Cutting Tarf: Ian Hirst looks primed to step up to the pro scene having impressed at Clontarf

INJURIES can strike at the cruellest moments, but for Clontarf’s Ian Hirst his summer surgery may have provided him with his biggest opportunity yet. After his first year with the Dublin club, the 25-year-old loosehead has won an Ulster Bank League title, enjoyed a call up to the Ireland Club International team and faced off against the Barbarians. For the past two weeks, Hirst has been doing all he can to make a good impression at Leinster who want to see how he goes in the province’s upcoming A games.

It could have been quite different on two counts. Firstly, Hirst played his schools rugby at Kings College, who have a decent reputation but they are not seen as a nursery in the way that Leinster powerhouses Blackrock, St Michaels and Clongowes are. For over a decade at Trinity, however, director of rugby Tony Smeeth has made a habit of taking rough diamonds and polishing them up for the elite ranks. Internationals such Mark McHugh, Scott La Valla, Jamie Heaslip and Roger Wilson have all passed through his hands, while more recently Niyi Adeolokun has graduated to Connacht while David Joyce and Hirst have gone on to star for Clontarf and the Irish Club XV. ‘The thing about Tony is he doesn’t chase the big-name players out of school, he generally finds the lads who are under the radar like myself and tries to bring us through,’ explains Hirst, who spent five seasons with Trinity, despite not studying at the university. ‘He’s completely honest and he never lets a compliment pass without throwing on an insult as well. He never lets you get too high and he’ll put you back into your place.’ Having started out with Barnhall’s Under 10s, Hirst was exposed to one of the club game’s ambitious coaching minds in Smeeth and for a loosehead who knows how to carry in the style of Cian Healy he was a perfect fit. ‘It’s one thing that Tony loved about me, I could carry a bit more than your average prop,’ adds Hirst. ‘I always seemed to find myself out in the backs every so often, I don’t know if it was luck or if I was being lazy but it’s worked out and I seen a bit more.’

Hirst had impressed enough at Trinity and then again at Clontarf to earn an invitation from Pat Lam at Connacht to train with them last summer. It appeared to be his passport into the pro ranks, a trial opportunity after a gradual rise through the system but a lingering knee issue required a clean-up from a surgeon and that sidelined him. Now Leinster have come calling and the Blanchardstown IT student of sports management and coaching has the chance to make an impression at one of Europe’s leading clubs. The meticulous side of Clontarf coach Andy Wood has helped him to kick on. Wood puts a big emphasis on players taking ownership of the team direction, while he also ensures the players are kept up to date with specialised video clips from each game highlighting aspects of play. It’s an environment that has helped Hirst to understand what’s expected at Leinster. But it is not just the coaches such as Smeeth, Wood, Hugh McGuire and Séamus Twomey who have shaped his development, but his opponents in the Ulster Bank League have had a hugely positive influence on him. In his club career he has faced professionals such as Ulster’s Ricky Lutton and Jerry Cronin, Connacht’s JP Cooney while Leinster academy props Tadhg Furlong and Bryan Byrne have been at Clontarf for a year. ‘I’ve had good exposure against top-quality props and I feel that I can be just as good if I was involved with a professional set-up as long as I’m switched on,’ admits Hirst before praising the feedback from his fellow competitors, such as Dolphin’s Christy Condon. ‘Generally everyone seems to know each other in the AIL or through the club team. I try make friends with guys and chat to them afterwards and get pointers on positioning and those things.’

For now Hirst is intent on finishing college with a degree under his belt, but it’s his rugby education that could provide the best graduate job of all. ‘I can be just as good with a pro set-up’

Article by Adam Redmond  – Daily Mail, November 22nd