Stuart McCloskey could feel proud in the knowledge he had justified his selection ahead of two Lions to start against the All Blacks. Despite this, he also wore the look of a man frustrated by how his big evening in Chicago panned out.
The Ulster player was surprisingly chosen ahead of Bundee Aki and Robbie Henshaw for his 22nd cap – just his ninth Test start against a Tier 1 nation, 10 seasons on from his debut at Twickenham. His hard carrying beyond contact, as well as his offloading ability, gave Ireland another attacking dimension.
McCloskey was Ireland’s leading carrier, with a dozen carries, and made the most metres (47) in his 57 minutes on the pitch. However, it was a case of what might have been had either of two offloads in the first-half gone to hand. This applies to the first of them, in particular.
McCloskey carried beyond contact in a double tackle and would have sent Jamie Osborne clear had Ardie Savea not slapped his forearm to knock the ball downwards.
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“I’ve played some big games over the years but that’s right up there – probably up there with the one against France in the Six Nations a couple of years ago,” said McCloskey. “I thought it went all right; I had some good impacts on the game. I wish a couple of the offloads had stuck and the lads had run them in, but overall I was very happy with how the 55 minutes went.
“I knew we had a penalty or scrum advantage. I just saw him coming and Ardie’s hands just popped up [at the] last minute. It was tough. I think Jamie would have been under the posts. It’s one of those ones you go for. Some days they stick, some days they don’t.”
McCloskey’s day was cut short before the hour mark due to a groin strain when attempting a change of direction. This setback further tempered his mood. The likelihood is there will be changes against Japan on Saturday, with both Aki and Henshaw alternatives at 12. McCloskey doesn’t know if he will be available for the meeting with Australia a week later.
“I’d love this groin to be alright,” he said. “I’d love to get back out there, if not next week then the week after and put another foot down. There’s another two guys in there, two Lions, waiting to go as well; it’s very competitive. You don’t want to give up the spot without a bit of a fight.”
As for the injury, McCloskey said: “Hard to know. I think with these things, sometimes it can be tough to turn it around, but I’ll see how we turn up after the flight.”
He had a sense he might be starting against the All Blacks from training, but didn’t want to count any chickens before Andy Farrell confirmed it to him on Tuesday.
“I just tried to think of it as another game. Faz (Farrell) asked me before, ‘what’s your thoughts on the day?’. I was like, ‘just be calm’; I think I play my best rugby when I’m quite chilled out, getting the ball in my hands and play it like a kid out there. Just get in the right possessions, try to do the right thing and don’t try to make it bigger than what it is – it’s just a game of rugby.”
As much as any Irish player in this past decade, McCloskey has had to continually prove patience is indeed a virtue.
“I had to say to myself maybe six or seven years ago to be patient and stick at it. I always thought if I got a couple more caps when I was on three or four caps, I’d be happy. But I’ve just tried to stay in there and play good rugby for Ulster and try to put the pressure on the lads ahead of me to be the best they could be.”
McCloskey added with a wry smile: “Hopefully I’ve pushed them on a bit – they’ve got a few Lions tours out of it so they can thank me for that! But it was always ‘stick at it’. Hopefully this injury isn’t too bad and I get a few more games.”
