Ex-Ireland star delighted to see ‘thug’ Joe McCarthy ‘bully’ France

Former wing Andrew Trimble believes that Joe McCarthy has the type of “thuggery” which marks him out from other Ireland players.

The lock produced a breakout performance in the Irishmen’s dominant victory over France as they claimed a 38-17 win in Marseille.

Having impressed for Leinster following the Rugby World Cup, McCarthy has continued that form in a green shirt and earned the man of the match award in the Six Nations clash on Friday.

Carrying ability

His sheer physicality stood out as he continually crossed the gain line against a big French pack.

“He was kind of coming of age in the warm-ups before the World Cup. We thought he was going to have a bigger say in the World Cup, but after that he must have thought that this is my time to shine,” Trimble said on Virgin Media.

“He obviously had that exposure and thought ‘I can cope at this level’ no problem, and he’s backed that up.

“He runs with such aggression where he wants to hurt people. He’s got that kind of thuggery about him that we don’t see with Irish athletes, we don’t see second-rows that can bully big French second-rows in the south of France, it doesn’t happen.

“He doesn’t need to overcomplicate it. At that age, he just needs to carry, carry, carry.”

McCarthy was selected over stalwart James Ryan for Friday’s game, combining with Munster’s Tadhg Beirne in what proved to be a mightily effective Ireland lock combination.

The 22-year-old has been considered a player to watch for a while, but this has very much been his breakthrough year.

“A big call”

“It was a big call from the coaches to start him over James Ryan. I’m sure there were long conversations about that,” former Ireland full-back Rob Kearney said.

“They have earmarked Joe McCarthy for the last couple of years. He was brought on that tour to New Zealand before the World Cup when I don’t think he was even capped by Leinster at that time.

“So they saw something special in this guy a few years ago, and he has repaid them tenfold this evening.”

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