James Ryan gives his view on losing the Leinster co-captaincy
Ryan and Garry Ringrose, who succeeded Johnny Sexton in the role, now make way for Caelan Doris as Blues skipper
James Ryan insists there are no hard feelings after Caelan Doris was appointed as Leinster captain for this season.
Ryan and Garry Ringrose were the province's co-captains for the last campaign, replacing the retiring Johnny Sexton in the role, but they didn't get the opportunity to lift a trophy as the Blues' wait for silverware extended to a sixth year.
Doris, 26, was described as the "natural choice" to lead Leinster by head coach Leo Cullen after he assumed the responsibility a number of times last season, including in the Champions Cup final defeat to Toulouse.
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The Mayo man also skippered Ireland in their drawn summer series in South Africa and, if this season goes well, will be considered by Andy Farrell for the Lions captaincy next summer.
For Ryan, there are no regrets after he revealed that Cullen met with him and Ringrose to explain his decision. Both experienced internationals were disrupted by injury last term and will be vice-captains this term.
"We're fully behind it," said second row Ryan.. "We're delighted for Caelan. It was a huge honour for me to co-captain Leinster over the last two seasons and we'll just support Caelan now as much as possible."
Ryan found himself falling down the pecking order at international level behind Leinster sensation Joe McCarthy and Tadhg Beirne, while the arrival of RG Snyman to the province will elevate the competition for places further.
"My main focus is contributing to the team as absolutely best as possible and whether that's as captain or not is not important," said the 28-year-old. "For me, being at my very best is contributing to both Leinster and Ireland, hopefully, in the best way.
"That's my focus more than ever this season, trying to get that bit right because we're desperate to win trophies this year. I'm just trying to play my small bit to help us do that."
Ryan is adamant that the captaincy had not affected his own game. "There's definitely an added responsibility but I loved it, I always enjoyed my time whenever I had the chance to captain," he said.
"The main thing I learned was just to focus on your own game and get that right, and all the other stuff came naturally because I don't think leadership is about a title, it's about trying to lead in your own way. So I definitely learned from every game. I wouldn't say I did everything right but you learn as you go."
Ryan is four weeks back in harness after a five-week break after the South Africa tour, refreshed after a Majorca holiday and a week at the Galway Races. He wants to hit the ground running and could feature in the URC opener in Edinburgh on Friday week.
While admitting the Champions Cup final disappointment still hurts despite the thrill of Ireland's tour victory in Durban, Ryan is enthused about a more rugby-led approach to pre-season than before and a renewed emphasis on Leinster's ruck play that will allow their attack to shine.
"I'm pretty keen to play, I didn't have the minutes last season that I would have normally had," said the Dubliner, who was speaking at the announcement of a new three-year partnership between Kildare Village with Leinster Rugby.
"I was out for a few months with a bicep injury and stuff like that so even heading into the summer I felt pretty good.
"We don't have a huge amount of locks at the moment either, RG is injured at the moment and big Joe played a lot so yeah, it hopefully gives me the opportunity to kick on and play as early as possible."
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