JOHN FOGARTY insists it is not just what the Emerging Ireland front rows do in South Africa next week that matters but how they then push on at home afterwards.
And the Ireland scrum coach used his own career as an example of what NOT to do.
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Fogarty said: “I don’t want any tighthead or loosehead hooker in the country sitting in the province, kind of happy that they’re with the province and playing a bit-part.
“I spent some time at provinces for a player and I sat there because it’s comfortable.
“I got to a stage, and I probably shouldn’t use my own example but I don’t want to use anyone else’s example.
“But I spent 11 years playing and for some of those years, I kind of sat down a little bit.
“You know, looking back on it, and hindsight is 20/20 but looking back on it, it’s something I regret.
“I was lucky enough to be able to kick on and achieve something but you can spend a little bit of time where you’re quite happy and you kind of wait and see, ‘Will I get my opportunity?’
“You need to make things happen. We’ve got four provinces, we’ve got excellent players, sometimes you need the mentality of, ‘I need to make this happen for myself, I need to continue to make this happen and not wait for an opportunity’.”
Joe McCarthy, Calvin Nash, Ciarán Frawley, Jack Crowley, Jamie Osborne and Cian Prendergast were all on the last trip in 2022 and have since starred for the senior international side.
And Fogarty added: “This tour is about putting your hand up, stepping up and backing yourself to go back to your province, drive forward . . . the windows are there for these players in this type of year to put their hands up.
“We saw from the Emerging Ireland last time around in 2022, I’m not sure how many stepped into a green jersey but we want to see the same appetite from the players.
“We want to see them push themselves. The windows are there through this tour, November, a Six Nations and a summer tour post-Six Nations when the Lions is on.
“The windows are there for these players, it’s about stepping up.”
Going to South Africa will test the front rows in the scrum, which is part of the plan to strengthen that area of the senior team.
The IRFU have declared that provinces can no longer sign overseas front rows and must develop their own talent.
And while Fogarty had no part in the decision, he understands the thinking.
But he knows progress will also be down to the players pushing on themselves.
He added: “We need to develop our own indigenous props, it’s really important.
“It’s clear now in the minds of players around the country that they need to step up.
“We’re four teams, one nation, we need to make sure we’re developing our own.”
MIXED BAG
The last Emerging Ireland tour showed how even the best-laid plans cannot work as, while Tom Stewart went on to be capped, Roman Salanoa and Mikey Milne have had injury problems.
But Fogarty believes there are plenty in the group that will feature next week that will also push on into the Ireland team in time.
He continued: “Jack Aungier is competing week in, week out. Can he step up? Can he step up nationally? He’s got a lot of time under his belt.
“It’s a little bit different to Stephen Smyth who is an academy kid who has got loads of potential. He doesn’t necessarily have the minutes.
“So both guys will get something different out of it, for sure. But that was borne in mind.
“Jordan Duggan is another guy who is ready to go, he should be pushing hard now.
“Danny Sheahan . . . lots of potential where we’re saying, ‘OK, we need to make sure we’re speeding it up for those guys, can we make the penny drop a fraction earlier?’”
