Ireland great hails South African-like forward for ‘smashing’ his way into Six Nations spotlight
Ireland second-row Joe McCarthy at team run through.
Former Ireland wing Shane Horgan has praised the form of Joe McCarthy and likened him to a South African second-row in terms of his “physical stature”.
McCarthy has barged his way into the Andy Farrell’s starting XV this year, transferring his impressive performances in a Leinster jersey to the international stage.
That hasn’t gone unnoticed by Horgan, who has also applauded how Ireland have responded to their 2023 Rugby World Cup heartbreak in this year’s Six Nations.
Built on last year
“Ireland have been extremely consistent, they have built on last year. Last year was a very good Six Nations as preparation for the World Cup, they won the Grand Slam. They’re a team that have held their form, and they have held it at a very high level,” the now pundit told The Good, The Bad and The Rugby podcast.
“You couldn’t say that (Jack) Crowley has made the team better, because it’s (Johnny) Sexton, but he hasn’t made it discernibly worse.
“Joe McCarthy has made the team better. He is a massive second-row of the type of physical stature that Ireland don’t produce.
“We produce good second-rows, but he is almost like a South African second-row. The way he carries the ball, he’s got good footwork and he’s just smashed his way into that team.
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“He’s displaced James Ryan and (Iain) Henderson. Henderson was a captain of a midweek Lions side, James Ryan was being spoken about as a potential Lions captain at one point.
“That hasn’t been a change of tactics, he has just gone, ‘I’m coming in, I’m taking over’, and that’s what he’s done.”
After three bonus-point wins out of three, Ireland are sitting pretty at the summit of the Championship, with England (away) and Scotland (home) still to play.
Horgan admits their Six Nations rivals have not been at their best this year but refused to follow the majority in completely writing off this week’s opponents.
Drop-off from rivals
“I think Ireland are continuing to play at a very high level. There has been a drop-off from the other teams, but let’s see where England are at the weekend,” he said.
“Wales aren’t great. Italy, that was probably a decent performance for them against Ireland in retrospect wasn’t it? They’re performing in a reasonable way.
“France fell off a cliff but also in that first game I think Ireland pushed them off a cliff.”