When Leinster lift a trophy it’s generally an honour reserved for departing or retiring players, and something they’ve been able to share quite liberally. Accordingly, when Scott Fardy, Devin Toner and Michael Bent held the Guinness Pro14 trophy aloft after the final win over Munster a fortnight ago it seemed a fairly clear signal that the trio would be bidding their respective farewells at the season’s end.
Fardy politely laughed off any questions in that direction this week.
“I’ll probably come to that later in the year. At the moment I’m not sure yet. Dev played so many games for the club, it was great to see him hold the trophy up and Benty did a fantastic job for us throughout the year in the Pro14. He played nearly every game and did such a great job, so deservedly he got to hold the trophy up as well.
“Like, I just handed it to him, other than that I was fully part of it,” he added with a smile.
Nor would the 37-year-old, 39-times capped Wallaby World Cup finalist indicate whether he would be playing on one way or another. Pending tomorrow’s Heineken Champions Cup quarter-final against Exeter Chiefs in Sandy Park (kick-off 5.30pm), he wasn’t going to be a distraction.
Certainly, there are precedents to suggest he has more rugby left in him yet. Victor Matfield, Jamie Cudmore and Danny Grewcock played on until they were 38, and Nathan Hines until he was 39, while another ex-Leinster lock, the remarkable Brad Thorn, didn’t retire until he was 41.
Locks are the game’s most durable players and akin to Hines, Fardy self-deprecatingly attributes this to one simple factor.
‘Ultimate professional’
“None of us are very fast; the pace doesn’t drop out of you when you’re already slow!
“It’s why it’s so interesting to see the young guys come through, like James [Ryan] or Ryan [Baird]. They are ready, physically, to play.
At 22, 23, I wasn’t physically ready to play at that level. I developed late in my career in terms of size.
“Look at Brad Thorn, he was playing rugby league at 19 so he’s probably a different story. He’s the ultimate professional. So, yeah, it’s all different.
“When you’re playing on the wing and your speed goes the game changes for you. Guys like tight-five forwards, it’s probably easier to knock out a longer innings in the game.”
Like Hines and Thorn, Fardy brings a hard-nosed graft in the engine room which somehow makes the collective play better. He’s a superb lineout operator, generally gives opponents hassle and his presence is acute in attacking and especially defensive mauls.
After missing his planned Euro debut in the home win over Montpellier in October 2017 when his wife went into labour that morning, Fardy was a key figure as Leinster regained the Champions Cup in his first season.
He switched from lock to blindside for the three knockout games against Saracens, Scarlets (when a try-scoring man of the match) and Racing, and he has played in all four winning Pro14 finals. Having started the semi-final win over Munster last September and appearing off the bench against Ulster in the final, Fardy was omitted for the quarter-final defeat by Saracens.
Overall, in his four seasons with the province Fardy has played 75 games, and in 60 starts he’s only been on the losing side seven times. Admittedly, most Leinster players have impressive win-loss ratios.
Fardy was named on the bench last week and whether or not Leinster were better off having a rest weekend, he reasoned: “We’ll know on Saturday. It’s hard to say. But Stu [Lancaster] doesn’t give you much of a rest when it comes to training anyway.”
Last weekend’s cancellation of their tie at home to Toulon was another reminder as to the ever-present threat of coronavirus.
Huge ramifications
Noting the huge ramifications for Toulon’s season, Fardy said: “There’s been some huge sacrifices made, particularly the young guys in the squad. You walk around the park most days and you see people out drinking and our guys aren’t doing those things, they’re not going to house parties and are really looking after themselves.
“For a guy who’s 21, 22, it’s a massive sacrifice for them to make compared to someone of my own age with a couple of kids at home. It’s a different experience. The young people have given up so much in this pandemic and I feel for them.”
Fardy played in both of the back-to-back pool wins over Exeter in December 2017, describing the win in Sandy Park as “one of the best games of my career down there playing in front of their crowd”.
He talks about the heightened need for discipline given the Chiefs uber efficient five-metre game but notes they’ve grown since four years ago.
“I think now they move the ball more and their forwards probably pass more. I remember thinking then their forwards didn’t pass, but they’ve probably got a little bit more to their game in terms of the tip passes, and even when they go to that pick and drive game, I think there’s more passes than just straight off the base.
“Yeah, there’s a lot to their game if you watch them. There’s a lot to their lineout, a lot to their starter plays. They’re a very well coached side and they’ve been together for a long time. So there’s a lot of work for us to do in terms of stopping what they’re capable of.”
