Cathy Freeman – the darling of the 2000 Sydney Olympics – was unambiguous when revealing the motivation that fuelled her above anything else was catching Marie-José Pérec.
The silver medal, in a finish for the ages at the Atlanta Games in 1996, informed Freeman that matching Pérec’s personal best merely pushed the French machine’s gauge deeper into the red.
Athletes who exist on this plain need each other. It feels like James Ryan is chasing Maro Itoje as much as Freeman's pursuit of the perfectly formed Pérec led to her own transformation into an iconic champion.
Twickenham last November seemed like their own 400 metre duel. Itoje appeared fully formed and so dominant that Ryan threw caution to the wind when repeatedly barrelling into hulking Englishmen, almost as if the punishment would provide muscle memory unreachable by any other means.
He appeared as a more rounded version of Paul O’Connell’s rage in the face of All Black dominance on the 2005 Lions tour.
Twickenham has not been the true lesson of Ryan’s fledgling career. Eight days later he came perilously close to leading an awful Irish performance to defeat against a Georgia team that on paper, or considering their preparation, had no right to stay in the fight with a supposedly well oiled tier one nation.
Ireland under Ryan had to kick their points on 58 minutes to push the score out to 23-10. They failed to add another point. The scrum malfunctioned on top of an already shambolic lineout.
History
The regression in standards was stark as everyone wrongly presumed the days of Ireland being suffocated by the favourites tag were consigned to history. Promotion to the captaincy, which so many had clamoured for, seemed premature. Johnny Sexton returned for victory over Scotland as Ireland’s best forward since O’Connell began to show the signs of wear and tear.
Add five years to this journey and James Ryan will be in his pomp at 29 with Caelan Doris, Andrew Porter and Tadhg Furlong ideally completing the senior leadership. Garry Ringrose might be battle hardened enough to avoid the succession of injuries that has blighted his career to date and Joey Carbery’s nightmares could also be behind him.
Others may or may not come through, but Ryan should be leading in an official capacity by then for at least three seasons.
The 24 year-old lock's breakthrough campaign will take some beating. In 2018 he captured a grand slam in London – which, clearly, Itoje will never forget – before playing an enormous role in helping Leinster to European glory.
Two years later the harsh reality of operating in the upper echelons of this gladiatorial sport are unmistakable. Ryan is unquestionably durable – all 6’8”, 117kg of him – but of late he has not looked himself. Certainly not at the tail end of 2020.
Perhaps his role within the team has altered and the usual, easy to count tackle and carry numbers has everyone expecting an unreasonable return. Jamie Heaslip became less conspicuous while increasing his value throughout the 11 years he wore the green jersey.
Until Ireland put men around Ryan who can match his output – CJ Stander and Caelan Doris know the drill – he runs the risk of being broken before his prime. We have seen this too many times. The IRFU are, on one hand, ideally placed to ensure this does not happen. However, it quickly became obvious that there are two versions of Leinster and Ireland in this era – the packs with and the packs without James Ryan.
Nobody escapes 10 seasons in a sport that is proven to lead to early onset of dementia. O’Connell lost a year to an infection. Sean O’Brien was a walking injury update. Stephen Ferris wreaked havoc before his ankles gave way. Even the seemingly bulletproof Heaslip disintegrated on the final bend.
Cian Healy has defied science by lasting this long since regaining the use of his hand and fingers. Stander is truly made of thicker stuff than the strongest Irish man. But Ryan needs fellow St Michael’s duo Ryan Baird and Jack Dunne to come through and reduce the minutes he plays in every big game.
Due to his work ethic and growing physicality, the demands placed upon him will not be tempered. Thankfully there is a good shepherd close at hand. Considering the next step in his evolution comes under O’Connell, access to a vast bank of set piece knowledge is guaranteed. To catch Itoje, Ryan’s lineout calling needs to improve even if this remains the domain of Ian Henderson and eventually Baird. For now, chasing Itoje is enough.
