Leinster flanker Josh van der Flier living the dream

The notion of a Wesley College boy of Dutch origin playing for Leinster and Ireland sounds a bit fanciful alright, and no one appears to find it all an unlikely dream more than the easygoing young man himself.

“Eric Miller was probably the only other one before me and then a couple of others a good few years back,” says Wesley’s latest trailblazer, in his own pinch-me-I-must-be-dreaming manner.

Yet, having been introduced to the game by his dad in their back garden and then the Wicklow under-8s, while also being taken to Leinster and Irish games, this is all he’s ever dreamed of.

“I always wanted to play for Leinster and Ireland, the same as any young kid watching them wanted to do. I never realised it was like a job. I figured I’d be an engineer or a mechanic or something,” he says , laughing.

So far, it’s all been a blast really.

His paternal grandparents, Johannes and Johanna, moved from Holland to Ireland in the 1950s. They lived in Finglas before relocating to Wicklow, where Johannes opened his own radiator factory, called Veha.

One of their four children, Dirk, married Olly Strong, a Kilkenny girl whose family also have strong links with Wesley. Dirk van der Flier was a winger for both club and school, and made the Leinster under-21s, before ending his career with Wicklow as a flanker.

His parents both went to Wesley, and as the second of four children, behind older brother Johan and above sisters Kirsten and Julie, Josh van der Flier did too.

His dad, also his first coach, played van der Flier at scrumhalf at age seven and, after scoring three tries in his first game, there he stayed until he was 14.

“Then I was getting in too many rucks, and there was no scrumhalf there so they moved me to flanker,” he recalls.

After a couple of years as a ‘7’ in his Junior Cup years with Wesley, he played at ‘8’ in his two Senior Cup years, before reverting to openside on leaving school.

Boarding at Wesley was tough at first.

“I’d never been away from home before and I was homesick. But rugby was a huge help; tip rugby before and after dinner. I loved it, and it made it easier to make friends.”

Main draw

His Senior Cup years involved a first round defeat to Newpark Comprehensive in the Vinny Murray Cup (“I remember it too well,” says van der Flier) and a semi-final defeat to CUS at the same stage in his second year, followed by a first round defeat in the main draw to King’s Hospital.

Yet he earned Leinster U-18 and U-19 trials, which led to the Leinster sub-academy and Irish U-19s, and then the full academy and Irish U-20s in 2012-13. He was also part of a UCD U-20s team that won five trophies.

The 2013-14 season was a learning year with UCD and Leinster A, while bulking up in the gym. Van der Flier was 98kg in his U-20s days, and is now 105kg, but remains as starry-eyed about being in the Leinster set-up.

"It's still very surreal at times. It's still weird coming in each morning and saying hello to people you grew up watching, like Jamie Heaslip. Sometimes I have to pinch myself a bit."

Hard work and patience was required. “I remember at one stage working out that it would need about eight injuries or players unavailable for me to get a game. That’s how many were ahead of me.”

One of those was Shane Jennings, a hugely influential figure who went through videos with his young pretender before his full debut away to Zebre, two years ago this weekend.

Very nervous

“I was very, very nervous. It was the last year of my academy as well, and it was that time of year when you were looking to secure a contract for the following season.”

“I remember ‘Darce’ [Gordon D’Arcy] sitting beside me on the bus on the way to the match and telling me to relax and play my game. That helped me a lot. It was a foggy day, a heavy pitch and I was up against [Mauro] Bergamasco. I remember trying to clear him out and just how solid he was! I didn’t play particularly well but I was happy enough. I didn’t feel too out of place.”

A contract duly followed along with five more appearances before last season’s stunning breakthrough, when a turning point was his try-scoring European Cup debut off the bench away to Bath last November, and starts in the Toulon games.

"I remember looking up from a scrum and seeing Matt Giteau and Ma'a Nonu there, and then Fernandez Lobbe and Steffon Armitage, with Vermeulen picking off the base. That was pretty crazy," he says, laughing loudly now. "But until you tackle someone like Nonu you just don't know if you can do it. My fitness felt good during those games. It gave me massive confidence realising I could play at this level, which was pretty cool."

So too was his first Munster derby in Thomond Park, off the bench.

“The abuse off the sidelines every time we warmed up was something else,” he recalls, chuckling once more. “All in good humour, but an eye-opener to the derby. I wasn’t used to that.”

Although called into an Irish get-together in January, van der Flier was stunned when Joe Schmidt gave him his Test debut against England at Twickenham.

“I was very nervous again. It was very humbling to put on the jersey and then go out for the anthems. My cousin and my uncle [Matthew and Dermot Strong] were straight in my eye line, looking straight back at me. And it actually felt like a normal game, which was pretty reassuring.”

As memorable was his ensuing home debut against Italy, his first coach ride with a police escort to the Aviva Stadium and singing Amhrán na bhFiann on a rugby pitch for the first time, with all his family in attendance.

Despite the 58-15 win, van der Flier had no qualms about being replaced by Tommy O’Donnell for the Scottish game, before an ankle injury against Ulster in April ended his season.

Complete performance

He recovered from the operation in time to have a complete pre-season. Although he’d like to have had a more complete performance, he’s scored three tries in five games; the highlight being a trademark straight carry for one of his brace against the Ospreys. Now the season is cranked up another notch.

“Even if it was a friendly any game against Munster would be massive, but with the way the league is as well, there’s an added edge in training. Everyone knows how big the next few weeks are as well. You want momentum leading into Castres and Montpellier.”

Van der Flier also is one of a hatful of contenders for that ‘7’ jersey in Chicago too. “You try not to think about it, but I’m sure everyone wants to get into the Irish squad. That’s as big a game as you can get. But you know if you don’t play in these games you won’t play in that one anyway.”