Joey Carbery: ‘There were a few days when I didn’t think I would make it back on the pitch’

The reality of that short, stark line is hours upon hours in recovery mode. Lockdown meant it was a solitary journey at times, before the phased return to training meant Carbery joined the other walking wounded in their little club and kept away from the fit players.

Johann van Graan deliberately didn’t give a timeline on his return, in part to protect the player but also because deadlines had come and gone without him hitting them.

At his lowest points, his mind began to drift towards the endgame. What would he do if the ankle didn’t come right?

All of it went through his mind as he prepared to take the final step on to Cardiff’s 4G pitch.

“It was a lot of emotion. I was very happy to be back, great to be putting the jersey on and being back playing,” he recalls. “There was a bit of nerves as well. I suppose, all I wanted to do is get back out there. It had been so much time, so many hours of hard work and torment before that. It was ecstasy. ‘Yes, I’m back!’.

“The biggest emotion would have been relief. Being out for so long, I didn’t know when or if I would get back.”

*****

He’s 25 now, Joey Carbery, the boy wonder from Dargaville on New Zealand’s North Island who grew up playing rugby in Athy and honed his craft in Blackrock College, UCD and Clontarf.

His remarkable rise had a Hollywood feel. His Ireland debut saw him close out the country’s first win over the All Blacks in Chicago, he had a Grand Slam, a Champions Cup and a PRO14 title by 22 and then caused a real stir by moving out of Johnny Sexton’s shadow to take up residence as Munster’s No 10 in 2018.

Carbery was never shy about stating his ambitions. In 2017, he said he wanted to become one of the best players in the world. In 2018, he made the move south to bolster his chances of taking Sexton’s jersey at the World Cup.

Knowing what the competition could do to both men, Joe Schmidt was on board with the plan but disaster struck when he broke his ankle during the team’s first warm-up game. He made it to Japan, but admits now he wasn’t fully fit and when he returned the ankle hadn’t healed.

Munster took their time with him and he made his return the following December, but a wrist injury sidelined him again and the province decided it was the right time to get the ankle sorted once and for all.

“The wrist injury was heart-breaking, I was under the impression that things were going to get better with my ankle injury but it was almost a blessing looking at it now that I could go and get that extra operation on it,” he says.

“At the time, it was so, so crap. Nothing seemed to be going my way and I just couldn’t get back.

“It was terrible, horrendous at the time. Looking back now, I don’t know how I got through it the way I did.

“It was disappointing, I wanted to go to the World Cup and put my hand up.

“Who’s to say I couldn’t have pushed to be starting No 10? That was my goal, but I ended up getting injured, it inhibited my performances and then I came back thinking things might change and they didn’t.

“So, yeah, it was a tough couple of months. I’m very thankful to have been through it. Definitely, I feel mentally stronger for it.”

Despite not fulfilling his potential in Japan, Carbery has no regrets about pushing himself to go.

“It’s an interesting question, someone asked me a while ago would I change it . . . But, even through everything I probably wouldn’t,” he says. “I still got to go to the World Cup and it was everything we were building for two years.

“To get injured the way I did was extremely disappointing, I felt like I was in such a good place before that.

“I suppose, the pressure came from myself as all I wanted to do was get on to the plane. I literally did everything I possibly could, thankfully I got on.

“I wasn’t fully fit, my ankle wasn’t right and I paid the price for it afterwards. But, I don’t think I’d change because I still got to go to a World Cup. It was a huge privilege and an honour to do, so it was a tough decision but one I wouldn’t change. I’m happy with it I suppose.”

Carbery leaned on those around him. His girlfriend Robyn, his parents Joe and Amanda, family, friends and his physio at Munster Ray McGinley.

The Munster and Ireland coaches were in touch to tell him to take his time, to make sure he got himself right. Still, people would stop him in the street and ask him when he’d be back and frustratingly he didn’t have an answer. “Hopefully soon,” he’d say.

“To be honest, I didn’t know myself.

“There were a few days, a few tough times where I didn’t think I’d be back.

“More so, when I got to the point where my ankle was getting worse, I wasn’t progressing. I was supposed to be getting closer to a return to training, but I was in a worse place than when I actually started.

“I presumed I was not going to be back, that was when having people around me who I could chat to, having people around me to reassure me.

“There were some tough days when I was wondering what am I going to do after rugby? What happens when I can’t play anymore.

“It was a genuine fear for me for a while, but it made it even better when I got back in. It was great to be on the other side, but it was tough times.”

Slowly but surely the hard work in the gym began to pay off. He began to run again, then catch and pass. After that, some contact and game-based scenarios.

Nothing, however, prepares you for the real stuff and when Cardiff’s Samoa international Rey Lee-Lo thundered into Carbery minutes after he came on it was sink-or-swim time.

“He actually smashed me but I didn’t feel it. Watching back, I was like ‘yes, that’s a proper test now’,” he smiles. “As much as bags are thrown at you, that was a proper test.

“They took their time with me, but I suppose even as I got a bit impatient they always had my best interests at heart and looked after me. I’m very grateful to everyone who looked after me.”

After Cardiff, there was another appearance off the bench against Connacht before his first start against Scarlets.

Then, there was a trip to the RDS for a PRO14 final that didn’t go Carbery’s or Munster’s way, followed by a better performance in defeat to Toulouse and a rare win on his old stomping ground.

With him missing out on Friday night’s Ulster encounter, he has now played six games. He’s starting to find his rhythm.

“Being a rugby player instead of a professional weight-lifter is a lot more enjoyable,” he smiles.

“Even before the injury, it would take me three or four games to get into my flow and I knew coming back from this injury that it might take longer than that.

“I’m starting to feel like I’m getting back into the groove, getting a few big games. A few disappointing results, a few good results but on a personal level I’m just delighted to be getting through unharmed and getting back into my groove.”

*****

If things had worked out differently, this could have been a significant week for Carbery. The 2021 Lions tour was on his list of goals, but he knew he didn’t have the minutes in the bank to even contend.

Although Ireland’s summer plans are up in the air, he’s determined to win his 23rd cap in July and reboot a stalled career.

“It’s something I’ve been thinking a lot about recently,” he admits.

“My last game was that World Cup quarter-final against New Zealand, it feels like forever.

“Hopefully some sort of tour or game will be organised and then hopefully I get selected. I’d love to put the green jersey on again.

“It was a tough couple of months, the disappointment of that quarter-final and even the loss to Japan. We were all a bit rattled from it.

“Being selfish, I’m young enough and hopefully I can get another one or two World Cups. I think there’s a lot of learnings to take from it.

“But I’ve been chatting to (Munster’s Springbok centre) Damian de Allende and their last game was the World Cup as well, so I know there’s been Irish games but it’s been a disrupted couple of years.

“To be honest, I can’t wait. Hopefully I can get selected and get back out there again.”

For now, Munster is the focus. He believes that despite their disappointing spring the province’s prospects are looking up.

“We’re very close. We’ve definitely got the players, we’ve definitely got the right coaches,” he says.

“We’ve seen in games what we can do. Clermont, the recent Leinster game, but I think it’s the consistency of our performance . . . just being ourselves, producing our best selves on the biggest stage.

“The PRO14 final against Leinster, we all went into our shells a little bit. That’s the occasion, that’s everything. We’re so much better and that’s the disappointing thing.

“We know how good we can be. We just need to show it.

“So, I don’t think we’re too far off where we need to be.

“There’s a growth mindset down here, no one wants to be where we are right now. We all want to be better.

“We’re all trying to improve, all trying to work on the mental side of the game and playing different scenarios in training to get us ready for those tough times in games and the tight encounters.

“We’re not too far off at all, the effort is not in question. Everyone always gives their all, but we need to produce what we can every day.”

Having a fit and firing Carbery will be a major asset as they look to do just that and, having missed a year of his career, he’s keen to make up for lost time.

“I’m still as determined as ever,” he says.

“I think it just makes me appreciate it a lot more, how lucky we are to do what we do. Especially me, it’s all I’ve ever wanted to do.

“To be able to go in and train and play at the weekends, it’s incredible.

“Having missed it for so long, it just makes you appreciate it all the more.

“I’ve missed a chunk of my career but things happen for a reason. So, I’m just going to keep trying and getting better every day.”