Joe McCarthy ready for first Thomond Park experience

If you knew about Joe McCarthy 12 months ago, it's likely you were either a die-hard Leinster supporter or a regular follower of the Energia All Ireland League.

It's no disrespect to say the Dublin University lock was a relative unknown when his name landed on a teamsheet to face Cardiff at the Arms Park last January.

Even by the standards of Leinster's production line he hadn't been marked down in advance as the one to watch as we've seen with the likes of Harry Byrne, Rónan Kelleher, Ryan Baird or Scott Penny in recent seasons.

He's played for Ireland U20 in the Six Nations in 2020, and while Ireland had won all three games, and he'd featured in all of them, the fact it was abandoned early due to Covid-19 saw it become lost in the flood.

But just under a year on from his debut in a surprise defeat to Cardiff, there aren't many left wondering who is Joe McCarthy.

"It's definitely been a mental 12 months, or not even 12 months," McCarthy tells RTÉ Sport, as he reflects on his first year in the professional game.

His Leinster debut (above) was soon followed by a week in the Ireland squad as a development player during the Six Nations, while a Champions Cup debut soon followed versus Leicester Tigers.

Week on week he seemed to be ticking off boxes; a Champions Cup final, a first try, touring New Zealand with Ireland, before winning his first Test cap in November of this year against Australia.

The gap between Leinster debut and Ireland was just short of 10 months. He says he'd been hoping to take "small steps" this year. Maybe those are small steps when you're 6ft 6in.

"Even this time last year I wasn't even capped, just in the academy, probably had a week off around Christmas. It's been great, I’ve had so many good experienced,