Kendellen: You’re Putting On A Green Jersey, That’s Enough Motivation In Itself

Being a leader has become second nature to Munster back rower Alex Kendellen. The 23-year-old has captained every team he has been a part of since his school days in Cork.

He took on the responsibility for PBC Cork, the Ireland Under-18 Schools and Under-20 teams, and Munster, and now he has been chosen by Simon Easterby to captain the Emerging Ireland squad in South Africa.

Easterby’s 33-player squad departed for Bloemfontein last Saturday, ahead of the first match of their tour against the Pumas tomorrow afternoon (kick-off 4pm local time/3pm Irish time – live on irishrugby+).

Four days later, Emerging Ireland will do battle with Western Force (kick-off 1pm local time/12pm Irish time), before the Toyota Challenge wraps up with a clash with the Cheetahs on Wednesday week (October 9) (kick-off 7pm local time/6pm Irish time).

Kendellen, who missed out on the 2022 Emerging Ireland tour due to concussion, played all 25 matches of Munster’s 2023/24 campaign, including his 50th cap, and skippered the province to victory over the Crusaders.

Expressing his pride at getting the call from Easterby to captain the team for the three-match tour, he said: “Simon rang me, got my thoughts on it and if it’s something I’d like to do, and I nearly bit his hand off.

“Unfortunately I got knocked out the week before we flew over (in 2022) so I didn’t make it to the last one. It means a lot to be honest, not just for me but for my family, my friends back home.

“It’s a huge honour and it’s one I’m looking forward to, to be honest. I’m looking forward to climbing into the tour now and playing games.”

Kendellen has learnt a lot in a short space of time while working under leaders such as Peter O’Mahony, who has captained Munster, Ireland, and the British & Irish Lions, Tadhg Beirne, the province’s newly-appointed captain, and defence coach Denis Leamy, in particular.

His own approach to captaincy is very much leading by example, as he did when he was a standout player for the Ireland U-20s during the 2021 U-20 Six Nations. It is no wonder that Graham Rowntree turned to him to lead Munster during the international window last spring.

“I’m trying to learn from the leaders around me. I’ve got incredible leaders down at Munster who have done it all,” he explained.

“The likes of Peter O’Mahony, Tadhg Beirne, he’s incredible since I’ve come in. It’s about taking bits from them and trying to bring it into your own game. It’s good.

“It’s leading by actions, I suppose, that’s my big one. It’s just trying to do it on the pitch and let my actions speak louder than words.

“It’s important to just show what you can do on the pitch and hopefully these young lads follow me into these games through my actions.”

Kendellen is aiming to follow the path taken by his Munster team-mate Jack Crowley, Cian Prendergast, and Joe McCarthy, who all played for Emerging Ireland during the 2022 tour, before winning their first Test caps for Ireland that November.

Ciarán Frawley, Tom Stewart, Calvin Nash, another of Kendellen’s provincial colleagues, and Jamie Osborne were four more Emerging Ireland graduates who have made their senior international debuts in the last 14 months.

Asked if that shows that progression to Test rugby is possible from being part of this tour, Kendellen only has to point to the fact that Crowley, McCarthy, and Nash were ever-present during Ireland’s 2024 Guinness Men’s Six Nations title-winning run and the drawn summer series with South Africa.

“Yeah, 100%. There’s a clear trajectory for those players anyway, who’ve come through. Even the lads down in Munster, the Jack Crowleys, the Calvin Nashs, you see them perform on the biggest stages, in World Cups and Six Nations.

“So yeah, it’s massive for us as players to look at that and see what they’ve done and how they’ve taken their opportunity.

“I was lucky enough to pick a few of their brains during the week about what this tour is like and stuff like that, and they’ve been very good to me over the last couple of days.

“They just said to go out and enjoy it, and try and use it as an opportunity, and don’t feel too much pressure out there. It’s an enjoyable tour and try and dive in head first and really get stuck into it. It’s enjoyable.”

Ireland head coach Andy Farrell was in observing the Emerging Ireland squad training last week. He is not part of the tour, but the rest of the senior team coaching group, Easterby, Paul O’Connell, John Fogarty, and new backs coach Andrew Goodman, are all closely involved.

While admitting it is ‘tough’ to miss out on some of Munster’s early-season fixtures, the Emerging Ireland tour presents Kendellen and his team-mates with a gilt-edged opportunity to work with the national coaches and press their claims for Test selection.

“You’re putting on a green jersey and that doesn’t come around too often. It’s a special moment for all us players in here, and it’s a chance for us lads to put our hands up with the senior coaches here coaching us. It’s a massive opportunity for all of us.

“Everyone is kind of in the shop window here, but it’s about bringing the team together here and trying to work as best you can for the guy next to you is very important.

“I think that leads to performance then so it’s important for us to come together as quickly as possible, get training under our belt and then enjoy those games that we’re playing in.

“You’re putting on a green jersey, that’s enough motivation in itself. Everybody here is here for a reason. Everyone is a great player. They each bring something different to the table,” he added.