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Caelan Doris: I was thinking ‘What the hell am I doing here?’
By Simon Thomas
Captaincy is clearly agreeing with Caelan Doris for both club and country.
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Over the summer, he skippered Ireland to a famous 25-24 victory over South Africa in the second Test in Durban.
Then, having been appointed Leinster Rugby captain for the new season, he has gone on to guide them to a perfect start to their BKT URC campaign, with 20 points from 20.
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He says he looks to lead through his actions and he certainly did that against Munster Rugby last weekend in front of a league record crowd of 80,468 at Croke Park.
Packing down at No 8, he made the joint-highest number of carries and tackles – 21 in each case – of any player in Round 4 of the competition.
So what are his thoughts on how he is settling into the captain’s role?
“I had done a bit of it at school and underage and then there was probably a five year period where I hadn’t, so there was a bit of rust to get off there in my first few times with Leinster and Ireland,” said the County Mayo man.
“It was obviously at a higher level than I had done previously, so there were bits of self doubt.
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“I had played under Johnny (Sexton) and Pete (O’Mahony), Paul O’Connell was there as a coach, all these people who I had looked up to and been unbelievable leaders.
“I was thinking ‘What the hell am I doing here?’. That’s where the self doubt came from, but with time that eases.
“Knowing I’d got through a week and played ok, you get a bit of confidence off the back of that.
“I had pushed myself outside my comfort zone, but with time I am getting used to the role and I am starting to enjoy it a lot more.”
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Doris’ first time as Ireland skipper was for the Six Nations game against Italy in Dublin back in February. Then, in July, came a momentous second outing at the helm in the victory over the Springboks.
“The difference between the week captaining against Italy, versus the second Test against South Africa, is I felt a lot more comfortable, probably because I had six or seven opportunities to do it with Leinster in quite big games at the end of the season,” he said.
“With time, I feel it’s become more comfortable. Obviously, there’s still plenty of room for growth, but I’m enjoying it.
“The main thing is trying to maintain a good level of personal performance and then, on top of that, it’s about dealing with refs, it’s about the feel through the week of what needs to be said pre and post match.
“So there’s extra responsibilities, not just thinking about your own performance but from a wider perspective, the team and training and dealing with those sort of bits.
“But I’ve got a very good leadership group around me and the coaches are world class as well, so it’s been good.
“I would say generally I lead more through my actions. I have very good relationships with people in the squad. A lot of them are good friends, so that helps. When you know them on a personal level, it makes everything easier.”
The 43-cap Doris has been tipped as a strong contender to captain the British & Irish Lions on next summer’s tour of Australia. So what are his thoughts on that subject?
“That’s very far down the line, isn’t it?,” replied the 26-year-old.
“It’s a goal of mine to make the squad definitely. I would absolutely love to be in there.”
There’s plenty to play for ahead of that, including Leinster’s bid to claim a first trophy since 2021.
“We have been knocking at the door and fallen at the final hurdle three years in a row, which is tricky, and there have been some pretty grim days off the back of that,” admitted Doris.
“But there is also still a ton of belief within the squad and there’s a load of motivation to get better.”
They’ve certainly started well, with bonus points victories over Edinburgh Rugby, Dragons RFC, Benetton Rugby and Munster.
The last of those games was particularly memorable, being played at a sold-out Croke Park.
“It was class,” said Doris. “I have been there as a Mayo supporter plenty of times, but it was cool being on the pitch.
“It’s such an iconic stadium in Ireland, so to fill it out in a league game was class. We are very lucky to have such a big fan base and a pretty dedicated one as well.”
It’s another Irish derby for Leinster this weekend as they head west to take on Connacht Rugby.
“That will be very different. It will be a hostile atmosphere down there,” said their skipper.
“They are loud, pretty boisterous, the Galway people. It will be good. It’s always a tough challenge there.”
Doris's captainship second test against SprinkBoks was what was required. All the players applied themselves as he would. The must win against NZ will be another big one. Ireland need to have very high intensity matches going in there to get up to the pitch.
RG Snyman is looking seriously happy in Leinster. Connaught/Leinster this weekend will be a must watch. Connaught could/should be 4 from 4 this year.