'Donnacha is a very bright man, big into analysis. He'll do his job and do it very well.'
THERE WERE SIGNS of Donnacha Ryan’s future as a rugby coach right from his earliest days playing, even if he was dreaming about playing in All-Ireland finals for Tipperary.
When Whelan first saw Ryan play in a game against a visiting Canadian school, the future Ireland second row didn’t have a clue about the laws of the game. He charged around like a wildman.But he saw something special. Gut feeling told Whelan that Ryan could go far in rugby. He got Ryan into a trial for the Munster Youths team but again, there were teething problems. Ryan had never been lifted in a lineout.
Ryan was insatiable when it came to learning the laws, sitting down with his father, Matt, to study. Whelan laughs as he recalls how Ryan soon knew more than he did. The coach was left wondering, ‘Who is testing who here?’ So intently did Ryan embrace it, he was able to directly quote laws word-for-word on the pitch when he got penalised.
“It’s a huge step to stop playing and start a new job as a coach,” says La Rochelle’s sporting director, Robert Mohr. His former Munster team-mate, Sean Dougall, is now La Rochelle’s contact skills coach and has been learning from Ryan despite the Tipp man’s own inexperience. Many of Munster and Ireland’s fans were shocked when Ryan decided to head abroad but it wasn’t too surprising for those who know him. He has always thought a little outside the box and appreciated different perspectives on rugby.
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