What time and TV channel is Benetton v Leinster on at today in the URC?
Josh van der Flier recalls Rob Kearney telling him to enjoy every moment of his career. The Wicklow man is now older than his ex-Leinster team-mate but his drive to win remains the same.
This is how fast it goes by.
Josh van der Flier clearly remembers his first time in Ireland camp. It was 2016 and he was rooming with his Leinster team-mate Rob Kearney.
The new kid on the block was about to make his Test debut and he recalls that Kearney told him to make sure he enjoyed every moment, because it goes by so quickly.
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Kearney was 30 at the time. "He was younger than I am now, but to me he seemed so old," exclaimed van der Flier. "I can’t believe how quickly it has gone so far. But I feel great."
It's hard to believe that the Leinster flanker with the distinctive red scrum cap turned 31 in April. Ahead of his first start of the new URC season - he came off the bench in last week's win over Dragons, and is named in the side to face Benetton today - the Wicklow man insists he feels stronger than ever, despite the mileage under his belt.
This will be his 146th appearance for the province, while he has 64 Test caps accumulated. Van der Flier thinks back to around a decade ago, when he suffered from a series of hip issues coming out of the Leinster academy, as well as an ankle injury - all part of the growing pains of becoming a senior player.
He adapted by working out what exercises worked best, how his body actually worked, what needs to be rehabbed and kept on top of. "I reckon my body was in a lot worse shape then compared to now," he smiled. "I feel great now. I feel good."
He also feels lucky. Playing in the back row is as attritional as it gets in the game but, aside from that ACL injury he suffered in the opening Six Nations match in Paris of Ireland's 2018 Grand Slam triumph, he has been a regular presence for province and country.
"I remember my dad coming across an article which stated that the average professional career is something like 60 games," said van der Flier. "So I’m very grateful to be beyond that.
"And I often think of Dan Leavy who was a similar age to me but had to give this up because of injury. It’s part of the sport and I’m just very blessed that I’m still going. Hopefully I can be like Cian Healy and keep going!".
Many of Leinster's big names return in a side that has 12 changes from last week's victory, the second five-point success of the season that is only into its third week.
RG Snyman makes his debut and Ciarán Frawley starts at No.10. Caelan Doris, the new captain, makes his first start of the campaign.
Where is the game on?
The game takes place at Stadio Comunale Monigo in Treviso
What time is kick-off?
The game kicks off at 5.15pm (Irish time) on Saturday
What TV channel is it on and can I stream it?
It is being shown live on RTE 2 and Premier Sports 1. It will be live streamed on URC.tv
Betting Odds
Benetton 7/1 to win, Leinster 1/12 to win; draw 35/1
Teams
Benetton: Matt Gallagher, Ignacio Mendy, Tommaso Menoncello, Malakai Fekitoa, Paolo Odogwu, Jacob Umaga, Alessandro Garbisi; Mirco Spagnolo, Siua Maile, Simone Ferrari, Niccolò Cannone, Riccardo Favretto, Sebastian Negri, Manuel Zuliani, Michele Lamaro (CAPT)
Replacements: Marco Manfredi, Aminu Destiny, Enzo Avaca, Federico Ruzza, Giulio Marini, Lorenzo Cannone, Andy Uren, Leonardo Marin
Leinster: Hugo Keenan, Jimmy O’Brien, Garry Ringrose, Jamie Osborne, James Lowe, Ciarán Frawley, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Rónan Kelleher, Tadhg Furlong, Joe McCarthy, RG Snyman, Jack Conan, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris (CAPT)
Replacements: Lee Barron, Michael Milne, Thomas Clarkson, Ryan Baird, Brian Deeny, Fintan Gunne, Ross Byrne, Scott Penny
Hunger remains the same
That hunger that has been there at the start of each campaign going back six years remains. Van der Flier missed the last Champions Cup final win in 2018 through injury. There has been no silverware since.
"I’d say compared to how I was a few years ago, I’m better prepared to deal with it mentally in that I’d very much try to frame it all," he explained. "You literally prepare as well as you can, do everything you can to be as successful as you can."
He quotes the American basketball coach John Wooden, who said, 'success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming'.
"So you’re doing all you can to be successful," van der Flier stressed. "You train as hard as you can, you prepare as hard as you can, and when you get to the game, you play as hard as you can.
"You give all your effort. You might make mistakes but at least you can say I literally did everything I could. We did all we could do. And we lost. And that’s tough, you know what I mean? But I do try to be a bit more like that now. I find it helps me a lot. Part of it is injuries as well. It’s so up and down."
He admits he was frustrated to be on the bench for last season's Champions Cup final, although he did play 56 minutes. "I’m still as hungry as ever to succeed," he said. "We’re incredibly lucky. I grew up here in Leinster, we’ve had winning teams here. So many people never get to be involved with winning teams because of where they play. So that’s how I see it.
"When you’re younger, it feels like you have 30 more years to play. When you’re 20 in the old Pro14 and you don’t win it, you think, 'ah well, I’ll have another 20 goes at it' or whatever.
"Whereas now, it’s getting to the stage where hopefully I’ll have a few more but you are making the most of it. And what comes with that is making an effort to enjoy it. I’ve always tried to do that, but particularly now.
"I’m trying to cherish everything. As Rob Kearney said to me, 'make sure you enjoy it and take it all in'. It will go really quick."
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