Jack Conan is no stranger to a setback but the Irish No.8 returns hungrier on each occasion and his 2025 comeback is only just getting started.
The 32-year-old has been selected for a second British & Irish Lions Tour, four years on from his maiden call-up in 2021, after overcoming a sequence of serious injuries to find form.
After spending a year away from Test rugby in 2024, through injury and the happier occasion of becoming a first-time father, Conan has once again returned with a bang to help Ireland to a Six Nations Triple Crown and take the armband for Leinster in Caelan Doris’ absence.
And just as he impressed Warren Gatland to feature in all three tests in South Africa, he will look to replicate that form Down Under to complete the return to the international stage in style.
The next Mick McCarthy?
While it seems preposterous now, Conan’s early forays in sport made it unlikely he would pursue rugby at all, as he convinced coaches he had the potential for a flourishing career in soccer or GAA.
In fact, 32-year-old did not start playing rugby until he was 13, and even after that would be hailed as a future Wicklow Senior midfielder up to Minors in GAA.
At just 12 years old, Conan stood out from his peers in a Glencormac United soccer team who triumphed 2-0 over Wicklow Town in the under-12 cup final.
Such a presence at centre-half earned comparison with another Irish sporting legend in Mick McCarthy, who spent his career gracing the English First Division and managed the Republic of Ireland at the 2002 World Cup.
“He was a very dominant centre-half and a very good all-round sportsman. I definitely think he could have made it, even across the water, because he was a big strong centre-half,” manager Colm Mulligan shared with the Irish Independent.
“He was like a Mick McCarthy; big, strong, uncompromising centre-half. He was a leader at the back. He was really strong but really loyal.
“He had a great temperament. He was strong in the tackle but never got into rows. He was always composed and really there to protect the team and his teammates.”
Conan often thanks his family for embedding sport in his life from a young age, with brother Robert still playing GAA for Jack’s former club Kilmacanogue.
And while his brother provided a big role model for the young Gaelic football-loving Conan, he credits basketballer mother Ann with driving him around the country for sport, while it was rugby player and builder father, Eddie, whose footsteps he eventually followed.
Not a linear journey
After settling on rugby, Conan signed for Old Belvedere having already been brought into the Leinster sub-academy after impressing for his school, St. Gerard’s.
The Bray native would go on to represent Ireland Under-20s 11 times, before he finally made his Leinster senior debut in February 2014 against Cardiff Blues.
Conan’s potential became clear for all to see as he was called up for Ireland’s 2015 Six Nations squad just a year later, though he did not make an appearance.
An international debut arrived in August that year as he appeared in a World Cup warm-up match against Scotland, starting at flanker.
But Conan would have to learn patience as he missed out on the World Cup squad and did not make another Ireland appearance until June 2017.
His performances over the next couple of years earned him a plane ticket to Japan for the 2019 World Cup, where he played the majority of an opening 27-3 victory over Scotland.
But that patience would have to be employed again as Conan sustained a fractured foot in training, ruling him out of the rest of the tournament and the delayed 2020 Six Nations to boot.
"He was nearly a year out, the best part of it anyway, and it was a serious injury with the op that he had,” said Tony Ward, his coach at St. Gerard’s.
“Something that [Jack] doesn’t get enough credit for is his work ethic. If you watch Jack in a game, his work-rate is on a par with Caelan Doris at his best or Josh van der Flier at their best.
“He is not afraid to put his body where it hurts, and that is why he is appreciated by his coaches.”
Finding form for Lions selection
That work ethic would be put to good use as Conan returned from injury and set about showing just what he was capable of once more, and duly 2021 would prove his year.
Having made his 100th Leinster appearance in a 35-29 Pro14 victory, Conan would go on to drive his team to a fourth Pro14 title in a row with a Player of the Match performance in the Grand Final.
Starting at number eight, he touched down for the only try of the game just after the break to help Leinster to a 16-6 victory.
It was a fight he displayed during the Six Nations in the same year, proving his worth as a replacement in victories over Scotland and Italy to earn a start over CJ Stander against England.
And at the Aviva Stadium, he took his chance. Conan scored one try and set-up Keith Earls for another to give 14-man Ireland victory and plant his name firmly in Gatland’s mind.
Sure enough, he was called up to represent the Lions in South Africa, provoking an other-worldly response when he found out.
“I was convulsing, the shaking took over my whole body. It was like an out-of-body experience,” he said during the Tour.
After impressing in tour matches with tries against Stormers and Sharks, Conan started all three Tests against South Africa, including featuring for the duration in the Lions’ 22-17 victory in the series opener.
An unconventional call-up
Further setbacks would continue to test Conan’s mettle, as a cyst on his pituitary gland caused him to spend 2022 searching for answers for a drop-off in his form.
But 2023 saw the back row play a key role in Ireland’s Six Nations Grand Slam triumph as he carved out a role as an impact replacement.
Across Ireland’s two winning campaigns in 2023 and 2024, he would play in all 10 games but start just twice.
After missing much of Ireland’s subsequent 2024 through injury and then becoming a father, it was a role Conan reprised in the 2025 Six Nations as he set about on another flying comeback.
“I’d be satisfied to carry water if I thought it would make a difference for this team,” he commented.
“It is an incredible privilege to play for your country and this bunch of people in this environment. If I got one minute or 80, if I could have an impact I am delighted.
“Now more than ever, it’s not just about the 15, it’s about the 23 and the impact you can have off the bench and the energy and confidence you can bring to the other lads.”
And just as in the past, his perfect timing saw his performances catch the eye of Andy Farrell, leading to a second Lions call-up, though he found out in unconventional fashion.
“I went home [to watch the announcement], and my wife had to put our baby to bed, and I paused the TV,” he told Irish Rugby.
“I picked [my phone] up right before the names got announced, and all I got was a message from Conor Murray, being like, ‘Yes!’, with a love heart, love heart, love heart…
“I turned to my wife and went, ‘Oh, I got picked!’. Obviously it was a minute ahead after pausing it and I hadn’t realised it."
