If you look at Peter O’Mahony, say, defensively in the lineout he is super-effective and in attack he is just as effective. So it’s something that I’m trying to bring to my game as a point of difference and that’s such a big part of the ‘six’ role. I haven’t cracked the perfect six role yet but it’s something I’m working on.”
