Offaly man speaks of 'different feeling' after helping Ireland beat Italy

TULLAMORE man Cormac Izuchukwu helped Ireland to victory over Italy on his Six Nations debut in Lansdowne Road on Saturday.

Speaking after the match the 26-year-old pointed out that he had shrugged off injury this season to win his fourth cap.

“I was delighted. Obviously I’ve had a pretty crap season. I’ve been injured for the whole season. I think I’ve played four or five games. Haven’t played since December or early January, I think,” said the Ulster flanker.

“I met a surgeon recently and I was supposed to get surgery and stuff, and said I’d give it one more shot and you know, all of a sudden you’re playing again, so it’s class. It’s unbelievable. I was delighted.

“Because I missed so much of the season, the concern was that it (the injury) would lead on, continue on into the next season, so the idea of meeting the surgeon was to kind of get ahead of it. Put it to bed now, fix it, and then park it and go again.

“But, I’m looked after so well here with the Irish physios and obviously the physios in Ulster look after me really well. We kind of decided to give it another shot and like listen, it’s unbelievable, a Six Nations debut. Delighted.”

Izuchukwu was on the pitch for 59 minutes and made seven carries for 22.7 metres, contributed one line break and landed all six of his tackle attempts.

He was also used heavily in Ireland's lineout and took the ball five times, including a very important steal inside the Irish 22.

He had most recently played for Ireland in summer matches against Georgia and Portugal and was an unused replacement for the Six Nations opener in Paris before being called up to start by coach Andy Farrell for the visit of Italy.

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He said: “Yeah, it’s mental because for me, at the France game and stuff, it’s such a big stage and I had a taste of it sitting on the bench last week as the 24th [player]. But then, you know, I treat every Ireland game just like an Ireland game.

“They’re all so special to me, whether it’s Portugal or Fiji or Georgia or whatever. They all mean the world to me, but I think I was blown away by the response from just social media, online, my family. It’s such a big deal to them, the Six Nations.

“Maybe I didn’t grasp it as much as I should have, so that was a shock, but kind of came to terms with it the last couple of days. Just got my head around it and then just got stuck in.

“I don’t know how to describe it, just a different feeling. You’re playing for Ireland, you get a kind of nervousness that you never really experience at club. It’s so much bigger. Getting that bus in, everyone’s waving at you and stuff, it’s class.”

He was also nervous watching from the bench before Ireland finally saw off the Italians 20-13. “I was pretty nervous Obviously I have a lot of belief too, but you know, it’s quite hard…the human in you, I suppose, is always thinking the worst.

“So, I was quite nervous, but I had a feeling that the lads would see it through, and they did.

“We speak about being ruthless all the time and always playing what’s on. Listen, you get an opportunity like that in the Six Nations, a massive line break, and you’re going to try to make the most of it. Unlucky with that kick at the end not to get an extra point there.”

Izuchukwu's appearance made it two out of two appearances in two matches for Offaly players.

Former Birr rugby player Michael Milne, who the Tullamore man knows from his time in school in Roscrea, made an impact when he was introduced as a replacement in the match against France.

Izuchukwu played underage football and hurling with Tullamore GAA Club before making a name for himself on the rugby field with his home town rugby cub and then Ulster.

The six-foot seven-inch giant started playing rugby seriously when he moved from Colaiste Choilm in Tullamore to Cistercian College Roscrea but his competitive sporting pedigree had already been noted.

His older brother Chinnie made his name on the track for Tullamore Harriers and their mother Catriona, who moved from London to Kilcormac when Chinnie, Cormac and their sister Ciara were young, is a cousin of the Offaly hurling Dooleys, Joe, Billy and Johnny.

Cormac Izuchukwu was initially with Kelso RFC in Scotland and trained with the Newcastle Falcons.

Izuchukwu honed his rugby skills further with the Ireland Sevens, was picked up by the Ulster Academy in 2020 and has been on a senior contract with the province since 2021.

He recovered from a serious knee injury in his first season and was with the Emerging Ireland squad which went to South Africa in autumn 2022.