IT WAS QUITE some time in the making — six years, in fact — so Dave Kilcoyne was always going to make his first Six Nations start in green count, even if the collective performance left a lot to be desired.
The Munster prop was one of few to emerge from the Roman battle on the right side of the ledger, having earned his starting opportunity on the back of an impressive run of form with the southern province.
Kilcoyne made 10 carries in Rome. Source: Dan Sheridan/INPHO
Skipping ahead of Leinster’s Jack McGrath in the loosehead pecking order, Kilcoyne won his 27th cap at the Stadio Olimpico on Sunday afternoon, but just his sixth from the outset and first start in the championship.
Carrying with typical belligerence into contact, the 30-year-old was one of few in green to make metres in the carry while underlining his overall dynamism and work-rate with 10 tackles.
On a frustrating afternoon for Joe Schmidt’s Ireland as they limped past Italy, it was a solid outing for Kilcoyne, who joked afterwards that it has taken him almost a decade to become an ‘overnight sensation’.
His form for Munster this term has merited inclusion as Cian Healy’s deputy, coming off the bench against England and Scotland in the opening two rounds and then getting his big chance in the Eternal City on Sunday.
“It’s such a privilege to get a start in the Six Nations, they don’t come around that often,” he said.
“A lot of blood sweat and tears goes into that and a lot of work. I was really keen to put in a good performance.
“There are certain areas I was happy with. There’s other areas I wasn’t and need to be more accurate in. You want momentum, you want to be in a team that’s gelling well together. That’s always the player I’ve been, you want to put the team performance first with Munster and Ireland. You want the team to perform and then you to perform within that system.”
Having made just two Six Nations appearances under Schmidt before this year, it would have been easy for Kilcoyne to accept his time at this level had passed him by — but the Limerick native was desperate to get back in the mix.
Hard work behind the scenes, grafting through extra sessions both on and off the pitch, has yielded the desired return for Kilcoyne, while Sunday night preparation sessions have put him in the right frame of mind at the start of each week.
“That’s the maturity, I think I mentioned during the week I’ve close on 200 professional games for Munster and Ireland,” he continued.
“If your process is strong, I feel I’ve consistently been at a level for Munster, and you build confidence in that.
“You’re playing a lot of the same opposition week on week, and when it comes to playing international rugby it’s about trying to find those little one per centers where you think you can get better, whether it’s in training, you’re five to 10 minutes in prep before training.
“It’s true confidence in your prep. It probably looked like I was relaxed out there, but it’s because I have the prep down during the week, and that builds a bit of confidence.”