Andrew Porter is setting a new standard in athleticism and work rate at prop for Ireland.
Murray Kinsella Reports from Paris IT HAS INCREASINGLY become the norm for Andrew Porter to go nearly the full distance with Ireland and Leinster. That doesn’t make it any less remarkable. Props don’t generally do what Porter can do.
“It’s a new standard he’s almost setting for props,” says Jones ahead of Porter’s next outing for Ireland against Scotland in Paris tonight. “His carries, his involvements around the contact area where he’s making a nuisance of himself on opposition ball, he’s really taking a full part in the game. He’s always active and engaged in all facets.
“There’s not a pick on him at the moment,” says Ross. “Himself and Cian Healy are disgracing props everywhere with their body composition!“He’s still quite young, so he doesn’t have 10 or 15 years of wear and tear catching up with him. The work he has put in, he’s reaping the rewards of it now.” “I think it was probably a bit of headspace place and I’ve always said that to kids,” says Jones. “It’s a very rewarding environment and he embraced that.”
“A lot was made of him squatting 230kg for eight reps there recently, but he’s been repping north of 180kg, up to 200kg since he was at school. It made sense for Tadhg Furlong and Porter to be in the same starting team as often as possible given how good they both are. Despite another new challenge, Porter was soon establishing himself was one of the best looseheads in the game.
McBryde points out that Porter has been in the perfect place to learn his trade, whether it was working with Furlong at tighthead or with Cian Healy when switching back to loosehead, not to mention the other props in Leinster and with the Ireland squad, where John Fogarty is the scrum coach. “On the flip side of that, if he gets under you, good night and good luck. Against South Africa, there were a couple of times where Frans Malherbe was pancaked flat-out on the ground. He didn’t probably get the reward he wanted. Ports is immensely strong.”
“He’s a very smart rugby player,” says Ross, “he’s not stupid by any means. He’s not just a dumb ape throwing weights around. You can see his rugby intelligence shining through in a lot of the things he does – the poaches he gets, the tackles he makes, the carries he does.” Jones explains that Porter has always had huge support from his father, Ernie, and his sisters, Erica and Leigh.
“He doesn’t say a great deal, he tends to just get on with things. But there’s a lot more inside him than people might give him credit for. He’s a very intelligent player, he thinks deeply about things.”He’s still only 27, which is young for an international prop.
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