'Winning a trophy will make up for any Ireland disappointment' – Rhys Ruddock

RHYS RUDDOCK prefers to focus on the positive and that’s his prerogative. If he wanted to dwell on disappointment, there’s plenty for him to hone in on too.

A lesser man would be on the phone to Andy Farrell night and day wondering what more he has to do.

A decade after his international debut and a year after he was cast unfairly into the international wilderness, Ruddock got his first Six Nations start against France last month.

He played well, but that was it. Tadhg Beirne came into the team against Italy and, when he was needed in the second-row, Farrell opted to pick CJ Stander at blindside and recall Jack Conan.

Ruddock was at all of Ireland’s games as a travelling reserve. Warming up with the team before hitting the showers as the game kicked off.

Leinster are likely to be the main beneficiaries as he once again sets about proving a point in blue.

Beirne, Stander, Peter O’Mahony and coming man Gavin Coombes are all likely to be on the pitch on Saturday for the Guinness PRO14 final. Ruddock’s mission is to play better than all of them.

“Missing out on the Six Nations squad last year, it was a goal of mine to get back in the squad and try and get back in the Irish jersey,” Ruddock said.

“It was nice to achieve that. Probably would have liked a little bit more game-time, but I suppose it's nice to come back in here and straight away have a chance to fight for a position in the team for some massive games coming up – the final first this week.

“It's kind of a strange one coming straight back from the Six Nations campaign into a final, but it's a nice way for myself not having many games as I would like to in the last couple of weeks.

“It's nice to have something positive to fight for in terms of selection for the big games coming up here.

“There were reasons that they (the Ireland coaches) shared with me that I needed to do more of or improve on, but that's probably between me and the coaches.

“At the end of the day, there were guys in there doing a brilliant job as well. Tadhg (Beirne) coming in and playing six, playing outstanding, Jack Conan coming in then as well.

“Look, it's just one of those things. It was great to be a part of and even, it's not always as enjoyable when you are 24th man watching the team and you feel like you want to be out there, but I have to say, the England game, there was no one in the stadium, but all of the reserves who warmed up, there was such a great buzz to see the lads performing so well.

“You could just tell that everyone was on it, so that was actually unbelievable to be a part of, even in that small way. I thought it was a pretty special day.”

Ruddock admits there isn’t much he could have done differently to get into the team.

“I probably was happy with the way I was travelling,” he said.

"That (France match) was my first Six Nations start and to get that was such a big moment for me; a massive opportunity that I just felt I wanted to grab with both hands.

“The game didn't go the way I had planned out, I didn't feel like I had a bad performance but it wasn't maybe the performance or result we were hoping for as a team and or individually.

"It's not something I have dwelled on, I've kind of just not let one selection or one game be the decisive factor in how I feel about it.”

Playing for Leinster against Ulster helped. Again, Ruddock looked powerful and on top of his game, something that he says comes from a fresh approach to his body-weight.

“Leading up to when we went into lockdown, I probably wasn't overly happy with my game in certain areas,” he explained.

“I just felt like one of the main things I wanted to work on was becoming more dynamic and explosive in contact, especially with ball carry and making more dominant tackles.

“That's the kind of player I want to be, physical and a collision winner. That was a big part of it.

“Then the other side, my confidence wasn't quite where it needed to be, which I had to work on first.

“I suppose the lockdown kind of gave me a chance to do both, to make sure that I was working on that mental side and making sure I was getting my mind eight to get as confident as I could be to knowing that when I did the work physically.

“So I decided that in order to be more powerful, be lighter and stronger. I thought the combination of the two, playing lighter but stronger would make me more dynamic and explosive and then trusting and building confidence on the back of that every time I got stronger.

“Trying to bring that onto the pitch and in training, I just believed it was going to lead to better performances.

“It was a combination of working on my confidence and the physical side of it as well, and then trying to transfer that into performances.

“You have to have that kind of belief in what you are doing.

“I probably didn't really have that and I suppose deciding that there are loads of areas in the game that are important to me, but the difference between being the player I want to be and not, was that ability to win collisions, be the most physical player I can be.

“I thought the way to do that was to work on the mindset and the confidence and also the physical stuff to be as strong as I can and playing that little bit lighter as well, so that I can transfer that into power.”

While those outside will dwell on selection and personal gain, Ruddock’s focus is firmly on the chance to add to his haul of medals in the coming weeks.

“The bigger motivation for me is the chance to win silverware, to achieve some goals that we've set ourselves as a team,” he said.

"So there's a little bit of individual stuff there but I think the main motivation and driving force for me is the team stuff, to go win a trophy.

"That's why you play the game, at the end of the day, and all of my best memories, all the things I'll remember are when you win trophies and you're together after those games, and I think they'll override any individual disappointments you'll have around selection or anything like that.

"Winning a trophy will make up for any of those disappointments over the years.”

Munster stand in Leinster’s way on Saturday, a team that always raise their game for the interprovincial derbies.

The Reds will be desperate to end their decade-long wait for a trophy, while sending club legends Billy Holland and CJ Stander off with a high.

Ruddock says Leinster must rise to their level of motivation.

“The hunger for both teams is massive,” he said.

“If we put ourselves in their shoes and lost five in a row, and sometimes they've been unbelievably close, hugely unlucky to lose those games... the motivation level is the same as ours in terms of winning trophies, not wanting to let another game go by without getting a result.

“So we're well aware of the motivation they will have and every time we play them anyway they're hugely motivated. The physicality that they bring and the commitment is massive, so I think it will only be up another notch.

"The intensity of this game is probably going to be at a level that we haven't faced this season yet, it's going to be a massive test but I think we've got enough experience in the squad to understand what that's going to look and feel like on the day and it's just about trying to prepare as best we can to face it.

"Everyone in the group would have faced something similar over their careers, hopefully, and if they haven't I suppose it's making them understand what Munster's motivation is and how difficult it's going to be.”

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