It was a mad week last week for James Tracy. He was getting ready for rugby drill on Friday morning in Dublin, Leinster were about to do a session and he took a phone call. It was the Irish team management.
Irish hooker Rory Best had fallen ill, he was told, get your game face on, get yourself to Italy and join up with the Irish team. Tracy spent the morning sorting out a flight and flew to Rome in the afternoon.
One sleep later he pulled on a green shirt and came off the Irish bench to make his Six Nations debut against Italy. Then it was back to reality on Monday with the Leinster players and trying to get prepared for Edinburgh.
Luke McGrath could probably live with something like that happening to him. He’s been around the Irish camp enough in recent weeks to understand that Tracy’s opportunity was pure gold, really lotto win material.
Right now Conor Murray holds the scrumhalf position tighter than he ever has. But Tracy's story is also an example of good fortune arriving when it is least expected, that of Best the opposite.
McGrath's swirling path around Leo Cullen and Joe Schmidt is a waiting game as much as a trial of patience and perseverance and he knows, because Cullen spelled it out, that Edinburgh on Friday represents a shop window.
“It’s a massive challenge being in and out of both camps,” he says, knowing that it also means you are close to the real action. “You are juggling two sets of calls. But like you say, Tracy got called on Friday and next thing he was on the bench. As a professional player in those camps you’ve just got to be ready whenever the call comes.”
It might seem callous to bring up Castres, one of the poor Leinster European performances and one McGrath would readily forget. But bad days don’t pass without understanding why they happened. If anything is consistent about professional rugby, it is that the analysis and reviews can pinpoint systemic problems. You learn to walk away.
Difficult game
“Obviously it was a disappointing team performance over in Castres,” he says. “We were all off the pace if we are honest with ourselves. That was a difficult game for us.
“But I suppose for myself, I have talked to Joe [Schmidt] and Joe has let me know what things went well in that game and what I need to improve, what didn’t go well in that game.
“I suppose it’s just about focusing on the next game, and all I can do is to prove to him that I’m improving on those skills that he wants and hopefully it puts me in the shop window for selection for the next game.”
And so Edinburgh represents a trial of sorts. Kieran Marmion's place behind untouchable Murray is the vulnerable point. But McGrath knows he needs to put in a good shift to change Schmidt's mind. Last month Leinster assistant Stuart Lancaster upped the ante but Schmidt didn't listen.
“I think the main thing he brings is a real athleticism and his ability to not only get the ball away quickly but to bring a running game into the equation, his kicking game has been good,” said Lancaster.
“But the best nines have a running threat and a passing threat and a kicking threat and I think Luke has improved in all three and I think the try that he scored against Montpellier recently was a great example of that.”
Lancaster added that nines are the heartbeat of the team and that McGrath could be more vocal. Remember Peter Stringer bullying his entire pack? McGrath has taken that advise on board and his visits to Carton House, the Irish team base, has reinforced the view that he is very close.
“Definitely, yeah,” he says. “I definitely feel I’m more and more confident with the more game time I get. But obviously I haven’t had too much game time over the last few weeks so I think it’s just about getting out there and enjoying the game I’ve been playing my whole life and seeing where that takes me.”
That’s not at all a bad strategy.
