100
BEST PLAYERS
PICSGetty Images & Inphotowards the end of the game. He
spent the next few weeks on crutches.
People still talk about that at the school.
It’s gone down in legend, to an extent.
“I first saw him at Clontarf and he was
a string bean, skinny and tall,” says Cian
Healy. “When you see him stepping
up to the plate it’s jaw-dropping. It’s,
‘Hold on a second, he doesn’t look
like he can do what he’s doing’.”
As time has gone on we’ve heard a
little more from him. Rugby envelops
him but he has a deep love of history,
his chosen subject at UCD. There’s a
family story that is absorbing. His great
grandfather, also called James, fought
in the Easter Rising of 1916 and was one
of those storied men who occupied
the General Post Office in Dublin’s
O’Connell Street as part of the armed
struggle to end British rule in Ireland.
When Ryan hears talk of rugby being
akin to war he has a frame of reference
in his own family that shows what bunkthat really is. “Since he was one of the
younger men in the GPO (he was 24)
and given the fact that he was a doctor
as well, they (the Republicans) thought if
the British guards stormed the building
they might spare him,” he says. “So they
were telling him the story of why the
Rising took place and who was a part
of it, so that if they were all killed and he
survived he’d be able to tell that story.”
Most of the leaders of the Rising were
executed but young Ryan was, indeed,
spared and lived to tell the tale. In very,very different ways, they both
represented their country.
Brian O’Meara, the former Munster,
Leinster and Ireland scrum-half as well
as one of Ryan’s coaches at Michael’s,
talks about Ryan’s love of training, his
love of the gym and his capacity to soak
up information like a human sponge. In
2016, Ryan captained the Irish U20 side
at the Junior World Cup in England.
Against all odds, Ireland made the final,
where they lost to the hosts. Jacob
Stockdale was on that team. So, too,
Andrew Porter and Max Deegan. Of
anyone on the pitch, Ryan looked the
greatest certainty to kick on. A year later
he did, making his full Ireland debut.
What’s happened since then has been
a whirlwind, not that Ryan pauses for
thought. “Rugby is turn-the-page
orientated,” he says, expressing his
reluctance to bask in the glory of what
he has achieved. All the while his game
has gotten better, his influence grownlarger. His footwork, his fend, his pace,
his athleticism, his ridiculously large
engine that’s akin to a back-row not
to mind a second-row, brought him
all those collective honours and
also some individual ones.
In the season just gone, at the Rugby
Players Ireland annual awards, Ryan
won Players’ Player and Players’ Young
Player of the Year. He also won Leinster
Player of the Year. Some games stand
out. In the Champions Cup quarter-final
against Ulster, Ryan was immense on a
day when Leinster toiled. He made 27
tackles and carried 21 times as Leinster
just about fell across the line. They may
not have got there without him.
Over the course of the European
campaign he averaged more carries
and more tackles than any other
Leinster player, which is why people talk
about him being half lock, half back-row.
In his early years he played back-row.
There’s still a bit of that in him.
During last season, Rory Best was
asked about Ryan’s dramatic impact.
This was a player coming to the end of
his Test career talking about one who
was just starting. There’s a lot of wisdom
in that head of Best’s and there was
something he said that resonated: “It
seems like James has been around for
an eternity.” That’s a fair old tribute. He’s
not really looked upon as a youngplayer anymore because that’s not how
he plays or how he carries himself. He
might be shy but there’s a maturity there
that belies his years. “There’s a fierce
presence about him,” says Skehan.
Ryan finished off his season with a
Pro14 title. He made 28 tackles that day
against Glasgow at Celtic Park. It’s hard
to believe that between Leinster and
Ireland he has played just 48 games.
Ireland might have had a disappointing
Six Nations but he’s won 82% of the
Tests he’s played. If that figure stays in a
similar ballpark in the years ahead, there
are going to be many more trophies
heading his way. Lions tours await, too.
He will turn 23 in July. As Devin Toner,
his Leinster and Ireland second-row
partner, says: “He’s got a minimum ten
or 12 top years left in him and that’s
so exciting. I’m delighted to say that
I played with him and I can’t wait to
see what he’s going to achieve.
“There are no limits for this lad.”Green giant
Making a trademark
carry for IrelandTrophy hunt Ryan’s won back-to-back Pro14 titles